[mick]

Originally posted by just another ref
Recently at the end of our youth league during the awards ceremony I had one of those experiences that was good enough to erase a lot of the bad. I was sitting in front of the scorers table, while the trophies were being handed out on the endline at the far end of the gym. When the
11-12 girls champions were announced the first player in line stopped in front of me with her hand out. I thought for a second that she thought I had her trophy, but I quickly realized the truth. They were all lined up to give me a high five. Their coach, one of the really good guys and a good friend of mine, told me that this was their idea, not his. (but he did approve) This answers the question for me: "Why do we take all this junk?" As long as I am able and get this kind of response from the majority of the kids, I'll be there.

A few years ago I worked a Little League Softball State championship, and the Runners-up lined up to give me a hug.