Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob1968
Very often, the lower levels of play are more strenuous, physically, because of the lack of structure, lack of organized play-running offenses, and poorer spacing of players on the court. Many of the younger - sub-varsity - games are played by participants who are trying to impress someone with their abilities, and so they run more.
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This is a great point. One of my varsity partners and I were discussing this last year and we both felt that it was much, much easier to officiate a three man varsity boys game than a two man soph boys game, particularly in the big school conferences. The play is more ragged, up and down, and unpredictable. We have to call a lot more fouls as well, and in general it is more of a challenge to our officiating skills both physically and mentally. You really don't have to be in great physical condition to officiate a three man varsity game; you can go very long periods of time without ever having to actually run. That's not the case in a two man game, particularly at the high school level.
I don't think physical testing is a bad idea necessarily; I've seen guys working varsity games in all the sports who literally cannot run anymore and really need to hang it up. But relegating the guys who don't measure up to the games that actually require more physical exertion seems like a poor solution to me. You also can't just drop those guys because lets face it, someone has to fill the games and you can't fill all of them with guys who look and move like Kobe Bryant.