I too am on the Board of our local rec league, and have been for 12 years. My son started officiating with me when he was in 7th grade (he is now a sophomore in college). We had a lot of father/son duos and a few father/daughter and mother/daughter ones, too. However, we never had a mother/son combo. I don't know why.
The experience my son gained by officiating at a relatively early age was invaluable to him. In fact, a few years ago, he was profiled by Sports Illustrated for Kids Magazine as the outstanding teenage sports official in the nation. He also has done baseball all those years. BTW - he also played high school basketball.
I would encourage all of you out there who have kids of middle school and/or high school age to get them involved in officiating. It builds self confidence for young people and also prepares them to get yelled at by persons in authority, like in the real world.
