FIRST releases Team Update #18

[Aidan F. Browne]

Originally Posted by T. Hoffman

You can change the rules all you want, but if you don't effectively communicate a single, consistent direction on how to interpret them correctly, then you're still going to see the same old same old.

*Sigh* ...as my Mom used to say, "You just can't please some people."

FIRST goes to great effort to do exactly that: effectively communicate a single, consistent direction on how to interpret the rules correctly; and they are extremely successful at it. There have been ~2,300 matches that have transpired thus far this season, and by the majority of accounts, the season is going great.

A lot of that success can be credited to the hard work of the folks at FIRST creating the Head Ref manuals, Head Ref training materials and constant communications all season long to the refs. Not to mention the hard work and dedication of the Head Refs themselves both in front of and behind the scenes. You don't see all the extra time they give up to participate in Head Referee Training at the beginning of the year, a weekly teleconference each week during the season, studying of the manual on their own time, and attending meetings Wed and Thursday nights at each regional.

Please give this tired argument a break! What else do you possibly want them to do?

And you are right about one thing... you can expect to see the the same old same old again this weekend! Another set of fantastic experiences for thousands of kids across the country. And once again, Mission Accomplished.