What makes a good beer league ref?

[tareatingrat 4]

I personally can't stand refs who don't have a thick skin. In a heated game, there's nothing worse than getting a penalty because for swearing. I understand the whole respect thing, but it is hockey, and if an f-bomb comes your way as a ref every now and then, you should be able to handle that. It's one thing if somebody is belligerent, but if I give a, "What the fuck?" I shouldn't get two minutes for that.

I don't think the refs should have to put up with bullshit, either, but I've met some who look like they're going to cry if you swear out there. It's hockey.

Also:

Understand that you may not like the answer and it is not open for debate.

I understand that refs need to have that power on the ice to keep control. But I really, really don't like how in the majority of leagues refs don't need to answer to anybody.

Beer league refs need to realize that their paycheque comes from my pocket. They are there to keep the game clean, not to control the outcome or blow off steam because they had a shitty day.

I'm cool if it looks like a ref is trying. Mistakes get made, and I won't bitch about every call, but you gotta look like you're earning your pay.

[zebra_steve 11]

IceNsteel - simple solution.... tell the home team to pick the 3 pucks they want to play with....

Hermans - I take being in position as a given.... if you are not in position most of the time then you are not doing your job or are at a level beyond your ability.

I personally can't stand refs who don't have a thick skin. In a heated game, there's nothing worse than getting a penalty because for swearing. I understand the whole respect thing, but it is hockey, and if an f-bomb comes your way as a ref every now and then, you should be able to handle that. It's one thing if somebody is belligerent, but if I give a, "What the fuck?" I shouldn't get two minutes for that.

Actually it should be a dime - or I'd maybe I'd just give it (the attitude and maybe a zinger) right back to you... I'm not paid to take shit from a whining douche that thinks he knows the rules.... but I'm not there to be a dictator either. Most refs understand the heat of competition... or at least the better officials do. The real key there is how YOU say it... If you yell it or you make a point to get my attention or give me the "raised arms" and say it then you probably get the time..... you keep moving\playing while you say it and skate on then probably nothing comes of it unless you are that guy that bitches about everything - all the time. He will ultimately be made an example of because he just doesn't know when he got cut a break.

I don't think the refs should have to put up with bullshit, either, but I've met some who look like they're going to cry if you swear out there. It's hockey.

Did you maybe consider that the ref might be deeply religious and it may truly offend him... never mind that it's specifically addressed in the rules as being illegal in all occurrences.... Don't tell me "it's hockey"... we have a choice whether or not to say stuff that is unacceptable in society. How do you feel if your kids were there watching you and someone started f-bombing you? There's really no need for it.

Where do you draw the line? "Regular" swear words are OK and you can question someones sexual preference all you want but nothing racial....

Also:

I understand that refs need to have that power on the ice to keep control. But I really, really don't like how in the majority of leagues refs don't need to answer to anybody.

Beer league refs need to realize that their paycheque comes from my pocket. They are there to keep the game clean, not to control the outcome or blow off steam because they had a shitty day.

I'm cool if it looks like a ref is trying. Mistakes get made, and I won't bitch about every call, but you gotta look like you're earning your pay.

I think that you missed my point about it not becoming a debate. If you politely ask me what I saw or why I made\did not make a call then you will probably get an answer if the call wasn't obvious... pick the right time and the right calls to ask and you'll go a looong way towards having better communication with the officials. Too often players then want to get into a debate when they don't agree with what they're told. You asked for the interpretation and you got it.... now let's line up and get the game moving again.

In "real" hockey you don't wanna know how many people are watching your performance that have a direct impact on whether or not you get another assignment.

In adult\beer leagues, the refs are paid by the rink or the league if it's actually that organized - not you - maybe the money indirectly comes from your fees, but unless you pass the hat in the locker room to pay the zebras then don't say it's out of your pocket.... You paid the rink\league for the privilege of being allowed to play in their league. The refs are contracted to provide a service to the rink management and they do (or should) have to answer to the rink management and the scheduler for their performance or lack there of. Everyone has a bad day, Zebras are human too.... Always having a bad day is a sign of other issues and needs to be addressed. Because they have a striped shirt on doesn't make them perfect, it doesn't magically give them a thicker skin because they're "supposed to get yelled at", and it doesn't give you the right to be disrespectful to them. Next time why don't you put the stripes on and try it.... see how you feel after taking a skate on the other side.

And answer me this: Exactly when did it become acceptable to verbally abuse anyone - let alone a sports official? And just why would anyone that is getting sworn at or ridiculed want to discuss anything with the person abusing them when they have the ability to make them both stop and go away?

