Why I avoid rec ball -- my Saturday (long)

[Rich]

I usually avoid rec ball (adult or youth) whenever I can help it. Sure, the extra money is nice and frankly the thought of the money is one of the only things that helps me get out of bed and work games at 8AM Saturdays. But once I get going I usually have a pretty good time.

Well, I also have a hard time saying no.

So, here's my Saturday.

I get out of bed, throw a uniform on, and head to the local rec center for three games.

I arrive a few minutes before the first game and my partner is there. I was going to engage him in some conversation (most rec games here are worked without a pregame -- you wouldn't be able to get most rec only guys to pregame, IMO, and I'm not sure it would help) but he wasn't actually in the gym until about a minute before the game started.

Game starts. Within five minutes he called my line FOUR times. And we're not talking about an innocent error. He literally called 3 out of bounds calls on MY sideline in front of my face and then, to cap it all off, called one on the baseline when I was the lead and the ball went out on my side. Now, I know this can happen with untrained rec refs, and I was more than prepared to let this water run down my back.

I was also willing to ignore the fact that he was clearly watching the ball 100% of the time. I mean, how else would he be able to (as the lead) signal EVERY three point shot attempt, even those where the shooter was an inch behind the line at the top of the key on my side of the court?

But then, the little incident that pushed me over the edge happened. He calls a foul in my primary -- a shooting foul -- while he was the trail. I can even deal with that. But then, out of habit, I committed the unpardonable sin of switching and moving out to the trail position for the free throws. Now, I work rec ball and I know most rec officials don't ALWAYS switch on EVERY foul. But I always switch on shooting fouls and my partners usually do, too.

Well, this was enough for him to stop the game and attempt to dress me down in front of the players and the people at the table and the parents. He calls me a "rookie" since he's a "veteran" of this youth program and tells me that this isn't the WIAA and that we aren't going to switch on every d@mned foul. In front of everyone.

Well, at this point my mouth got ahead of my head. I stepped forward and said, "well, if you're not going to do anything else right, why do that right?"

Well, he stopped play and "commanded" me to come to him for a "conference." This with everyone watching us like the idiots we are. I told him I wasn't coming there and that he should just put the ball in play. Eventually, he realized I wasn't budging and he put the ball in play.

At halftime, I ended up talking to 3 people that have some role in running this program and all asked me to stay and told me that this official has a habit of acting up and that they'd make sure I'm not scheduled with him again. Now, to this program's credit, they go out of their way to provide a professional atmosphere for these kids. They stress to the kids that the shorts will be up and the shirts will be in the shorts. They require officials to wear full uniforms, including pants (no shorts) to work the games. They also provide training where they try to get officials to use NFHS mechanics.

But in the end, I'm kinda disappointed at the experience. BTW, I know that this other guy is more valuable to the program than I am -- I'm not willing to be a full-time rec official and that's all this guy does. At the same time, I'm disappointed that I wasn't flexible enough to just go with the flow during games that were played in a rec program. But I let my mouth get the best of me.

We didn't say a word to each other for the last 2.5 games. And we actually didn't work too badly, even though he continued to call all kinds of stuff in my areas.

Fast forward ahead to the same afternoon. I received a call from someone the previous (Friday) afternoon looking for an official for an alumni tournament at the high school in the town where I live. These alumni tourneys are very popular in WI and all the old classes come back and the older classes get points based on how much older they are than recent teams. I've only been here since last year and know none of the basketball players from the town. Since I can't say no, I agreed to help out since the pay was good and the game was close to the house.

So we start. I'm working with a guy who is a high school ref, probably JV level at best. Typical rec ball -- what the players lost in speed and skill they've gained in mouth.

First half went well. Only 8 fouls called and no complaints. Second half starts with the younger team catching up to the handicap the older team received. First time down the floor, older guy drives baseline and beats defender to a spot -- collision, block. Whining ensues. We put the ball back in play and very soon thereafter one of the younger alums drives down the middle and SMEARS a defender that was pretty much planted right under the basket. PC foul. To me, a no-brainer. A totally out-of-control drive, too.

Well, the player gets right in my face and tells me loudly what he thought of my call. Whack. Well, there goes my perfect season (no technicals until that one, although I'm not sure it counts ) . PC foul was his 3rd foul and the ensuing whack was his 4th. I hear someone on the bench refer to me as the "worst ref in the world" which caused me to smile because I immediately thought how I may have worked with him earlier in the day.

Anyhow, the game ended and I was out in the lobby changing shoes. Player is talking to someone and is "explaining" why I made a bad call -- he mentioned the circle around the hoop and how that contact HAS to be a block even though the defender had position.

Shaking my head, I walked out the door and drove home to the first NFL game and my first beer of the day.

Rich

PS - Friday night I had a great HS boys game. Home team got down 14-0 and 18-4 at the end of the first quarter. Visiting team scored only 16 points in the last three quarters and the home team came back to win 42-34. Low scoring, but one of the best comebacks I've ever seen.