Women Refs in the NBA

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Kansas Ref

I guess the best/most efficient route to becoming an NBA ref is to just "decide and commit" early in your reffing career and bypass multiple years of high-school and college reffing. Their process is so standardized that it can be done by joining up with G league and slogging through their clinics and games, instead of doing HS and or NCAA reffing as apparently those are not "stepping stones" towards an NBA reffing job?

I'm not sure, but I believe that we have a Forum member whose two children did pretty much what Kansas Ref described, going professional (G League, WNBA) at a very young age.

[JRutledge]

For the record, it has been some years that it was required you officiate a lot of anything else but in their system. The NBA is not looking for experienced high school officials to work games and then they hire you through their system. They feel they can train you in the ways of their system and if you have the talent you will advance. It has been that way for some time now. It is becoming more and more like that at the college level as well. Some guys are getting to D1 with less than 5 years under their belt and one of the reasons is they will acclimate you to the system or ways of doing things and put you in situations to succeed.

Also, it is not like high school basketball is helping foster higher-level officials either. Some of the best officials I know are younger and they cannot even sniff varsity or tournaments because they are not around for a decade or more. Why would I work a game for $65 when I can get games for $185 to $200 for some small college basketball games?

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Why would I work a game for $65 when I can get games for $185 to $200 for some small college basketball games?

Back thirty-five years ago, I had some colleagues who worked both high school and college who tried to recruit me into their world of DII or DIII basketball. For many reasons I decided not to go that route, mainly due to travel.

It may be different today, but those Connecticut guys who worked small college games back then were assigned all over the Northeast, from Maine to Eastern Pennsylvania.

I couldn't imagine me traveling such distances in Northeast winter weather.

I had family with three kids, and a day job as a middle school teacher and coach, so I decided to stay here in my little corner of Connecticut (longest one way drive is fifty minutes, average one way drive time is about twenty minutes) working little high school games.

I never looked back.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Back thirty-five years ago, I had some colleagues who worked both high school and college who tried to recruit me into their world of DII or DIII basketball. For many reasons I decided not to go that route, mainly due to travel.

It may be different today, but those Connecticut guys who worked small college games back then were assigned all over the Northeast, from Maine to Eastern Pennsylvania.

I couldn't imagine me traveling such distances in Northeast winter weather.

I had family with three kids, and a day job as a middle school teacher and coach, so I decided to stay here in my little corner of Connecticut (longest one way drive is fifty minutes, average one way drive time is about twenty minutes) working little high school games.

I never looked back.

I rather spend one night driving a couple hours for $190 then spending three nights driving 30 to 45 minutes for $65 a pop. A night working high school ball, no matter how close to home, is still a night away from loved ones.

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[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Raymond

I rather spend one night driving a couple hours for $190 then spending three nights driving 30 to 45 minutes for $65 a pop. A night working high school ball, no matter how close to home, is still a night away from loved ones.

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Exactly. Justifies staying away from home. And some of those games are much more than $200 as well.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

And when you are in your 20s with not the same family dynamic in your life, those checks matter.

Those checks also matter when one has a family. A know a lot of guys that use their basketball fees for golf, poker nights, fishing/hunting vacations, sports season/regular tickets, or casinos. One colleague has a separate bank account just for his basketball money, it's his money, not his family's money.

While I had many reasons to officiate, for the first thirty years (teachers were not always appropriately well paid in Connecticut) one main reason was to support my family, especially the kid's college fund. It was just about the only reason I worked recreation/travel basketball for all those many years.

Originally Posted by Raymond

A night working high school ball, no matter how close to home, is still a night away from loved ones.

You're correct. I missed reading my three kids bedtime stories, and left the busy and hectic bath/bed routine solely to my wife four, or five, weeknights a week from early December through early March for my kid's entire childhood.

But it was actually the Saturdays and Sundays that kept me away from small college basketball. I couldn't imagine spending an entire weekend day away from the family, and missing my kids participate in basketball, gymnastics, indoor track, drama, or dance, especially after being away most weeknights.

[Altor]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

One colleague has a separate bank account just for his basketball money, it's his money, not his family's money.

Wow. I save my officiating money in a separate bank account (makes it easier for bookkeeping). But then the vast majority of it gets spent on our family vacation. I justify the nights away from my family by taking them on a trip for a week every summer.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Altor

Wow. I save my officiating money in a separate bank account (makes it easier for bookkeeping). But then the vast majority of it gets spent on our family vacation. I justify the nights away from my family by taking them on a trip for a week every summer.

When I first started officiating my High School association only paid us at the end of the season. So every March I would take that money and first pay off all my credit cards.

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[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Those checks also matter when one has a family. A know a lot of guys that use their basketball fees for golf, poker nights, fishing/hunting vacations, sports season/regular tickets, or casinos. One colleague has a separate bank account just for his basketball money, it's his money, not his family's money.

