Girls games

[JRutledge]

Simple, because they do not want to. And that is their right. I do not work any girls games either and one reason is I have enough days of the week I am out of the house. I do not want to add more games or debate of which game I will take. Also not the same assignors as well, so I have fewer people I have to deal with.

Also, girls basketball is not boys basketball. What I mean is there are things that happen in girls basketball that do not happen in boys basketball from a contact standpoint and a reaction standpoint. The culture is just different and I have enough time trying to figure out the levels I work, then to add some stuff that I never have to see or deal with in boys basketball. Also, I do college ball, girls basketball would just cause me some bad habits and some standards that I would have to constantly adjust to. Boy's basketball as the HS level is very similar to Men's basketball in college. I do not have to do many adjustments.

Finally, we are independent contractors. I have the right to decide what I want to do when I leave my house. We do not do this for charity or for some altruistic reason. We get paid to do a service and if I am going to get paid I am going to do what I want to do. Same with middle school or adult league games. I have only so many days to do things with a family and with a job.

We need to stop acting like this is an obligation. Just like there is an obligation to work all levels of basketball. Either we accept some things or people will stop officiating and that will take down the pool even more.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

... girls basketball is not boys basketball. What I mean is there are things that happen in girls basketball that do not happen in boys basketball from a contact standpoint and a reaction standpoint. The culture is just different ...

Agree.

My toughest adjustments were when I worked a girls varsity game on a Thursday night and then a boys varsity game on a Friday night. It was like going from "slow motion" to "fast forward". Sometimes it took me almost the entire Friday night first quarter to "wake up and smell the coffee".

I remember that there was one year, where for some unknown scheduling reason, I was assigned several girls preseason scrimmages and no boys preseason scrimmages.

My first "real" game was a boys varsity game that included a state finalist from the previous year. That was a very rude awakening.

I can still vividly remember an "over the back" call that I probably missed very early in the game, with the offended coach having the same exact view that I had as the trail.

It was all happening so fast.

For some reason the opposite (boys to girls) adjustment isn't as difficult.