Forgetting all the rules and mechanics of basketball officiating, there are usually two truisms that found to be true when officiating.
ONE - Never take a game for granted. No matter how team's records are or if they don't look too good during warmup, you always need to be prepared to work the game.
TWO - If you are working a set of games (usually youth or adult leagues), the LAST game is usually the hardest or most difficult to work.
I found both of these to be true tonight in working some youth games. I had a set of three games to work (6th grade, 4th grade and 3rd grade - all girls). It was a bit unusual to have a 3rd grade game to be the last one in my set but that was how it was on the schedule. Since the 6th grade game needed a partner, I had a partner to work both the 6th grade and 4th grade games with me. However, I was to work the 3rd grade solo.
The 6th grade / 4th grade games were mellow and uneventful. My partner was someone I hadn't worked with before but I knew him from seeing him around. We were just spending time talking about officiating and other things.
As the 4th grade ended, I noticed there was pretty large uptick in fans filing in for the 3rd grade game. In one sense, it was unusual but on the other hand, 3rd graders usually get more fans than the older kids. I didn't think much about it though.
As it turned out, the 3rd grade was the best game of the night. On one hand, it was fun to work. On the other hand, it was a bit of surprise to me to see the competitiveness. Right off the bat, I called 3 or 4 fouls on both teams as the kids came out hard.
The game was intense and I had to work hard (especially solo) to cover everything. Some parents were a bit idiotic as usual and the gym director had to calm them down a bit over some situations.
The final score was 20-18 and I exited the gym as soon as the game ended. While I didn't necessarily take the 3rd grade game for granted, I definitely didn't think it would be played at a high level. Fortunately, I was able to get my intensity level up and focus and get past the game relatively well (though parent may disagree). It was a good reminder that any game can be competitive and you have to be ready.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Encouraging Players As An Official
I've officiated sports for nearly 20 years. As I have piled on the years, I noticed that I run into a ton of former youth and/or high school players who recognize me. Not only do they recognize me, they remember parts of games where I officiated and something happened. It's actually a good feeling when people remember you as an official.
I mention this because a couple of years ago, I ran into a current high school basketball player who recognized me from her youth days. I was officiating some of her club team basketball games and so she said hi. Turns out she was playing varsity for her high school as well. As I worked a few JV games at her high school the past two seasons, we would always say hi.
As I had not officiated high school this season, I had not run into her at all. However, I decided to stop by her team's state playoff game tonight. It was an opportunity to watch a good game and say hi to the the young lady. Her team ended up winning and will have a long commute to their semi-final game.
Unfortunately, the young lady did not play in the game. However, we did chat after the game a bit. When I asker her how her season had been going, she expressed disappointment that she hasn't played much this season after starting last season. While I never played high school basketball myself, I encouraged her to stay positive and enjoy the experience. After all, playing for your school only comes once a lifetime.
Though the young lady only knows me as an official, she probably didn't realize I was also a coach for a long time. It was great that she was willing to share her feelings about her season and I was thankful for an opportunity to give her some positive encouragement. It's not part of my regular job description as an official but just like I encourage friends when they are down (and vice versa), I just did what I thought was needed.
I mention this because a couple of years ago, I ran into a current high school basketball player who recognized me from her youth days. I was officiating some of her club team basketball games and so she said hi. Turns out she was playing varsity for her high school as well. As I worked a few JV games at her high school the past two seasons, we would always say hi.
As I had not officiated high school this season, I had not run into her at all. However, I decided to stop by her team's state playoff game tonight. It was an opportunity to watch a good game and say hi to the the young lady. Her team ended up winning and will have a long commute to their semi-final game.
Unfortunately, the young lady did not play in the game. However, we did chat after the game a bit. When I asker her how her season had been going, she expressed disappointment that she hasn't played much this season after starting last season. While I never played high school basketball myself, I encouraged her to stay positive and enjoy the experience. After all, playing for your school only comes once a lifetime.
