THIS IS MY GAME !

[Ed Maeder]

I've been told to be a comander not a demander. Comanding gains respect demanding loses it.

[Camron Rust]

Maybe it was his gym.

I happen to be the atheletic director of a large church sports system. I've been given the direction to do whatever I need to ensure that the competition meets the highest standards.

The feedback I've received is that most people feel it is the the best they've ever seen in our church....most people that have run in the past are not willing to be hard enough to do what is needed to not have problems. They let the men run over the volunteer refs. The refs just wanted to get done with it and get it. I've really pissed off some people by not letting them pull any crap...behavior they get away with in city leagues or in other (or previous) church leagues.

Generally, I accomplish what I need by annoucing my expectations and encouraging respect for thej other players and refs with the admonition to recognize that they are all volunteers with minimal training.

I call a few games a year in the league. I'll always try to let them play. If they show me they can't handle it, I'll tighten up. On one occassion, I had two teams that had caused some minor trouble in the previous weeks and were playing each other. I stated before the game that it was going to be different tonight...I was going to call it very tight and strict....I expected NO complaints (automatic T). There was a little grumbling at first but after they got over it, it turned into a pretty good game. In fact, one of the primary instigators (who I called from some pretty touchy fouls) came to me afterwards and said that he really enjoyed the game...that it was a lot more fun that he expected.

If that doesn't work, I ultimately make the point that it IS my gym and that I'm in charge. I set the rules and the expectations. If they don't wish to follow, they don't play. Luckily, it has rarely been necessary to play that card and usually, I'm not reffing the game but observing.

Most people there know that if it weren't for me, there would be no sports program for them to participate in. I make it very clear that if we have a fight, we may get shut down. Our church will not tolerate it. I

[Dan_ref]

Wow, that's a great story!

Whatever you think about this guy's approach he was the big dog on that court. No question about that. I'm with Camron on this, sometimes you gotta swing a big...err....sometimes you gotta take control in no uncertain terms.