[bainsey]

Last week, I got a text that travel league was looking for officials for some 7/8 games, held yesterday. My season finished a few weeks ago, and I had an itch, so I scratched and took three afternoon games. The pay wasn't that good ($25/game), but it was enough to warrant getting on the court and putting the funds toward my upcoming dues.

Game admin couldn't be better, coaches were quiet, kids were dropping one- liners ("I'm getting too old for this"), and even slapping hands with the opposing free-throw shooter. (That's a first. Pretty cool.)

The thing I overlooked when I scratched is I would be the only official on our board. The rest were some-timers and exclusively middle school guys. My partner was okay (said he left the board years ago, for work reasons), but did some annoying things, like overruled one of my OOB calls, and ruled a shooting foul on a clear block, with incidental contact afterward. (I was the L; he was on the division line.) Such things could warrant a low rating from our board.

I'm far from stellar, but I used to think I should take just about anything to improve. Now, I'm starting to think I should only work with people I know, or are on the board (who typically give a damn). Am I wasting my time with taking these games, or am I getting too choosy?