Pet peeves: Keep them in the game

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Originally Posted by UNIgiantslayers

Worked a single varsity jamboree game tonight. I've never worked with our R but during his pregame, he talked about how if a player gets 4th foul, we need to work to keep them in the game. This is one of my biggest pet peeves-- I HATE it. I just can't get behind the idea that it's my job to bend the rules for the players so that they can stay in the game. In my mind, the player and coach can see how we call it and should adjust. Which side of this do you fall on?

I can do you one better. It is 1994 and I am officiating a loser's bracket game in the AAU Girls' 18U Nationals. A team from Nebraska was playing a team from a state I do not remember. The center from the Nebraska picked up her third foul by the middle of the first half and did not play the rest of the half. For those who have never officiated one of these AAU shindigs, there are at least two or three coaches from well over 200 college from across the country scouting players (and this goes for all age groups all the way down to the 10U age group).

My partner and I are walking off the court to the dressing room at half time when two coaches from a school in the Big-12 (who shall remain nameless) came up to us and asked us to goes easy on the center of the Nebraska team and let her play because they were scouting her and wanted to see her play more, .

MTD, Sr.