[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by SMEngmann

You should know as an official that you will likely never get the top refs for a 5th grade CYO final. It's just not gonna happen, at that level you get "warm body" caliber. That's not to say that there aren't many very professional referees who do a great job at that level, but considering your implied experience during the season that you shouldn't expect to have two of them. As a coach (I coach HS baseball), I am appalled by your strategic machinations during this game. Not to be a preacher, but 5th grade basketball is about player development first, and regardless of how the game is being called, teaching players to foul other players intentionally has no place in the game of basketball. What kind of message does it send to your kids who experience a positive result from intentionally fouling and getting away with it from inept refs? Teach the kids the game the right way and teach discipline, don't teach them its OK to intentionally violate the rules. Don't condition them to respond to a missed call by retaliating against opponents. This is 5th grade basketball and the lack of integrity in coaching players to intentionally foul and then bragging about it as being your brilliant strategy while ripping the referees on a message board is incredible and shows a huge lack of respect for the game of basketball. Congratulations on that win coach, it was all you, go out and enjoy.

Very well said. I concur completely. Players at that age deserve better than what they got.