National Evaluator Group (NEG)

(10/10/16)

Posted 10/12/16

On their second conference call of the men's season on 10/10/16 the NEG discussed the following, focusing primarily on the first half of the men's season:

National Evaluator Group (NEG) (10/10/16)

1. Attendance on call: (n=12)

Bret Bernard Randy Burgess Bob Corb Bill Frady Jack Horton

Sandy Nitta Ed Reed

Gary Robinett Larry Rogers Terry Sayring Rick West Lynn Wittstock

II. NCO Update

-Evaluation opportunities: The NCAA has approved the NCO's request to start paying members of the NEG to evaluate at selected tournaments throughout both the men's and women's seasons. This past weekend, Sandy Nitta evaluated 10 games (13 different officials) at the Gary Troyer Memorial tournament hosted by P-P and CMS. The host institution (Pomona College) provided a place for the post-game evaluations and the participating teams provided the video of their game. The referees also had voice activated headsets available. Sandy will be paid $50./game and will be reimbursed for travel expenses. This is intended to be the new model for evaluations funded by the NCO: (1) Focus on officials not normally having an opportunity to be evaluated; the goals being to identify "up and coming" officials and to elevate the group of officials just below our elite group so that the top group is larger. (2) Unless other arrangements have been made in advance, the host institution must be willing to provide or arrange for videotape of the game to be immediately available along with a place for the referees and evaluator to meet. (3) For every game the valuator is paid to evaluate, a written report for each of the referees involved must be entered into the Arbiter system on the ADVANTAGE hub. (4) Evaluators will be paid $50 per game and their out-of-pocket expenses will be covered. (5) Any member of the NEG can recommend a tournament to be evaluated under this program.

Posted 10/21/14

III. Review of previous two weeks of Men's season:

-Referee letter: Following up on the previous conference call, the NCO provided a draft of a letter to go out to all referees with a summary of the key areas of interest noted by the evaluators thus far this season. A copy of this letter is attached to this report and will be posted on the ADVANTAGE website with an email going out to all registered users alerting them of the existence of this letter.

IV. Evaluators' Concerns

-Incident Reporting; it was noted that there appears to be an increase in the number of reportable incidents this season. The NCO noted that this is the first year that the NCAA has provided a reporting portal and that Misconduct fouls must now be reported. This makes it difficult to put these numbers into context but below are the most current data:

* means reported by both officials. ( ) means same team, one game. # means double exclusion

V. Adjournment

-Next NEG Conference Call: Monday, 10/24/16 (5:30 PM CA time)

-Future dates:

-10/24/16: (5:30 PM CA time): NEG Call -11/7/16 (5:30 PM CA time): NEG Call -11/18-20/16: Conference Championship Weekend (MPSF/???) -11/20/18: Final Conference Rankings Due (5:00 PM Local time) -11/20/16: Selection call (7:00 PM CA time) -11/21/16 (5:30 PM CA time): NEG Call -11/26/16: Play-in games (?) -12/3-4/16: NCAA Championship @ Cal

Respectfully submitted,

Bob Corb, NCO

Conference Misconduct Flagrant Misconduct

Fighting Red Card (A, H, P)

CWPA (x2) 9/3; 9/3; 9/4; 9/4; 9/9; (9/11; 9/11; 9/11); 9/24; 9/25

9/4*; 9:25 9/4(A); 9/4(H);

GCC 9/25; 10/9 (9/25(H); 9/25 (A))

SCIAC 9/3; 9/20; 9/23 9/25(H);

MPSF 9/17#; 9/17#; 9/24; 9/25; 9/25; 9/25;

10/1; 10/6 10/1 (P)

WWPA 9/3; 9/9; 9/10; 9/11, 9/11 9/9; 10/9

October 12, 2016

Dear Colleagues,

As we approach the halfway point of the men's season I wanted to write to each of you as a follow-up to the referee school in August and with some thoughts about how the season is going thus far.

Overall, I was pleased with the way the schools were presented. I certainly learned a lot about how to do this project better the next time; I appreciate the feedback that I received from you and I am already working on improving the school for two years from now.

As you know, the National Evaluator Group (NEG) has regular biweekly conference calls when we discuss trends in the way the game is being officiated. The minutes from those calls are on the ADVANTAGE website for your review, I would like to bring your attention to a couple of items that we've discussed recently. If we can become more consistent in these areas it will help improve the game across the country.

(1) Decorum issues: Referees are reminded that you are ultimately responsible for decorum in and out of the field of play. Within the field of play, players should not be permitted to verbalize their thoughts to the referee, taunt an opposing player, or use profanity. On the pool deck, referees are reminded that the time after a goal is not a time that is permissible for a coach to approach a referee to discuss a rules question, comment on a call, etc. It is however appropriate for a coach to discuss a protest situation if he or she has one at that time.

(2) Offensive fouls in transition: Again, referees are reminded that offensive fouls must be awarded when there is positional advantage gained by the offensive player due to the foul. Referees must be in position to see who initiates the contact. This occurs at both the center forward position and on the perimeter so both officials must be vigilant.

(3) The Perimeter: The perimeter referee is reminded that being consistent with the application of ordinary fouls in and outside of 5 m is critical to the game. If a defending player commits a foul outside 5 m that call should be made the same as it would be inside 5 m. The fact that the offensive player can shoot the ball should not factor into the referees decision about whether to make the call outside 5 m. Also, any two hand hold against a player not holding the ball is an exclusion (Rule 7-10), as is tipping or pushing the ball away after the whistle is blown (Rule 7-5: Interference).

(4) Player behavior: Referees have a wide range of options when it comes to managing player behavior in the water: A yellow card, MAM, Misconduct, Flagrant Misconduct, Fighting, and a red card to and offending player are all within the range of acceptable calls (RAC). What is not within the RAC is to call nothing when you observe a player playing in a manner inconsistent with the rules as written. Step up and make the call that needs to be made, when it needs to be made. Be in position to catch the initiator and take action. In some ways, this is what distinguishes the very best referees from everyone else; the best are not afraid to step in and make the call that needs to be made regardless of the situation. Players, coaches, fans and evaluators, and your future assignments, depend in part on how well you handle this aspect of the game.

Stay tuned for more updates as we move towards the championship season and ultimately towards the NCAA championship at Cal the first weekend in December. I look forward to seeing some of you on the deck in the near future and of course I would be more than happy to speak with any of you if you want to give me feedback or receive feedback from me.

Respectfully,