Abstract des Autors

How basketball coaches asses referees, who not only manage basketball matches but also develop athletes, remains a topical object in the field of sports science. Therefore, there emerges a scientific question: how to assess the opinion of Lithuanian basketball coaches about referees and their work? Based on this question, a pilot research was performed. The aim of this research was to determine how coaches view the work and social skills of Lithuanian basketball referees. The research was performed during offseason, when there are no official matches. Only coaches who have licenses issued by the Association of Lithuanian Basketball Coaches (AoLBC) and who have obtained coach qualification participated in the research (n = 68). Mean age of research subjects was 37.5 ± 11 (X ± S) years, and their work experience was 14.6 + 10 years. Research methods that were used in this research include a questionnaire with closed-ended questions, statistical data analysis and generalization. The research was performed with the approval of the Association of Lithuanian Basketball Referees (ALBR). Only referees who work in Lithuanian Basketball League (LBL), National Basketball League (NBL), Regional Basketball League (RBL), Lithuanian Womens’ Basketball League (LWBL) and Lithuanian Students’ Basketball League (LSBL) were included in the research. After classifying the answers of coaches according to frequency – “Often”, “Sometimes”, “Rarely” and “Never” – it occurred that 39.5 percent of coaches feel referees’ respect, and 28.9 percent of respondents have never felt it. Communication between basketball coaches and referees can be assigned to situational social skills, which are needed to create good professional relationships. Emotional background during basketball game can be considered as a special situation when true feelings of coaches are revealed. 57.4 percent of coaches claim that referees are too assertive when they make their decisions. Decision making skills reveal an individual’s ability to predict the outcome of their behaviour in various situations and take responsibility, therefore, when making a decision it is important to predict positive and negative outcome of each possible decision. 45 percent of coaches claim that referees know how to get out of a predicament. Such opinion of the respondents shows that not referees lack certain skills, but there’s also a poor two-way communication. However, coaches also show the lack of will to communicate and adhere to rules that help control athletes in the court and their relationship during matches. It is also important for coaches and referees to find a mutually agreeable way to interpret certain situations during matches. In summary, according to Lithuanian basketball coaches, basketball referees are prone to show exaggerated strictness, tend not to acknowledge their mistakes and are too self-confident. However, they behave politely and properly and have a sense of humour. The majority of basketball coaches think that referees perform their duties objectively, know how to get out of a predicament and look athletic and fit. However, the majority of coaches think that referees have little knowledge on game tactics and players’ psychology.