I started officiating youth basketball in 1993. At the time, I was a volunteer coach but was asked to officiate on the side. Since I was young and officiating paid, I decided to give it a shot. In 2002, I made a jump in high school officiating. It was a good move for I thought I had gotten a bit stale just doing my youth basketball for so long.
As the 2011-2012 high basketball season approaches, I think I have hit another crossroad. I went a tough period from April onward with various situations. As I have worked to get past the situations, I have realized that my enthusiasm for basketball officiating had diminished.
At first, it was alarming to feel that way. But as a friend pointed out, I had been doing this constantly for nearly 20 years and my body was telling me it was a time for a change. For years I had told myself that it was great to get paid to exercise and officiate. Alas, I have realised the tradeoff is you give up a lot of personal time. I think I have come to the point where my personal time is more important. I could always do other exercise and make money doing something else.
While nothing is set in stone, I have some ideas to refresh myself. One of them has been youth volleyball. I haven't officiated a ton of games but I have been enjoying myself out there. The other is to explore writing sports stories and blogging more. I've been doing a lot of photography and plan to do that more as well.
The main point is that we all need to take time for ourselves and if you are feeling a little weary, there is nothing wrong trying something new
(Edited on 10/22/11): After thinking about things for a little bit, I decided to a leave of absence from officiating high school basketball for the 2011-2012 season. I had thought about this a little bit during the summer but with a lot going on, it wasn't a priority for me to think about it. However, as the various meetings kick off for officiating, I realized I didn't want officiating to eat into my personal time. I am not stopping officiating completely as I could still do some youth basketball. But for this season, I will be on the sidelines watching high school games rather than being a part of it.
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Saturday, October 15, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
The Excitement of Volleyball
Back in late August or early September of 2009, I decided I would officiate some youth volleyball. There were multiple reasons for this. One, I had been unemployed for a few months and having something to do would be cool. Two, as a basketball official for the same organization that runs the volleyball league, I figured it would be easy to break in to work some games as the assignors knew me. Lastly, it was a pretty easy and semi-painless way to do something different. I have been so deeply involved with basketball that it can become stale sometimes.
Fast forward to tonight. I've had an up and down summer due to various personal things. I hadn't officiated much basketball over the summer and wasn't sure I wanted to officiate volleyball. Yet, I got some calls to see if I could work some volleyball games as I had missed the first two weeks. After thinking about it, I decided I could work a few games here and there.
I got a chance to work my first games of the season and it was some pretty good games out there. My first game tonight was a 6th grade game. While the teams were not super skilled, they were pretty solid and the game went three sets with the home team winning.
The second and final game was the best of the night. It was an 8th grade game and both teams were bumping, setting and spiking quite a bit. The visiting team took the first set, while the home team took the second set. In the third set, the visiting team took a seemingly commanding 14-5 lead but the home lead stormed back and pulled off a stunning 16-14 victory.
The interesting thing about tonight was I felt comfortable as I had not officiated a volleyball since last year. The 6th grade game was fairly easy to officiate as the pace was slow. But the 8th grade game was tough as there was a lot of net play and balls flying all over the place.
As I mentioned before, volleyball is a nice sport to officiate as it helps my basketball officiating. The reason is that volleyball requires you to hold the whistle until the play completes. There are time in basketball when holding your whistle is beneficial.
All in all, I'm glad I jumped back into volleyball. The games were good and I got to officiate / watch some nice plays. Maybe in time, I will see if I want to make a jump into high school volleyball. Volleyball is a pretty good sport to watch / officiate.
Fast forward to tonight. I've had an up and down summer due to various personal things. I hadn't officiated much basketball over the summer and wasn't sure I wanted to officiate volleyball. Yet, I got some calls to see if I could work some volleyball games as I had missed the first two weeks. After thinking about it, I decided I could work a few games here and there.
I got a chance to work my first games of the season and it was some pretty good games out there. My first game tonight was a 6th grade game. While the teams were not super skilled, they were pretty solid and the game went three sets with the home team winning.
The second and final game was the best of the night. It was an 8th grade game and both teams were bumping, setting and spiking quite a bit. The visiting team took the first set, while the home team took the second set. In the third set, the visiting team took a seemingly commanding 14-5 lead but the home lead stormed back and pulled off a stunning 16-14 victory.