Though the young lady only knows me as an official, she probably didn't realize I was also a coach for a long time. It was great that she was willing to share her feelings about her season and I was thankful for an opportunity to give her some positive encouragement. It's not part of my regular job description as an official but just like I encourage friends when they are down (and vice versa), I just did what I thought was needed.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
To officiate, one must LOVE to officiate
I started officiating youth basketball almost 20 years ago (1993). In 2002, I branched out to officiate high school and adult basketball. In 2009, I jumped into officiating youth volleyball.
When I started officiating, it was more of a side job than anything else. I was in college and getting paid to do officiate was cool. However, as the years went on, I stayed with officiating even as I migrated from a college student to a full-time worker. While the money was nice, I realized I just like being out on the court.
However, it was the lack of passion that caused me to take a leave of absence from officiating high school basketball this year. There were a few different things going on and officiating was just not on the list of my priorities. Though it wasn't planned, I ended up not officiating youth basketball for a while though I decided to get back into things the past couple of months.
The ultimate lesson is that officiating basketball at any level requires some love, passion and dedication. You might be able to get away with officiating for money or other reasons for a short time. But dealing with coaches, parents and players is a challenge and ultimately there comes a point where you have to decide if it's worth your time to officiate just for money (or other reason) other than the fact that you enjoy it.
When I started officiating, it was more of a side job than anything else. I was in college and getting paid to do officiate was cool. However, as the years went on, I stayed with officiating even as I migrated from a college student to a full-time worker. While the money was nice, I realized I just like being out on the court.
However, it was the lack of passion that caused me to take a leave of absence from officiating high school basketball this year. There were a few different things going on and officiating was just not on the list of my priorities. Though it wasn't planned, I ended up not officiating youth basketball for a while though I decided to get back into things the past couple of months.
The ultimate lesson is that officiating basketball at any level requires some love, passion and dedication. You might be able to get away with officiating for money or other reasons for a short time. But dealing with coaches, parents and players is a challenge and ultimately there comes a point where you have to decide if it's worth your time to officiate just for money (or other reason) other than the fact that you enjoy it.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Back in the Breach again / Why some parents should stick to just being spectators
In October, I decided to take a leave of absence from officiating high school basketball and other leagues there were assigned by my high school association. It was a good choice as I got time to do some things myself and try a few other things along the way. However, I had intended to keep officiating youth basketball a little bit. However, due to various things, I ended up officiating any basketball until about 3 weeks ago. I ended up with a 4 to 5 month break.
The break was good for me and I feel I am quite sharp as I work my youth games. The confidence is there and my demeanor / attitude is very much business like. I don't take a lot of stuff from coaches or players and have issued a technical every week that I have been back.
Speaking of technicals, I had to issue a technical to a player (slamming the ball on the ground after a fould was called on him) and a double technical / ejection to the player's coach (let's call them the Blue team). Thanks to all of this, the Blue team ended up losing the game.
Some time in the 3rd quarter, I had called a foul on a Blue player. The Blue player proceeded to slam the basketball on the floor. I issued the technical foul and those two fouls were the Blue player's 3rd and 4th personal fouls. The Blue coach was disagreeable to the technical saying I should have given the player a warning since his team only had 5 players. I told him a warning was only courtesy and not necessary.
The game went on and like any other game between two equal teams, neither could pull away. Both teams exchanged baskets into the 4th quarter. The Blue team looked to have control but White tied the game at 18-18 with about 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The Blue team had a final chance. The kid I had given the technical earlier tried to drive and elbowed the defensive player out of the way. That was an easy player control foul call for me to make. The White team called timeout to setup a final play with about 18 seconds left.
The Blue team coach was not happy and probably stared me down the entire timeout. To be honest, I didn't care and did not pay attention to him at all throughout the timeout. It was business as usual for me.
As the White team proceeded to get on the court, the Blue team coach refused to put his team on the floor. I asked him several times but he refused saying I owed him 30 seconds (it's 20 seconds now coach....hahaha) as his player fouled out. I told him the delay didn't apply as he had no subs.
The Blue coach finally put his team on the floor. As I prepared to get the game going again, I sensed the Blue team coach would have more to say so I decided to hold the ball and wait for him. As I expected, the coach became unhinged.