The best official you can have is one that you never notice was on the ice. He did his job, made the calls that needed made and then went out for a beer.

[chippa13 1844]

Zebra, I think you need to lighten up just a touch. Sure, you shouldn't have some guy screaming in your face all game because his wife burned dinner but you can't be so thin skinned that the quick "Are you f---ing kidding?" on a penalty call gets the guy extra time. If he goes on, sure, but the initial reaction isn't enough to start playing ice cop.

[shotty 7]

i've settled on the fact that the worst part of mens league hockey is the officiating.

[tareatingrat 4]

Actually it should be a dime - or I'd maybe I'd just give it (the attitude and maybe a zinger) right back to you... I'm not paid to take shit from a whining douche that thinks he knows the rules.... but I'm not there to be a dictator either. Most refs understand the heat of competition... or at least the better officials do. The real key there is how YOU say it... If you yell it or you make a point to get my attention or give me the "raised arms" and say it then you probably get the time..... you keep moving\playing while you say it and skate on then probably nothing comes of it unless you are that guy that bitches about everything - all the time. He will ultimately be made an example of because he just doesn't know when he got cut a break.

No. The difference is that you are getting paid to do a job. I even stated that a ref should have to put up with someone who is obviously out of line--but swearing will be part of hockey culture. Verbal abuse is just that, and that's what the rules are there to prevent.

I'm not there to put up with a power tripping douche who is just looking for excuses to flex his nuts on my dime. I wouldn't say the majority of refs fall into this category, but all it takes is one or two in a league to really mess it up for the rest.

Did you maybe consider that the ref might be deeply religious and it may truly offend him... never mind that it's specifically addressed in the rules as being illegal in all occurrences.... Don't tell me "it's hockey"... we have a choice whether or not to say stuff that is unacceptable in society. How do you feel if your kids were there watching you and someone started f-bombing you? There's really no need for it.

Where do you draw the line? "Regular" swear words are OK and you can question someones sexual preference all you want but nothing racial....

If you're truly, truly offended by swears, then you really, really shouldn't be reffing. Save the social acceptability speech, fact is, swearing is going to take place in hockey regardless of whether it's right or wrong. Swearing is all context. If I'm right up in your face and letting them go, yeah, I need to cool off. But if it's immediately after a call and I let a "fuck off" go, is putting me in the box for swearing going to solve anything? Do you really think it was a judgment against your character? Or was I maybe pissed because there was a play developing?

If somebody can't tell where the line is drawn, in context of what people are saying, I really don't know if I'd trust them to ref a game.

I think that you missed my point about it not becoming a debate. If you politely ask me what I saw or why I made\did not make a call then you will probably get an answer if the call wasn't obvious... pick the right time and the right calls to ask and you'll go a looong way towards having better communication with the officials. Too often players then want to get into a debate when they don't agree with what they're told. You asked for the interpretation and you got it.... now let's line up and get the game moving again.

More often than not, I've tried to be civil, and have been given the cold shoulder because a ref doesn't want to "debate." Even from the better refs. It seems to be a whole lot of, "Hey, I'm the ref, that's the call, deal with it," rather than explaining anything.

At the same time, I really, really do appreciate when a ref will communicate on the ice and tell me why things are going the way they're going. Awhile back, a game was getting really chippy and after I got hauled to the ice I got up and looked right at the ref who had his hand up and said, "Yeah, I know, we're going to start getting rid of them for that stuff."

I promptly went to my bench and told them to leave the refs alone for any calls, because they knew what they were doing.

In adult\beer leagues, the refs are paid by the rink or the league if it's actually that organized - not you - maybe the money indirectly comes from your fees, but unless you pass the hat in the locker room to pay the zebras then don't say it's out of your pocket.... You paid the rink\league for the privilege of being allowed to play in their league. The refs are contracted to provide a service to the rink management and they do (or should) have to answer to the rink management and the scheduler for their performance or lack there of.

So, their paycheque comes from my fees...if we don't play, they don't ref. Simple as that. Their fees come directly from my pocket.

In some leagues, we paid refs right before a game.

In the league I'm coaching in, the head ref sets the referee fees and that comes out of our team's money.

So, yes, I am paying them to do a job.

Everyone has a bad day, Zebras are human too.... Always having a bad day is a sign of other issues and needs to be addressed. Because they have a striped shirt on doesn't make them perfect, it doesn't magically give them a thicker skin because they're "supposed to get yelled at", and it doesn't give you the right to be disrespectful to them. Next time why don't you put the stripes on and try it.... see how you feel after taking a skate on the other side.

