How much work?

[tomegun]

I was just wondering how much most officials on this board work games (of any type). I experienced a small burnout for about two days and I know there is a ton of basketball in the DC area. I probably work an average of 6 days a week during the season. I had 6 days off in the month of January which included New Year's and two cancellations due to snow.

Is it like this everywhere?

[BktBallRef]

Nah!

Two, three nights a week, tops. GV/BV doubleheader every Tuesday & Friday. Throw in a third night from time to time.

Regular season ends tonight. 3 conference tourney games next week, followed by 2 Sectional playoff games the following week. Then I'm done until AAU starts in March.

[Junker]

I posted about this not long ago. I had some burn out issues myself. I'll keep that in mind next year when I make out my schedule. Last night I had a good, close game with some great action (a couple of good block/charges that I'm 100% sure I got correct). My partner was a lot of fun. The coaches asked questions and did little complaining. The players were fun to be around. All in all, it just reminded me why I'm out there doing it. I'm looking forward to the last couple weeks of my season.

[David M]

Live in the Boston area. I work 6 and sometimes 7 days a week. High School, some varsity some subvarsity, during the week. CYO and travel teams on the weekends. I could use a break but I'm sure after a week off I would be looking for more games.

[ChuckElias]

Right now, I'm in a stretch of 10 games in 13 days. In January, I had 21 games in 31 days. I'm pretty busy. Not burned out, tho. I know I'll get plenty of rest at playoff time

[FrankHtown]

In Houston, between HS and MS, you can work 6 nights a week, if you choose. This is from Mid-November to Mid-February. I'm in my mid 50's and 3, on occasion 4 nights a week is fine with me. Usually Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday. I find though, the second day of a back-to-back, is getting more difficult without Ibuprofen.

If you are fatigued, how can you do a service to the kids and the game? We have some officials that work 6 nights a week, God bless them, but I don't know, even if I physically could do it, would I want to. Keeping the intensity up, has to be a challenge.

[ChrisSportsFan]

Since I'm new to my area and don't get to pick and choose my games yet, I took everything I could so that I can see as many Coachess/ADs/Veteran Refs/Etc as I could. From Dec-Feb, I'll work 146 games with 19 days off during that time. Almost every night I have a JV/V or I'll work a F/JV, we have GJV/GV games on Saturdays and I work a men's league every other Sundy Eve. I know this is alot and I don't plan to work this much next year. It looks like I'll be able to be more selective next year as V games are already coming in.

[David B]

Originally posted by tomegun
I was just wondering how much most officials on this board work games (of any type). I experienced a small burnout for about two days and I know there is a ton of basketball in the DC area. I probably work an average of 6 days a week during the season. I had 6 days off in the month of January which included New Year's and two cancellations due to snow.

Is it like this everywhere?

I see that a lot with officials who call lots and lots of nights without a break.

Personally, I like to do two games (max 3) per week. That helps me stay fresh and keep a little balance.

I've noticed that when I have back to back nights that the second night its hard to stay focused unless its a really good game.

The next few weeks will be interesting though because we have basketball playoffs and baseball starting at the same time.

So I'll have three games basketball and then do baseball on Saturday until basketball gets finished.

(its not my choice though, we simply don't have enough baseball officials to cover all of the games)

It's way too cold for baseball so I'm not really looking forward to the first few weeks.

Thanks
DAvid

[Almost Always Right]

I wish I had the opportunity to work 5 or 6 days a week. Between JUCO/DII/HS I worked 16 games in January and managed to mix in a 7 day cruise in the 2nd week.
I have noticed that the only time I seem to get burned out is when I don't have many challenges.(That seems weird)
If I have good partners or easy games it seems easier for me to lose focus and get complacent. If I have some less experienced(or more experienced for that matter) that require some "extra" focus on my part, it seems easier to stay in the game.
I think tomegun is just pissin' and moanin'!!
AAR

[devdog69]

I work an about 4-5 nights a week (Sat incl) and sometimes it can be physically tiring with work and not getting home til late at night. But, as soon as I have a couple of nights off, I'm going stir crazy.

[IREFU2]

This week I have worked every night due to official getting sick. I felt myself go brain dead the day before yesterday! But I drank an AMP last night and was good to go!

[imaref]

Originally posted by IREFU2
This week I have worked every night due to official getting sick. I felt myself go brain dead the day before yesterday! But I drank an AMP last night and was good to go!

What's AMP?

wl

[Indy_Ref]

Work 2-5 nights/week. Ideally, 3 nights/week. I always take a few Saturday's off each basketball season to take the wife out. It keeps good balance. Oh, and I ONLY do HS or college during the season. MS & AAU are for the OFF-season!

[mthomas]

I live in CT, from December thru early March, I work 14-21 games per week. Every day is a minimum of 2 games. Only days off are snow days and holidays. I officiate everything from youth recreational basketball thru Varsity. If you love the game, officiating is easy. The only hard part is dealing with some of the coaches and fans. It also helps to get thru the long New England winters.

[IREFU2]

An AMP is an energy drink that helps you out when you are tired! If you drink one, it should be 30 minutes before that game. I will definately help!