The interesting thing about tonight was I felt comfortable as I had not officiated a volleyball since last year. The 6th grade game was fairly easy to officiate as the pace was slow. But the 8th grade game was tough as there was a lot of net play and balls flying all over the place.
As I mentioned before, volleyball is a nice sport to officiate as it helps my basketball officiating. The reason is that volleyball requires you to hold the whistle until the play completes. There are time in basketball when holding your whistle is beneficial.
All in all, I'm glad I jumped back into volleyball. The games were good and I got to officiate / watch some nice plays. Maybe in time, I will see if I want to make a jump into high school volleyball. Volleyball is a pretty good sport to watch / officiate.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Good Game Management = Good Customer Service
Before I graduated from college, I had worked as a cashier at a nearby McDonald's. Since I graduated from college, I continued to work in capacities involving customer service from technical support (post sales service) to sales engineering (pre-sales service).
As I walked home a couple of Sundays ago from officiating some games, a random thought popped in my head regarding how managing a basketball game was similar to doing customer service. In any customer service situation where a potential or existing customer has an issue, the service representative will do their best to make the customer happy. It usually goes something like: "I'm sorry that "XYZ" has occurred but I will do my best to address the situation". For potential customers, maybe there will be concessions in terms of price to entice them to buy. For existing customers, some form of credit is usually issued.
When it comes to officiating basketball, game management in terms of handling coaches (most of the time) and players (to a lesser extent) is vital. The teams (players/coaches) are our customers. The officials have a responsibility to officiate the game but also to address issues, concerns and complaints as they occur.
Just like customer service representatives, I know that officials generally don't like difficult coaches and players. Alas, like the customer service representatives, we also have a responsibility to do our jobs. Maybe we don't quite have to do our jobs with a "smile" but we still have to do it.
One thing I've learned recently is that even if a coach is irate, they are reasonable if you have an answer to their question. I had two coaches upset a few weeks ago on the same play. It was a 9 AM game so both teams were a little sluggish. The offensive player drove to the hoop. The defender slid her feet but fell down. The offensive player (in my opinion anyway) stumbled as well. On the way down, the offensive player tried to brace herself as she fell so accidentally hit the defensive player as well. However, the offensive player also threw the ball away.
All in all, it was a no call in my opinion. Neither coach was particularly thrilled. The defensive coach was mildly annoyed but his team got the ball so he didn't say much. The offensive coach was not happy but I gave him my explanation. He disagreed but life went on from there.
I guess it's fortunate I have a customer service background. Dealing with irate coaches and players can be a pain but in reality, it's not that bad. I've learned to stay calm, let people vent, address the issue and then move on. You can do the same.
As I walked home a couple of Sundays ago from officiating some games, a random thought popped in my head regarding how managing a basketball game was similar to doing customer service. In any customer service situation where a potential or existing customer has an issue, the service representative will do their best to make the customer happy. It usually goes something like: "I'm sorry that "XYZ" has occurred but I will do my best to address the situation". For potential customers, maybe there will be concessions in terms of price to entice them to buy. For existing customers, some form of credit is usually issued.
When it comes to officiating basketball, game management in terms of handling coaches (most of the time) and players (to a lesser extent) is vital. The teams (players/coaches) are our customers. The officials have a responsibility to officiate the game but also to address issues, concerns and complaints as they occur.
Just like customer service representatives, I know that officials generally don't like difficult coaches and players. Alas, like the customer service representatives, we also have a responsibility to do our jobs. Maybe we don't quite have to do our jobs with a "smile" but we still have to do it.
One thing I've learned recently is that even if a coach is irate, they are reasonable if you have an answer to their question. I had two coaches upset a few weeks ago on the same play. It was a 9 AM game so both teams were a little sluggish. The offensive player drove to the hoop. The defender slid her feet but fell down. The offensive player (in my opinion anyway) stumbled as well. On the way down, the offensive player tried to brace herself as she fell so accidentally hit the defensive player as well. However, the offensive player also threw the ball away.
All in all, it was a no call in my opinion. Neither coach was particularly thrilled. The defensive coach was mildly annoyed but his team got the ball so he didn't say much. The offensive coach was not happy but I gave him my explanation. He disagreed but life went on from there.