Fair enough, but when I'm getting paid, even if I have a bad day, I still have to do my job properly. Like I said, just look like you're trying.

And I love the, "Hey, you do it," argument. If somebody gives me a bad haircut, I don't need to become a barber to know they did a bad job.

But nowhere did I say refs are "supposed to get yelled at", those are your quotes. I'm simply saying that a ref should be able to interpret the context in which things are being said and act accordingly. They're supposed to be impartial and level headed. If some off-hand language is going to get them uppity, maybe that's not the job for them.

The best official you can have is one that you never notice was on the ice. He did his job, made the calls that needed made and then went out for a beer.

I totally agree.

And I'd hate for this to sound like official bashing, because it's not. I hate idiot players who do nothing but bitch at every call, too. The question was about what makes a good beer league ref. I don't think they can be fragile.

And just so you know, I deal with kids swearing every single day. You have to pick your battles. If a kid is walking by in the hall with his friends and lets a f-bomb go, am I going to haul them down to the office? No. But if a kid walks up and starts tearing into me, then yeah, it needs to be dealt with.

[shotty 7]

Zebras are human too....

that's going in the sig.

[chk hrd 164]

There is a big difference between are you Fn kidding me and F you ref. Refs should not take verbal abuse but if I drop an F bomb because of a call then chalk it up to the emmotion of the game. I don't care how morally righteous a ref is if the take offense to a curse word then they need to keep to themselves and not dish out extra minutes. We are grown ups and some grown ups use bad language.

Refs are generally not caught up in the emotion of the game. I like the ref who answers calmly even if I'm heated. They have the ability to get most players calmed down. I cannot stand when a ref thinks they can talk down to a player. If I ask in a somewhat nice manner what I did, then tell me straight up but don't lecture me.

We've all had refs that we would like to take a swing at because they are straight up jerk offs. If a ref does a good job I'll let them know during and after the game. If I did something stupid and the ref is good at his job then I appologize to them after the game. If the ref is terrible then I just skate off.

[iceNsteel 0]

"IceNsteel - simple solution.... tell the home team to pick the 3 pucks they want to play with..."

Or the refs could just do what they're getting paid to do and spend 30 seconds looking at the pucks they pick out.

[shotty 7]

i dont put the new/mint pucks on the ice for warmups... i just leave them on the board toppers at rhe bench. real easy, refs dont even have to stop skating as they swoop in and pick them up.

[Chadd 916]

If you're truly, truly offended by swears, then you really, really shouldn't be reffing. Save the social acceptability speech, fact is, swearing is going to take place in hockey regardless of whether it's right or wrong. Swearing is all context. If I'm right up in your face and letting them go, yeah, I need to cool off. But if it's immediately after a call and I let a "f off" go, is putting me in the box for swearing going to solve anything? Do you really think it was a judgment against your character? Or was I maybe pissed because there was a play developing?

If you tell any ref to "f off" after a call, you deserve a penalty. There is no justification for swearing at an official, none. If you can't express yourself without it, you really need to grow up. 99.999% of refs don't care if you swear, as long as you don't swear at them, especially as part of questioning or objecting to a call. You are the one making it personal, not the official, don't try to push the blame off on someone else.

There is a big difference between are you Fn kidding me and F you ref.

There is also a huge difference between saying something and yelling it so loudly that everyone in the building hears it. That volume difference plays a role in it becoming a penalty as well.

[ktang 34]

i dont put the new/mint pucks on the ice for warmups... i just leave them on the board toppers at rhe bench. real easy, refs dont even have to stop skating as they swoop in and pick them up.

Be careful of doing that with warm pucks, though, or they will curl or bounce on the faceoffs. I prefer pucks that have slidden around in the warmups.

[Chadd 916]

Be careful of doing that with warm pucks, though, or they will curl or bounce on the faceoffs. I prefer pucks that have slidden around in the warmups.

I used to throw a couple pucks in the freezer on game days, but a couple guys complained about the pain. It can be bad for goalies that don't expect it.

[tareatingrat 4]

You know, it never gets anywhere. It's like arguing with a ref or something (and they're never wrong).

All I'm saying is that nobody has to deal with abuse, but relax a bit on dishing out two for virgin ears.

[IniNew 51]

"IceNsteel - simple solution.... tell the home team to pick the 3 pucks they want to play with..."

