[rvoss]

Dear Chuck,
Many people have heard similar horror stories about living in Japan, but my experience of almost 20 years is far from what you describe. Japanese coaches and officials are extremely dedicated to and love the sport. They treat anyone who loves the sport equally. In fact, I have probably been treated especially well because of being American. My colleagues value my imput regarding American basketball as well as offering a different point of view. Although I started officiating rather late, I have been given the opportunity to officiate in the national highschool championships coming up this summer and have been approached about refereeing at the semi-pro level, where many foreign players belong to company teams. The hope is that I can serve to improve communication both ways between foreign players, coaches and their Japanese counterparts, as well as Japanese referees. This discussion board is extremely valuable in providing me with the current information that I need to serve as the bridge.