He yelled at me that this was the first the whole season he had seen a player control foul. He didn't believe I would call it on the kid with 4 fouls. I gave him the first technical and warned him that I didn't need to hear anymore. He continued on and I handed out the second technical and ejected him. The game should have been over as the league has a three technical foul rule but I forgot about the initial technical to the player.
In any case, a couple of the Blue team parents took over coaching duties. Given the tense situation, I warned them that any further misconduct would result in a forfeit. They weren't really in the mood to listen and were pretty rude. I understand their attitude and wanting to defend their team and coach but in this case, they were completely wrong.
Regardless, the White team made one free throw and they won the game 19-18. One of the parents who took over as coach made a snipe remark as he left. I just ignored them as my partner and I took refuge away from the court.
This coach and parents were about the worst I have seen in recent years. I submitted a report to our league and there will probably be some action taken. Parents and coaches are sometime so focused on their own team that they don't realize how their actions go. These same people also don't know that I'm a veteran official and been around longer that they realize. I also know their athletic director as well.
These folks really should just stick to being spectators. That will make things a lot more peaceful.
The break was good for me and I feel I am quite sharp as I work my youth games. The confidence is there and my demeanor / attitude is very much business like. I don't take a lot of stuff from coaches or players and have issued a technical every week that I have been back.
Speaking of technicals, I had to issue a technical to a player (slamming the ball on the ground after a fould was called on him) and a double technical / ejection to the player's coach (let's call them the Blue team). Thanks to all of this, the Blue team ended up losing the game.
Some time in the 3rd quarter, I had called a foul on a Blue player. The Blue player proceeded to slam the basketball on the floor. I issued the technical foul and those two fouls were the Blue player's 3rd and 4th personal fouls. The Blue coach was disagreeable to the technical saying I should have given the player a warning since his team only had 5 players. I told him a warning was only courtesy and not necessary.
The game went on and like any other game between two equal teams, neither could pull away. Both teams exchanged baskets into the 4th quarter. The Blue team looked to have control but White tied the game at 18-18 with about 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The Blue team had a final chance. The kid I had given the technical earlier tried to drive and elbowed the defensive player out of the way. That was an easy player control foul call for me to make. The White team called timeout to setup a final play with about 18 seconds left.
The Blue team coach was not happy and probably stared me down the entire timeout. To be honest, I didn't care and did not pay attention to him at all throughout the timeout. It was business as usual for me.
As the White team proceeded to get on the court, the Blue team coach refused to put his team on the floor. I asked him several times but he refused saying I owed him 30 seconds (it's 20 seconds now coach....hahaha) as his player fouled out. I told him the delay didn't apply as he had no subs.
The Blue coach finally put his team on the floor. As I prepared to get the game going again, I sensed the Blue team coach would have more to say so I decided to hold the ball and wait for him. As I expected, the coach became unhinged.
He yelled at me that this was the first the whole season he had seen a player control foul. He didn't believe I would call it on the kid with 4 fouls. I gave him the first technical and warned him that I didn't need to hear anymore. He continued on and I handed out the second technical and ejected him. The game should have been over as the league has a three technical foul rule but I forgot about the initial technical to the player.
In any case, a couple of the Blue team parents took over coaching duties. Given the tense situation, I warned them that any further misconduct would result in a forfeit. They weren't really in the mood to listen and were pretty rude. I understand their attitude and wanting to defend their team and coach but in this case, they were completely wrong.
Regardless, the White team made one free throw and they won the game 19-18. One of the parents who took over as coach made a snipe remark as he left. I just ignored them as my partner and I took refuge away from the court.
This coach and parents were about the worst I have seen in recent years. I submitted a report to our league and there will probably be some action taken. Parents and coaches are sometime so focused on their own team that they don't realize how their actions go. These same people also don't know that I'm a veteran official and been around longer that they realize. I also know their athletic director as well.
These folks really should just stick to being spectators. That will make things a lot more peaceful.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Taking Time for Yourself
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.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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.
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