I guess it's fortunate I have a customer service background. Dealing with irate coaches and players can be a pain but in reality, it's not that bad. I've learned to stay calm, let people vent, address the issue and then move on. You can do the same.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Basketball Game Scheduled.....Wrestling Match Broke Out.......
I was officiating a 5th Grade girls basketball league championship tonight and it was an entertaining affair that went into overtime with the final score was 21-18.
Alas, that was the end of the good news. The problem was the game was played at a very small venue. The court size itself was not quite high school regulation but for 5th graders, it was fine. The main issue was the lack of spectator seating. The fans for both teams were packed all around the sidelines and endlines for the game. There was hardly room along the sideline for inbounding the ball.
The lack of space ratchets up the tension and intensity for the game. These 5th graders were NOT high level players. Thus, they were probably nervous and it didn't help to have a hundred or so fans cheering every move as the game went on.
The other issue was the poor play of both teams. There were a few decent players on the floor but the passing, rebounding and other basic skills were a little lacking.
I don't blame the players or coaches for this. This particular league relies on volunteers for coaches (usually alumni, parents or other interested parties). Some coaches are good but others are just not that experienced. Also, practice time can be limited so it's tough to develop players skills.
However, one thing I wish coaches would emphasize less is the "grab the ball" mentality. This causes kids from 3rd to 8th grade to try and tie the ball up for "held ball situations". The score was 21-18 and there must have been at least 20 (if not more) "held ball situations" that we had to whistle tonight. I called some quicker than usual because I didn't want the kids to accidentally hurt themselves trying to wrestle the ball away.
All of this being said, I had fun officiating it. These kind of games are easy to work. With some many fans around, I just tune every body out and focus on the players. In fact, sometimes I feel that in the midst of chaos (players all over the floor, parents and coaches screaming), I'm the calmest guy in the building.
Alas, that was the end of the good news. The problem was the game was played at a very small venue. The court size itself was not quite high school regulation but for 5th graders, it was fine. The main issue was the lack of spectator seating. The fans for both teams were packed all around the sidelines and endlines for the game. There was hardly room along the sideline for inbounding the ball.
The lack of space ratchets up the tension and intensity for the game. These 5th graders were NOT high level players. Thus, they were probably nervous and it didn't help to have a hundred or so fans cheering every move as the game went on.
The other issue was the poor play of both teams. There were a few decent players on the floor but the passing, rebounding and other basic skills were a little lacking.
I don't blame the players or coaches for this. This particular league relies on volunteers for coaches (usually alumni, parents or other interested parties). Some coaches are good but others are just not that experienced. Also, practice time can be limited so it's tough to develop players skills.
However, one thing I wish coaches would emphasize less is the "grab the ball" mentality. This causes kids from 3rd to 8th grade to try and tie the ball up for "held ball situations". The score was 21-18 and there must have been at least 20 (if not more) "held ball situations" that we had to whistle tonight. I called some quicker than usual because I didn't want the kids to accidentally hurt themselves trying to wrestle the ball away.
All of this being said, I had fun officiating it. These kind of games are easy to work. With some many fans around, I just tune every body out and focus on the players. In fact, sometimes I feel that in the midst of chaos (players all over the floor, parents and coaches screaming), I'm the calmest guy in the building.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Backboards, Angles and Small Gym Dimensions
Officiated a 7th grade girls basketball tournament today and had an interesting day. The tournament was held at a high school I was familiar with but in the auxiliary gym instead of the main gym. The high school's basketball teams always play in the main gym so I assumed the auxiliary gym was just for practice. However, having been to other schools in the area who also had second gyms, even I was surprised to see the layout of the auxiliary gym.
The court was not quite full sized in terms of length though the width looked to be regulation. There was no room on the sidelines. The coaches, players and scorekeepers were basically right on the sideline. The fans were on the other side of the court and there was a bit of breathing room but not much. On one end of the court, there was a wall on one side of the court literally a couple of inches from the court. On the other side, there were pipes protruding out a few feet from the end line so some pads were put there as protection.
The final surprise was that the gym had FAN SHAPED backboards. I've seen these before and even played on some in pickup ball. However, I am not sure any of these kids had even seen or played on anything less than a glass backboard which most gyms use for games.
Given all of these weird conditions in the gym and plus the first game was at 9 AM, I think the teams came out a little sluggish. Both teams struggled offensively as the rims and backboards were not as soft as the usual ones the kids were used to.
