What Should You Do About Bad Officiating

[smurf]

Seriously Folks,

The officiating where I live has gotten to the point where it's really, really bad. Is there anything a parent/coach can do about it or do we just have to learn to tolerate it?

I know officials are people too, and it's a tough job, but they ARE being paid. We coaches are working for nothing. This past AAU season, it just seemed like the officiating was worse than ever. So far, summer league has been no better.

I'll never forget the game where the one official showed up 30 minutes late. We had scored and the ball was rolling around on the court. So one of our guys picked it up and handed it to their in-bounder. The late official blew his whistle and called us for delay of game. We learned a lesson there, but, I mean, come on, the kid's heart was in the right place. He was just trying to help.

One of my main pet peeves is the refusal of officials to enforce the written rules of the game. I know there's this whole "No harm, no foul" movement, but is it too much too expect officials to enforce the rules as written?

I don't understand why there is any interpretation allowed. It seems like, in any area of life, if you allow individuals to make their own interpretations of rules, all control goes right out the window.

Why, then, do some officials, for example, allow reaches, hand-checks, push-offs, etc. and some not. Why do some call travel on the first step without dribble and others on the second?

Maybe it's not as wide spread everywhere as it is in District 11, but it sure is bad here. Is it because PIAA is not adequately policing and evaluating their officials?

What can coaches, parents, and fans do about it? What is the right approach?