Or the refs could just do what they're getting paid to do and spend 30 seconds looking at the pucks they pick out.

Ref's get paid to ref the game. Not make sure the home team brings pucks to your satisfaction.

[tareatingrat 4]

Ref's get paid to ref the game. Not make sure the home team brings pucks to your satisfaction.

Well, they're getting paid to make sure the game is ready to be played, the nets are set-up properly, and that all equipment is legal. It's kind of hard to make sure both teams bring "good" pucks, though. And I've yet to see a ref take a puck with a huge chunk out of it and use it in a game. They always ask for another one.

But really, if your team is bringing heavily gouged pucks to a game...c'mon.

[chippa13 1844]

Well, they're getting paid to make sure the game is ready to be played, the nets are set-up properly, and that all equipment is legal. It's kind of hard to make sure both teams bring "good" pucks, though. And I've yet to see a ref take a puck with a huge chunk out of it and use it in a game. They always ask for another one.

But really, if your team is bringing heavily gouged pucks to a game...c'mon.

I actually have seen it. The league supplies the pucks and during one of our games one with a nice flat side somehow got introduced into a game. We got that switched out at the next whistle.

[zebra_steve 11]

Zebra, I think you need to lighten up just a touch. Sure, you shouldn't have some guy screaming in your face all game because his wife burned dinner but you can't be so thin skinned that the quick "Are you f---ing kidding?" on a penalty call gets the guy extra time. If he goes on, sure, but the initial reaction isn't enough to start playing ice cop.

Chippa, you of all people should know what I'm talking about here... IRRC you are working your way up into higher levels as a ref? Depending on what is said, how it's said, and what level we're skating.... there will be different reactions for different levels.... You have way more room to tailor your response when dealing with adults. SOme common sense goes a long way. In many cases your hand is forced by league mandate to "take the profanity out" so you sort of have a zero tolerance there or you don't get scheduled.

No. The difference is that you are getting paid to do a job.

I even stated that a ref should have to put up with someone who is obviously out of line--but swearing will be part of hockey culture. Verbal abuse is just that, and that's what the rules are there to prevent.

I'm not there to put up with a power tripping douche who is just looking for excuses to flex his nuts on my dime. I wouldn't say the majority of refs fall into this category, but all it takes is one or two in a league to really mess it up for the rest.

If you're truly, truly offended by swears, then you really, really shouldn't be reffing. Save the social acceptability speech, fact is, swearing is going to take place in hockey regardless of whether it's right or wrong. Swearing is all context. If I'm right up in your face and letting them go, yeah, I need to cool off. But if it's immediately after a call and I let a "fuck off" go, is putting me in the box for swearing going to solve anything? Do you really think it was a judgment against your character? Or was I maybe pissed because there was a play developing?

If somebody can't tell where the line is drawn, in context of what people are saying, I really don't know if I'd trust them to ref a game.

Yes, we are paid to do a job. Never disputed that... or the fact that too many refs mail it in during adult games. Or that many try to make up for their lack of game management skills or confidence their abilities by trying to control everything.....

As for the swearing.... maybe YOU consider it acceptable but there are MANY OTHERS that DO NOT. There is a difference between swearing because of the outcome of a play and swearing AT SOMEONE. To use your own example, if a student walks up and rips you with a streak of profanities he will get punished, correct? HE is showing great disrespect for you and your position - whether he's right or not, it is still unacceptable. SAME THING ON THE ICE.

And Like Chad said, VOLUME and Direction can play a MAJOR role in whether you get called..... Skate away and mumble... I can ignore that... say it directly to me or yell it across the ice and it's a bit harder to ignore.

More often than not, I've tried to be civil, and have been given the cold shoulder because a ref doesn't want to "debate." Even from the better refs. It seems to be a whole lot of, "Hey, I'm the ref, that's the call, deal with it," rather than explaining anything.

At the same time, I really, really do appreciate when a ref will communicate on the ice and tell me why things are going the way they're going. Awhile back, a game was getting really chippy and after I got hauled to the ice I got up and looked right at the ref who had his hand up and said, "Yeah, I know, we're going to start getting rid of them for that stuff."

I promptly went to my bench and told them to leave the refs alone for any calls, because they knew what they were doing.

Truthfully, there shouldn't be much of a discussion on a minor penalty and most upper level officials will not discuss a minor penalty. Most minors are fairly obvious. Now if we have a scrum we have a wide area to use judgment on what to call.... "By the letter of the book" I could probably run a player out of the game if I called every infraction in a scrum. I'll take the aggressor and\or the instigator. The rest is a case by case decision as a lot will go coincidental.

