[theboys]

For what its worth (one cent maybe), here's a howler monkey's perspective. In addition to those things quoted by Chuck:

1. Ignore fans completely, unless they become abusive. In a small setting ask the coach or an administrator to address the fan. If that doesn't work, kick 'em out. Nothing much worse than a ref who gets in a yelling match with a fan.

2. Ignore coaches unless their whining becomes excessive. If you feel comfortable doing so, use wit to defuse situations. I wish I had more referees like the people who post here...I think. If a coach whines a lot tell him/her to have a seat. I find I grow a lot quieter when I'm sitting on my brain.

3. Don't take any crap from players.

4. After the game, get off the court asap, even if you have another game on the same court in a few minutes. I watched a hotly contested game where one ref left the floor, and the second chose to sit down at the scorer's table. The ref who remained got into a loud shouting match with a parent. Not pretty.