Special Olympics

[FHSUref]

I have officiated the Kansas Special Olympic basketball tournament for the past three years. I see it as an opportunity to give back to some less fortunate individuals. After officiating in the past, I always feel good. It is a place where you are truly appreciated (until this last weekend). Officiating the tourney is strictly volunteer unlike one weekend ago when I was recommended by the coaches to work the class 1A state tournament.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I am officiating a level II (Level I is the highest meaning that they function well) where they travel a little and get 8 seconds in the lane and double dribble etc.... It is tough because where do you draw the line? In HS you base fouls on advantage/disadvantage. Well, a coach, whose game I just officiated, starts to yell at me after one of the players who had a hard time dribbling to begin with dribbled out of bounds. He told me that I am terrible and I need to call more fouls and get in the game. I was taken by surprise and proceeded to tell him that this was volunteer only and that nobody was getting a paycheck. He told me, "I am a volunteer too." To which my reply was, "Then you should know to keep your mouth shut."

I normally wouldn't have said anything at all to a coach at special olympics but he crossed over the line when he was telling his players how bad I was and on top of that, they booed us a few trips later down the court. I still can't believe that he would act like this and let his players do the same.

I know I am angry now but I will have a hard time giving up a friday and saturday next year to officiate special olympics.