Officiating in the ABA, update

[ilyazhito]

There was a thread back in 2010 about officiating in the ABA, and the biggest complaint about the ABA was the inconsistent pay (officials had to ensure that they were paid before starting their games). The league was also called "glorified rec ball", which I would say is accurate from watching video footage of more recent (2017-18) ABA games.

The user tref also said back in 2010 that the ABA was being cleaned up. Has that been the case? There was a combine for officials in San Diego in 2011, but does the league still recruit officials this way? I would be surprised that one of the cons of the ABA is an uneven quality of officials, if officials were hired from a combine, and presumably evaluated for competence before being hired, but maybe the combines no longer take place.

Do any of you know Tom Chichester, the ABA Vice President and Director of League Officials? Does he have a good track record and reputation as an official and/or assigner? I'd like to know, because it could make the difference between eventually working in the ABA as an interesting and somewhat lucrative side gig, and forswearing any type of non-organized (scholastic, collegiate, affiliated professional (NBA/WNBA/G-League)) basketball.

[Raymond]

I have a couple of friends with whom I used to play pickup ball on a regular basis who played in the ABA. So that should tell you the level of competition.

I also know of one official who worked ABA games. He was a barely competent JV official, and I am not exaggerating.

Now, let's talk about the combine. Do you think you could afford to travel all the way to San Diego (airline tix, rental car, hotel, dining out), especially for a league that probably pays somewhere between $75-$125/game? I know I can't and I live fairly comfortably.

Do you know any reputable and/or accomplished officials who work in the ABA? If not, that should tell you something.

[JRutledge]

I will say that I have met Tom a rather long time ago. The officials that work the ABA at this time are often not officials I would consider to be top-flight or D1 caliber officials. The ABA was sold early on as a viable alternative to the CBA but is nothing like that now for an official's standpoint. Usually, officials have used this to get themselves into a higher league, but often has no direct pipeline to those levels in any way. But hey, if you do not believe me or others, try it yourself.

Peace

[IncorrectCall]

I'd echo what others have said. The officials that I have seen working ABA games - I would not feel comfortable working a Division I game with. Nor DII, DIII, and barely JuCo, to be honest.

[ilyazhito]

Alas, I thought the ABA would have changed for the better since it last appeared in the forum in 2010. That makes my non-scholastic options for working 3-man mechanics even more limited (pro-am leagues and unpaid assignments in men's leagues). I believe that any AAU officials would be the same quality as the ABA officials, if not worse, even if I was able to persuade the local AAU assigners in the DC area to only use me for 14U games and higher in 3-person crews.

If pro-am in the DC area has good reliable officials, I would enquire into working that, just to get consistent 3-person experience.

I seem to be in a catch-22 in that I need to be more comfortable with 3-person mechanics to work varsity and eventually small college games, but there are very few reliable options to work 3-person outside of varsity games. I'll ask around about pro-am, charter school varsity, and lower-tier private school varsity ball, because if I can get some of those games, it might give me the experience needed to ease my jump to higher-tier varsity and/or college ball.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by ilyazhito

... it might give me the experience ...

Nothing, absolutely nothing beats experience. Yes, one has to know the rules and the proper mechanics, and figure out the local politics of getting assignments, but the best way to improve is to work games, and work more games, never mind the level.

I can't offer advice on how to get three person games, Connecticut is basically a two person state, but back when I was starting out, almost forty years ago, I worked as many games as I could get, partly for the money (I had three college bound kids, and a low paying (at the time) teaching job), but also for the experience. Nothing beats making lots of calls (right and wrong), dealing with different types of coaches, working with both good and bad partners, observing better officials work higher level games, and seeking advice from such officials.

I worked games on several different levels: public middle school, Catholic middle school, high school freshman, high school junior varsity, travel games, middle school recreation, high school recreation, mens recreation, church leagues, Jewish leagues, AAU, summer leagues. If there was a game somewhere, and if I was asked, I worked it.

I even kept working these games after I started getting high school varsity assignments, and after public school teachers in Connecticut got better pay. Why? To see more plays, to call more plays, and to work with, and observe, different officials that I could learn from.

Eventually I started giving up most of these games, only giving up Catholic middle school assignments a few years ago when I started having ankle and knee problems. The past few years I've only worked high school varsity games, but may move down a level for some of my games during the upcoming season to unofficially mentor young officials in mid and late afternoon (I'm retiring from my day job as a chemist in seven weeks) middle school, and freshman games.

How does one improve? Work games. Work games. Work games. On any level as long as there's a basketball and some baskets. Three person. Two person. Even one person. Just work.

Yes, keep your head in the rulebook, and in the mechanics manual. Keep going to camps and clinics. But be sure to keep working, and then work some more.

The absent-minded maestro was racing up New York’s Seventh Avenue to a rehearsal, when a stranger stopped him. “Pardon me,” he said, “can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?” “Yes,” answered the maestro breathlessly. “Practice! Practice! Practice!”

[Rich1]

Originally Posted by ilyazhito

there are very few reliable options to work 3-person outside of varsity games

For all you new people out ther -- there are always options for working on 3-man mechanics. Most weekends in your area there is a youth league / travel ball / AAU type tournament or set of games that use 2-man crews. Make some connections with experienced refs and volunteer to work 3-man with them. They will get the benefit of having a 3rd partner and you get the double benefit of getting to practice and getting suggestions for improvement. Its a lot easier to focus on learning the mechanics in a slow 5th grade girls game on the weekend than it is in a highly competitive varsity game on Friday night.