That being said, no matter what sport you officiate, you have to have a thick skin. Period. While I don’t condone the actions of fans or players being rude to officials, I think that you had better have enough confidence in yourself and be strong enough to take some criticism and get yelled at now and again. Most of the stuff I get yelled at for in volleyball reffing is because people just don’t understand the rules and don’t get why I blow a whistle. I would say that especially in a game such as lacrosse, you had better be confident enough and strong enough to take some flack from the audience because it’s an intense sport and people are bound to get excited. I’ve seen officials come and go over the years in vball, and the common denominator in all of the officials that have been retained is that they are willing to learn to be a better official and can take some heat.

I think, however, that while it is the responsibility of players and the audience to give respect to officials, the officials, although young or new, are responsible for understanding the rules. As you grow as an official, you should be better able to explain rule interpretations, but as a young official, you should be aware the rules and be able to recognize when an infraction occurs. This is not always the case, and if the officials don’t even take the time to understand rules, they probably won’t last long as an official anyway, even if the stands are silent.