Now if I look at a guy and he's got a look that says "Huh, what did I do?" and he's not bitching, I'll try to explain EXACTLY what he did that triggered the call so he can learn from it. I'll even tell him, "if you had done 'THIS' instead, then you would have been fine." There is a fine line between call and non call when a player is aggressive and playing on the razors edge. I really respect the guys that play that way, know that they are playing that way, and go sit down when called. They learn (from the call) where the line is in the gray area (assuming that the official is actually consistent in his calls).

So, their paycheque comes from my fees...if we don't play, they don't ref. Simple as that. Their fees come directly from my pocket.

In some leagues, we paid refs right before a game.

In the league I'm coaching in, the head ref sets the referee fees and that comes out of our team's money.

So, yes, I am paying them to do a job.

Two way street.... if we don't ref - no matter who pays for it, then your'e just playing pick up hockey.

Fair enough, but when I'm getting paid, even if I have a bad day, I still have to do my job properly. Like I said, just look like you're trying.

It's not like we intend to have an off night, or not do our job. By definition, if you are having a bad day and it is affecting your performance then you are not doing your job properly. It's not like we can just go home. We have to suck it up and do the best we can - all the while trying to make sure that we are at least FAIR and CONSISTENT. When most people have a bad day at work, do they have people yelling, screaming, and swearing at them? Do they have the potential to have their feet taken out, knee taken out, puck shot at them? By your comments I take it that you are a teacher, Given the fact that a good friend (a retired police officer and teacher) called his students "the criminally gifted"... You might have the potential there for some dangerous retribution.

One time I was having a really bad game... I went to a coach that just couldn't stop screaming and said,"Look, you know I'm have a bad game and I know I'm having a bad game. You and your team bitching and yelling about every little thing is only gonna make it worse. How about you back off and concentrate on your team instead of me... I'm giving you the best effort I have in me today, whatever I call may not be what you want called, but it is gonna be fair and consistent ....." He replied, "what if I don't?" my response "Well, I have to be here for the entire game but you don't. I'm just asking for the room to try to do my job."

And I love the, "Hey, you do it," argument. If somebody gives me a bad haircut, I don't need to become a barber to know they did a bad job.

Seriously.... come out and try it.... What I'm talking about is getting a feel for OUR PERSPECTIVE... It really is not that easy at first. I've had guys that PLAYED USHL, ECHL, etc. comment about how difficult it is trying to see everything at first- and this was in a PeeWee A game! As a player you see the puck, and maybe a couple of players. We have to try to see ALL 12 PLAYERS and the puck - from in the middle of play. Not to mention anticipate play - often trying to anticipate what all 12 players are gonna do - all of the time. It will give you a better vision on the ice as a player.

But nowhere did I say refs are "supposed to get yelled at", those are your quotes. I'm simply saying that a ref should be able to interpret the context in which things are being said and act accordingly. They're supposed to be impartial and level headed. If some off-hand language is going to get them uppity, maybe that's not the job for them.

I totally agree.

And I'd hate for this to sound like official bashing, because it's not. I hate idiot players who do nothing but bitch at every call, too. The question was about what makes a good beer league ref. I don't think they can be fragile.

And just so you know, I deal with kids swearing every single day. You have to pick your battles. If a kid is walking by in the hall with his friends and lets a f-bomb go, am I going to haul them down to the office? No. But if a kid walks up and starts tearing into me, then yeah, it needs to be dealt with.

tareatingrat,

I don't want it to sound like I'm getting on you personally... I'm just using your post to make some points for people to think about. The majority of what you are bringing up are traits that it is my job to try to get officials to correct.... On the profanity, I suspect that we are very similar in our feelings on the matter. I do have to separate my personal from my professional feelings... just as I need to do with some of the rules & the way we are expected to call them. I call it the way they want me to, not how I think it should be.... That's the only way we can get the officiating to a consistent standard. As Chad has said, there are too many guys that call it way tighter or way looser than the prescribed standard....

i've settled on the fact that the worst part of mens league hockey is the officiating.

This sums up my feelings in a nutshell.... I have seen some of the worst excuse for officiating being overpaid to stand around not doing their job during adult games. I get upset when guys bash on officiating if they've never tried it - it ain't that easy... but you gotta get in line behind me when a ref is not doing his job because I am one of the people that has the responsibility to tell him about it. I've seen the mail it in\go through the motions attitude from quality experienced officials during adult leagues and it really pisses me off because they are developing bad habits that they carry over into their High School, Amateur, and College games.