I think even my partner and I came out sluggish as well. The play was sloppy and we tried our best to call stuff but my partner and I were admittedly second guessing ourselves a bit early. The reason was the gym dimensions were throwing off usual officiating angles. The fans and coaches were annoyed but didn't understand that even officials need to adjust to gym conditions as the players do.
Regardless, my partner and I talked a lot during halftime and made our adjustments. It was obvious we weren't going to get our usual angles so we just had to help each other as much as we could. The lead official took the brunt of the responsibility because the trail had trouble following plays due to the confined nature of the court.
From the second half of the 9 AM game and into the rest of the games I worked today, things went fine and there were minimal complaints. All in all, it was a fun day and I have some more fun tomorrow.
The court was not quite full sized in terms of length though the width looked to be regulation. There was no room on the sidelines. The coaches, players and scorekeepers were basically right on the sideline. The fans were on the other side of the court and there was a bit of breathing room but not much. On one end of the court, there was a wall on one side of the court literally a couple of inches from the court. On the other side, there were pipes protruding out a few feet from the end line so some pads were put there as protection.
The final surprise was that the gym had FAN SHAPED backboards. I've seen these before and even played on some in pickup ball. However, I am not sure any of these kids had even seen or played on anything less than a glass backboard which most gyms use for games.
I think even my partner and I came out sluggish as well. The play was sloppy and we tried our best to call stuff but my partner and I were admittedly second guessing ourselves a bit early. The reason was the gym dimensions were throwing off usual officiating angles. The fans and coaches were annoyed but didn't understand that even officials need to adjust to gym conditions as the players do.
Regardless, my partner and I talked a lot during halftime and made our adjustments. It was obvious we weren't going to get our usual angles so we just had to help each other as much as we could. The lead official took the brunt of the responsibility because the trail had trouble following plays due to the confined nature of the court.
From the second half of the 9 AM game and into the rest of the games I worked today, things went fine and there were minimal complaints. All in all, it was a fun day and I have some more fun tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
"And 1!" (aka Where's The Foul Ref?)
Being a basketball official and also continuing to play pickup ball against both older and younger folks gives me an interesting perspective. I notice a major difference between how the younger generation (30 and under) play versus the guys that are more my age. The younger set tends to play more one-on-one and doesn't take open shots. Instead they like to try all sorts of fancy moves. Guys more my age tend to just take open shots and don't dribble as much. Of course, we are all a lot slower and probably shooting is the only thing we do well these days! The younger kids have plenty of energy and quickness and do all these fancy things that older guys can only dream of.
However, one of the things that I do find a little annoying is the tendency to yell "And 1!" after making a play or basket. From the playing perspective, this usually means the offensive player felt he got fouled OR he is trash talking a bit to the defensive player that he can't be stopped without being fouled.
This also occurs quite frequently during games I officiate at all levels. This is usually not trash talking but more of a "Where's The Foul Ref?" comment. I have to say that I just ignore these comments most of the time. I think players may have gotten some contact and may be trying to sell us on calling a foul. If there was significant enough contact where there was no foul called, I am 100% sure I would hear about it more loudly than with just some "And 1!" comment.
Yet, I find it annoying because it shows the level of influence the NBA has on all levels of basketball players. NBA players say the "And 1!" comment quite often and like everything NBA related, it trickles down to the lower levels of basketball.
However, one of the things that I do find a little annoying is the tendency to yell "And 1!" after making a play or basket. From the playing perspective, this usually means the offensive player felt he got fouled OR he is trash talking a bit to the defensive player that he can't be stopped without being fouled.
This also occurs quite frequently during games I officiate at all levels. This is usually not trash talking but more of a "Where's The Foul Ref?" comment. I have to say that I just ignore these comments most of the time. I think players may have gotten some contact and may be trying to sell us on calling a foul. If there was significant enough contact where there was no foul called, I am 100% sure I would hear about it more loudly than with just some "And 1!" comment.
Yet, I find it annoying because it shows the level of influence the NBA has on all levels of basketball players. NBA players say the "And 1!" comment quite often and like everything NBA related, it trickles down to the lower levels of basketball.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Elevating Your Crew Not Just Yourself.........
