Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Feeling Good!

This might sound like a repeat of my last post but it isn't.  Last week, I was asked to fill in for a frosh-soph boys basketball game.  Because of some personal things, I hadn't work much in the past few months.  But since the game fit my schedule relatively well, I took the game.

I was working with a relatively new partner too but we hit it off.  I told him that our goal was just to have fun on the court and we did just that.  The home team took an early lead but stumbled in the second half.  The visiting team hit a three point buzzer beater to tie the game and send it to overtime.  The visiting team ended up winning 44-42.

I was surprised that I was relatively sharp on the court.  I was a little out of shape but the tempo of the game wasn't so great that I couldn't keep up.  Nothing major happened that was worth discussing.  My partner and I were on the same page and worked well together.

I will say that I discussed the situation where the home team might foul the visiting team before they shot the game tying three pointer.  I told my partner that if a foul was coming, he'd better get it fast before the shooter got into the act.  Alas, the home team didn't foul and they had a chance to.

All in all, I'm not going to work too many games this year in high school but at least I had a fun one!

Monday, December 2, 2013

Getting Back Into The Saddle (at least for a day........)

Due to various personal things, I had not planned to officiate any high school basketball games this year.   However, I was pressed into officiating a game this past Saturday.  I had missed a mandatory meeting with my officials group back in October.  I had a choice of paying the $25 fine OR working a scrimmage for free to pay off the fine.

Despite it was a holiday weekend, I chose to work off the fine.  I took an 8:30 AM freshman scrimmage.  The timing was tough but it actually went ok.  I got to work early and leave early so I get back to doing the stuff I needed to take care of.

I could write a lot of things, but Saturday was probably one of the most interesting in a while.  I had not BEEN on a basketball court in several months.  Due to a hand injury, I had not played any basketball nor officiated any basketball as well.  I figured I was a bit out of shape but I was able to get up and down reasonably well.

I was surprised my judgement was fairly sharp.  Yes, it was a bunch of freshman and not varsity level guys but I felt good on the court.

Lastly, even though I don't plan to be working much this year, I did have fun on the court.  I realize that I do enjoy my time on the court.  I may not be officiating much high school but will remain involved through youth and other tournaments if time permits.  Sacrificing high school basketball was a personal choice.