I'm Trail.
A1 in front court gets ball batted away by B1.
Ball bounced in FC near division line.
A2 gets to FC ball with a batt, ball bounces in back court and A2 picks it up.
Fox blows O/B.
I give the spot and head the other way passing Bench A.
Coach A: "What? it was tipped!
I quickly explain to Coach A about team conrol. She didn't understand but nodded.

Well into Front court, waiting for throw-in, my young partner walked 30 feet.
He said: "It was tipped!"
I said "I know. B ball."
Gym was dead silent. Players were waiting.
Partner said: "But, it was tipped!"
I said : "We're not gonna talk about it. Throw it in."
<HR>
I'm Lead.
Baseline after basket.
A1 throws to A2 behind end line.
A2 throws to A3 inbounds.
A3 throws to A4.
A4 dribbles twice.
But, A4 remembered she was supposed to throw it in.
A4 picks up ball and backs up 8 feet for a do-over.
[<small>Waiting, waiting, waiting</small>]
My Fox blows travel from division line.
<HR>
I'm Lead.
Jump ball tableside division line. B ball.
I jog toward endline.
Teams A and B line up at other end.
I'm all alone.
(<I>Trick Play?</I>)
Partner starts administering ball to A1.
My Fox blows a "Check the arrow."
<HR>
I'm Trail.
B scores with 10.6 seconds left. [Score: A-24; B-25]
I turn to Coach A. (She's coaching her second game, 4 timeouts in the book.)
I turn back to see partner bouncing ball to A1. (B1 had bounced "scored" ball to partner.)
A1 studies clock [<small>Tick, tick, tick</small>]
Throw-in.
Buzzzzz.

:)

Yikes!! I guess everybody starts somewhere. Glad you there to get what had to be got.

You owed that over-worked Fox an extra beverage of choice that evening!

My favorite..

6th grade girls.

A1 has ball for throw-in. She's being guarded by B1.

A1 gets nervous and tosses the ball to B1.

B1 now has this total WTF? look on her face. She looks around confused and tosses it back to A1.

A1 is still out of bounds, so it's now B's ball for throw-in.

Then Team A coach gets upset and argues with me for several minutes about how there must some provision in the rules guaranteeing his player a chance to get back in bounds.

I had to chuckle after the throw-in debacle but I was trying real hard not to laugh at the coach...

6th grade girls basketball....aaagggggggggggggggggg!

Won't take a game or a set of games if it will include a girls 6th grade game. I know somebody's gotta do it but I can't punish myself with: Bad basketball + future D1 coaches + overzealous parents who are convinced their kid will get a scholarship = whew-wey!

...and heaven forbid little suzie gets fouled and you don't call it. Her parents will sue you for allowing chiild abuse.

I feel your pain Mick...a few brown-pops and some Advil and it all goes away!!

One of my favorites from these games.......I'm trail, A1 has the ball. B1 checks in before the ball is in play and goes to the frontcourt. She realizes she's supposed to be guarding A1 in the backcourt . She runs full speed to A1 and makes a hit that would make John Lynch proud. B1 gets up from the floor yelling at me that she must have been fouled! She was elbowed in the mouth! I just turned and reported the foul on B1. Middle School Girls Basketball is FAANNNTASTIC!

"TRAVELING, SHE'S TRAVELING AND DOUBLE DRIBBLING, HEY REF CAN'T YOU SEE THAT SHE'S TRAVELING?" Turnover, going the other way, her little Suzie gets the ball. tweet-> traveling. Look at Mom and smile.

How bout the overweight mother who has never played the game crying out; "fowwll, isn't that a fowl?". They all add the w and use that same pitch in their voice.

Prejudice lives!
 

About 34 percent of U.S. adults age 20 and older are overweight, and about 30 percent -- or 59 million people - are obese, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which sets measures based on an individual's body weight in relation to height, known as body mass index. In two academic studies, obesity is identified as the second-leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States. And the bulge once associated with middle age now afflicts an increasing number of youngsters; the CDC found that 15 percent of children age 6 to 19 are overweight, about triple the proportion 20 years ago.

My favorite jr. H.S. story happened just last year.

First game of the boys' jr. H.S. season and I am at Team A against Team B. Team A gets ripped by Team B in both the 7th and 8th grade games and the Team A fans were just brutal. Through great scheduling on my part, I am at Team C the next day for a jr. H.S. DH with Team A. Team B rips Team C in both games. After the games are over a father from Team A who was at the games both days, comes up to me and tells me I did a good job, not like the lousy officials they had at home the previous night. Don't you just love jr. H.S. basketball.

MTD, Sr.

I think many of you are missing the good parts about working these games.

You are benefitting the kids, coaches, and inexperienced officials with your efforts. Sure weird stuff happens and the play, coaching and fans may be less than great, but wouldn't you rather have that once in a lifetime play happen in a 7th grade girls game, than in a state championship game?

For me the best part is seeing theses kids grow as players. I've built relationships with players over the years where I've officiated them from youth league to HS varsity. I'm not willing to trade that, just because these games are worse than HS varsity.

Is that a serious question? A once in a lifetime play in a JH game, or the best play you'll ever see in one of the best games you'll ever do. . . :confused:

This is, as far as I can tell, the only good thing about working these games.

Oh, mercy!
Did the rain make you grumpy?
...Makes me sleepy.
mick

No! Well, yes, actually. But that's not the reason for my answer. Given the ability to work a HS game or a similar JH game, I would choose the HS game every time. But I agree that I enjoyed watching those 5th/6th graders as they made their to varsity at the same time I did.