Since I am unemployed, I have plenty of time on my hands these days. I spent yesterday playing golf with a couple of fellow referees (and another guy). Today, I cleaned up the house a bit and setup a new printer I had gotten to replace an older printer that had stopped working. Afterward, I went out to a local gym and participated in some three person officiating training with my high school officiating group.
There were a lot of mechanical things that were pointed out to me and my other crew members by the observers. That wasn't too surprising. The other two crew members hadn't done too much three person officiating. As for myself, I had gone to camps previously and worked some three person games. However, it had been a long time since I'd been to a camp and actually worked a three person game. I was rusty and all the mechanical things were good points. I also have some video I needed to review as it was observed I was running a little strangely. I can't really comment too much until I review the video but at some point during the night, my left knee starting aching a bit and I may have been compensating. Obviously, observers don't know that and there is no excuses but I'll take a look at the video and see how things went.
The one observation that stood out tonight was that I needed to step up my management of the officiating crew. I've blogged a lot about learning to be a "referee" in the crew and tonight was just another step in the process. I knew I hadn't worked on my three person mechanics in a while so I actually reviewed the NFHS Official's Manual to refresh my memory. Obviously, there is only so much I can stuff into my brain in a short amount of time.
Knowing I would probably be the most experienced guy I out there, I led the pre-game and went over a lot of things. However, it wasn't a matter of me being the "know it all". I asked my partners about what they were familiar with and covered those items first. Then, we all just discussed other things that we had questions about.
Alas, the shortcoming that was pointed out to me was that I needed to "make sure" my partners were doing what we did during the pre-game and take charge more. We did cover things that occurred during the game that I thought needed to be covered. However, there were a few "minor mechanical things" that were missed. The observer's stance was the mechanical things weren't a major deal. The point was more directed at me. I was the most experienced guy out there and I needed to help my crew as much as possible.
Tonight's training pointed out the next steps I need to take. In the past, I tended to defer to those I considered to be veterans. They would point out things I needed to do to improve and lead the way during a game. However, even though I have been officiating for a while, I fall into this trap of not taking charge. It's unusual because I take charge a lot when I PLAY basketball.
All in all, this is something that I have to work on. After all, self improvement is great. But the next step is to make sure your crew does great as well. It was a positive evening and I have some things to think about and work on during a weekend basketball tournament.
There were a lot of mechanical things that were pointed out to me and my other crew members by the observers. That wasn't too surprising. The other two crew members hadn't done too much three person officiating. As for myself, I had gone to camps previously and worked some three person games. However, it had been a long time since I'd been to a camp and actually worked a three person game. I was rusty and all the mechanical things were good points. I also have some video I needed to review as it was observed I was running a little strangely. I can't really comment too much until I review the video but at some point during the night, my left knee starting aching a bit and I may have been compensating. Obviously, observers don't know that and there is no excuses but I'll take a look at the video and see how things went.
The one observation that stood out tonight was that I needed to step up my management of the officiating crew. I've blogged a lot about learning to be a "referee" in the crew and tonight was just another step in the process. I knew I hadn't worked on my three person mechanics in a while so I actually reviewed the NFHS Official's Manual to refresh my memory. Obviously, there is only so much I can stuff into my brain in a short amount of time.
Knowing I would probably be the most experienced guy I out there, I led the pre-game and went over a lot of things. However, it wasn't a matter of me being the "know it all". I asked my partners about what they were familiar with and covered those items first. Then, we all just discussed other things that we had questions about.
Alas, the shortcoming that was pointed out to me was that I needed to "make sure" my partners were doing what we did during the pre-game and take charge more. We did cover things that occurred during the game that I thought needed to be covered. However, there were a few "minor mechanical things" that were missed. The observer's stance was the mechanical things weren't a major deal. The point was more directed at me. I was the most experienced guy out there and I needed to help my crew as much as possible.
Tonight's training pointed out the next steps I need to take. In the past, I tended to defer to those I considered to be veterans. They would point out things I needed to do to improve and lead the way during a game. However, even though I have been officiating for a while, I fall into this trap of not taking charge. It's unusual because I take charge a lot when I PLAY basketball.
All in all, this is something that I have to work on. After all, self improvement is great. But the next step is to make sure your crew does great as well. It was a positive evening and I have some things to think about and work on during a weekend basketball tournament.
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