[David M]

Originally posted by BlitzkriegBob
Okay, I hope I don't get lumped in with other parents complaining about the officials that do their kid's kindergarten games. I officiate volleyball and softball but when it comes to basketball I'm glad that I'm just sitting in the stands watching my daughter play. There was an incident last night that really bothered me enough to the point of actually posting what I've been thinking since last year's season. My daughter is playing 8th grade "A" team, and near the end of the game (other team winning by about 15 points), a girl from our team doesn't like the legal screen that is being set as she's trying to guard the other team's 1. She fights her way through the screen, but after getting around it, she slugs the screen setter in the back! This was the 4 or 5 on the other team and much bigger than our 1, but it happened in clear view of the official, who looked like he at least thought about whacking her. I'm disappointed that he didn't. I had already commented to my wife that I thought the officials were the best we'd seen this season (of course she knows I've created a black hole around us in the stands because I'm always defending the refs to the other parents).

The lack of a call was just the straw that broke the camel's back. I'm always trying to instill good sportsmanship in all our kids. I get discouraged when I see my daughter shoving a girl in the back to prevent a layup without even making an effort to play the ball. I preach to her that I think that's wrong, but when her coach is smiling after she sends a girl sprawling I know that I'm just creating a dilemma for her...please dad or please the coach? The coaches we have in our school system seem to think that in order to have the girls play aggressively, they need to rack up fouls. My daughter, who's a 4, had just three fouls last night, which is a low for her this year. The coaches tell her she should have three in the first half or else that means she's not playing hard. Me...I'd rather see her move her feet to establish position and see her QUIT REACHING. By the same token, it's hard for me to watch her doing a beautiful job of blocking out (finally), only to see her reward be a two hand shove in the back that sends her flying to the floor that goes uncalled. It's also hard to see her after every game bruised up and scratched up from the rough play on the inside.

Is this typical of what you see? Will this only get worse in high school? I was away from the game of basketball for many years, coaching baseball before getting into officiating. I played basketball when I was in high school, but are my memories of playing defense with your feet, having respect for your opponents, and good sportsmanship just selective? Okay, enough already. I guess I need to quit stressing about it and just keep letting her have fun. Thanks for letting me get this off my chest though.

This sounds like it should be on the Football Board.