\\\Another war story\\\

In one league I played in about 15 years ago the officials were so bad that when it came time for the championship series I had my team and our opponent pass the hat. I got two local guys to skate our 3 game championship series... one was currently skating AHL, IHL, ECHL, and was in the NHL trainee program and the other was skating ECHL.... They did it as a favor to me (and for the cash). We did it because the guys that the rink hired barely knew the rules, could not skate well enough to keep up with play, and could not amke the calls needed to keep it under control with our heated rivalry. It as the best officiated 3 games I ever skated.

[zebra_steve 11]

Truthfully, does anyone here think that there is any difference between a good "beer league ref" and a good ref for "Serious Hockey"? The only difference I can see is that maybe they will be a bit more "laid back" in dealing with the players.... Keeping it in perspective that while it's competative the players are ultimately out there to have fun.

[chippa13 1844]

I actually haven't reffed in about 6-7 years. The lions share of what I did was adult leagues and I'd do some metro or select youth leagues that didn't require all the USA hockey rigamarole. Obviously, when I was doing any kind of youth league there was essentially a no-tolerance policy on the language.

I definitely found that when I did the beer leagues I'd be more laid back before the games and between whistles but when the play was on it was time to be serious. I think guys liked that I took reffing seriously, especially considering that for a while I was reffing and playing in the same league and a couple of teams that hated me as a player had no problem with me as a ref.

[shotty 7]

Be careful of doing that with warm pucks, though, or they will curl or bounce on the faceoffs. I prefer pucks that have slidden around in the warmups.

i'm aware of that phenomenon, but i'd rather have two distinct sets of "game pucks" and "warm up" pucks than a giant bag of beat-to-shit biscuits that are going to take a weird bounce off the boards, straight into the slot during a 4-4 game with 40 seconds to go.

[Chadd 916]

Truthfully, does anyone here think that there is any difference between a good "beer league ref" and a good ref for "Serious Hockey"?

A number of the guys that work the "high level" hockey in our area are the worst refs for a beer league. They have one way to call a game, no matter if it's Midget A or the lowest level beer league. It's usually a recipe for disaster when they do work beer league games.

[wetwilly17 6]

sorry i am late to this thread and it may have already been discussed. i have never been a fan of refs saying that "next time" stuff. either it is a penalty or it isn't. if it is a penalty, then call it every time. if it is not a penalty, then don't call it. i'm for consistency. when the refs are inconsistent is what frustrates players most. just let us know what we can and can't get away with and stay consistent.

"keep the sticks down or the next one in the next minute or two is a penalty", "hold up and don't hit him (as you close on the d'man) or else", etc

[zebra_steve 11]

A number of the guys that work the "high level" hockey in our area are the worst refs for a beer league. They have one way to call a game, no matter if it's Midget A or the lowest level beer league. It's usually a recipe for disaster when they do work beer league games.

Come to think of it Chad you really do make a good point here.... but then again, we're back to that pesky "game management" thing......

20+ years ago refs were allowed to have a personality and were taught to use facial expression, tone of voice, and tone of whistle to manage the game....

[chippa13 1844]

sorry i am late to this thread and it may have already been discussed. i have never been a fan of refs saying that "next time" stuff. either it is a penalty or it isn't. if it is a penalty, then call it every time. if it is not a penalty, then don't call it. i'm for consistency. when the refs are inconsistent is what frustrates players most. just let us know what we can and can't get away with and stay consistent.

You have to have a feel for the game. If you've got a couple of guys who throw a couple of high shoves each way after a whistle then you likely won't be calling matching roughs but tossing out "next high shot is going" can help to keep it from escalating.

One thing I hate and tried to stay away from was refs bailing out and just matching up everything. Sometimes it is matching but a lot of times there is an obvious aggressor in a situation and in those cases I'd hand him the extra if he started the scrum. I found it cut down on a lot of the bs since most guys don't want to get the extra.

[mug25 2]

Ref's have to be allowed to determine what needs to be called and what doesn't, otherwise it's not hockey. Just becomes lawyer ball on ice. So to my mind a good beer league ref is a ref that can make those calls in a consistent and even handed fashion. Also, and this is a big one to me, a ref that knows how many games he/she can handle in a day and doesn't go over that just for the money. It's frustrating to see refs lagging behind and it's because they're on their fourth game of the day and they're just way too tired to be effective.

What he said! ^^^