Chuck,
blindzebra was just being a little patronizing.
...Maybe practicing to be a parent.
...Maybe has a daughter in Junior high.
...Maybe an assignor. :)
mick

Chuck,
I think blindzebra is talking about the funky stuff that happens in a 7th grade game. He would have to confirm this...but I think he is refering to some play that might happen and an official might not know how to administer said play in the lower level game. He might be saying he would rather learn the correct procedure in the 7th grade girls game than in the 4A Boys State Championship Final Game. Just a thought.

...Makes sense. :)

That is exactly what I was saying.

No to all of that.

I am talking about two things and I'm not patronizing.

These kids deserve good officials, the inexperienced officials working these games can use you as a mentor, and I was talking about one of those plays that become a 15 page thread on this forum.

Perhaps reading it in context would help. I used weird stuff and play being not so great just before once in a lifetime play.;)

If you still don't get what I mean, I'm talking about that once in a lifetime play, that turns into a 15 page thread on this forum.

I enjoy working Jr Hi girls ball. As long as it's not the only thing I do. I'm with y'all about seeing them move up. There's a lot of pleasure in watching them grow and learn.

The parent stuff IS pretty annoying, though. But it's still not as bad as the parent stuff at the middle of the JV or Varsity pack. I think the worst fans in the world are at the games where the girls are almost, but not quite able to be stars. 6th grade girls' parents aren't even in the same league... so to speak!

Still makes sense. :)
mick

Daryl Long ('The Preacher') and I officiate quite a bit of boys' and girls' jr. H.S. basketball. The bkb. off. assn. (which we have served as officers and officiating class instructors) assigns the officials for six schools. The reasons we do the games are many.

1) We both have the ability to officiate games that start between 04:00pm and 04:30pm. Games starting at these times are difficult to officate.

2) Our association assigns many of these games to our first year officials, thus giving us a chance to officiate with our students and help them.

3) As a previous poster has already said that many times one will see a weird play (sometimes many times over) that will only been seen once in a blue moon at the H.S. freshmen level and above. Rather see it here for the first time, instead of being suprised at an upper level game. I guess you could say that we use the games as paid practice.

3) Along the lines of using the games as a paid practice, one learns to see the whole play and to practice developing good judgement. While no one wants to make a mistake at any level, seeing a weird play and making a mistake at the jr. H.S. level, is less damaging in the scheme of life than one at the varsity or college level. One also sees much creative footwork and dribbling skills and jr. H.S. is great practice for judging these items.

4) The game fees are between $50 and $55 for a DH, which is the same as H.S. varsity game fee. While we give the schools a 100% professional effort, one does not have to run quite as hard up and down the court on a fastbreak during a jr. H.S. as one has to during a H.S. or college game. Besides, I like making the same game fee as a varsity game while getting home far earlier in the evening than if I were officiating a varsity game. I guess I am just getting old and would rather be home when the kids go to bed at night.

MTD, Sr.

To be completely honest, (you know this is always followed by a line of bull) I love working with a new official on 4th-6th grade games because they will learn what a jump ball is real fast and they can also learn that it's a good idea to keep up with it because there will be so many that the table will surely mess up the arrow. They will also learn that ugly doesn't necessarily mean it's a violation. Even still, given the choice, I'll take the upper level game every time.

Good grammar school basketball story ...

I'm lead and a A1 takes a three-point shot from the top of the key. I don't see what happens next because I'm watching play in the lane. But apparently, B1 crushes A1 some time after A1 releases the ball, causing A1 to go down. A1 is injured, so now there's a delay.

Coach of Team A seems to know the rules pretty well. He asks my partner why he wasn't watching the airborne shooter until his shot attempt was completed, obviously a good question. My partner tells him he did watch.

Coach of Team A then asks my partner why his player isn't getting a three-shot free throw. My partner tells him that the contact occurred well after the shot attempt was completed.

So then, coach of Team A asks my partner why his team isn't getting the ball for a non-shooting foul since my partner basically admitted that there was a foul, but that it occurred after the shot was completed. My partner, who has no answer for the coach, decides to give him a technical foul instead.

After the game, my partner tells me he hates when coaches don't know the rules. So, of course, I shot right back, saying I don't like it when my partner doesn't know the rules.

Eek!

Just as a suggestion, eastcoast, that's a good time to work your way into a discussion of what the rule(s) actually are (if you couldn't come in and help during the injury) so that your partner can get better rather than throwing the comment at him, which will probably leave the both of you bitter.

Just a thought.

Since you did not see it, how do you know what contact and who caused it? Just because there was contact and A1 got injured does not mean B1 caused it and committed a foul.

Perhaps you need to brush up on those rules too.;)

Maybe I should clarify. My partner actually used these terms to the coach: "Coach, the player barrelled into your kid after his shot was finished." To me, that was admitting that A1 was fouled, even though my partner chose not to call it.

So use that as an opportunity to tactfully explain that it's a non-shooting foul rather than being saying something antagonistic like, "I hate it when my partner doesn't know the rules." You could have helped him out but you decided to be sarcastic instead.

Z

You're probably right.

fans at games
 

how come there is 1000 fans at a jr. high girls game, 500 at a freshman game, and only 1 or 2 at a varsity game...i know the parents usually have to bring the girls to the lower level games, but after they get older it seems like they are just sent there with whoever and all their support is gone!! it's ridiculous that parents and fans will go watch jr. high over there local high school teams even when there daughters are playing...it's like refereeing at a funeral sometimes at a girls varsity game

Re: fans at games
 

It's exactly the opposite around here. If I do an afternoon girls game, there are about 30 people there. Varsity girls games (especially Friday night rivalries) can often pack the gym.

Z