But it was actually the Saturdays and Sundays that kept me away from small college basketball. I couldn't imagine spending an entire weekend day away from the family, and missing my kids participate in basketball, gymnastics, indoor track, drama, or dance, especially after being away most weeknights.

Again at the end of the day, it is personal what you do or what you enjoy. You can do whatever you wish with your time. My point again is if I am going to be away for the same amount of time, I would rather make a much bigger check. Even in a D2 league I work those checks are like 5 times more per game. They were much needed this past season when the COVID situation changed the entire season and I got to work doubleheaders in one league and was gone on a Friday-Saturday. My wife loved those checks.

Also, only Saturdays are really common for college games and those games are much earlier than high school games might typically play. So I will be home in the early evening as opposed to later in the evening on a Saturday. Either way, my family can come with me too, which they have on several occasions. My wife does not mind or make a big deal out of it. Then again I am not working 6 and 7 nights a week like many of my counterparts who seem to never stay home working every level imaginable. That is not me at all. I only work Boys varsity basketball and Men's college. Four nights a week is not unusual and the other days I am home. My wife realized a long time ago that I have a passion for this and feels it is good for my overall mental health to officiate. So I am not fighting these battles at home for what I do in officiating. A good part of the spring and the summer is for them. And even if I officiated then, it gives us some money for other things. It is a win-win.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

.. Saturday. Either way, my family can come with me too, which they have on several occasions.

Back before we had kids, unlike many of my colleagues who hated Saturday night high school games, I liked them, and actually let my assigner know that I liked them. My wife would come with me to the games, and we would go out to dinner afterward, enjoying out of town restaurants that we would normally not go to.

Originally Posted by JRutledge

... what you enjoy.

Since my kids graduated from college, with my mortgage, and car, paid off, I no longer officiate for the money. I wouldn't do it for free (because of travel, rush hour traffic, meetings, politics, uniforms, equipment, fees, dues, etc.), but I do it because I have passion for basketball officiating.

With chronic orthopedic problems, I have limited myself to middle school games over the last three seasons, and to prepare for a certain more painful future, I've taken a very active role on my local board's mechanics training committee.

I can see paying annual board dues well into the future, even if my only job is to sell raffle tickets before board meetings, and attending the annual banquet, catching up and shooting the breeze with my colleagues, and yanking their chains (my local colleagues have a reputation as being expert ball busters, if somebody doesn't say something bad about you, they don't like you). I'll stop paying my annual board dues when they pry my raffle tickets, and my banquet open bar gin and tonic, from my cold, dead hands.

How's that for passion?

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

...



Also, only Saturdays are really common for college games and those games are much earlier than high school games might typically play. So I will be home in the early evening as opposed to later in the evening on a Saturday. Either way, my family can come with me too, which they have on several occasions. ...



Peace

Yep, that is the number one reason I always want to work a college game on Saturday rather than a high school game. High schools schedule their Saturday games at night, while almost all of my Saturday college games are in the afternoon.


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[SC Official]

Originally Posted by Raymond

I rather spend one night driving a couple hours for $190 then spending three nights driving 30 to 45 minutes for $65 a pop. A night working high school ball, no matter how close to home, is still a night away from loved ones.

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And there are non-money reasons for choosing college over HS, as well. Even at lower levels.

At the top of my list, the coaches are smarter and better-behaved. And they are used to getting penalized when they misbehave. I have worked with countless HS officials who wouldn't call a T if their life depended on it. So I end up cleaning their mess.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by SC Official

And there are non-money reasons for choosing college over HS, as well. Even at lower levels.



At the top of my list, the coaches are smarter and better-behaved. And they are used to getting penalized when they misbehave. I have worked with countless HS officials who wouldn't call a T if their life depended on it. So I end up cleaning their mess.

Yep, since I no longer officiate because I need the money, which is the original reason I got into it, now I want to work games that I enjoy working and give me the most satisfaction.

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[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by SC Official

And there are non-money reasons for choosing college over HS, as well. Even at lower levels.

At the top of my list, the coaches are smarter and better-behaved. And they are used to getting penalized when they misbehave. I have worked with countless HS officials who wouldn't call a T if their life depended on it. So I end up cleaning their mess.

And you work with officials that are better trained, understand the philosophies of the people they work for and you do not have to discuss things that you do with high school only officials. That is not to say that you cannot have issues with college officials, but if I am the Referee on the game, I can answer directly to the supervisor and fill out an evaluation of all the officials I work with that night. They know this so they follow what is the protocols or might get called on it by either the Referee or the Supervisor wondering what took place. More accountability IMO.

Peace

[ilyazhito]

Could you give an example? I've seen HS officials make marginal calls on fouls and violations, reward offense-initiated contact, and expect calls with bodies on the floor. Are those the things you are referring to?

On a different note, I am on board with good female officials advancing. The problem is when they are promoted because they are female rather than due to ability.