Games in one day / schedule

[Larks]

Just wondering....I'm scheduled to work 5 games this Sunday...two 5th grade and three 8th grades...what is the most games you ever worked in a day? In a weekend?

Last week I worked 9 games in 2 days ranging from 3rd - 9th grade....now this week, my legs are killing me and since my wife puked on my shoes when I got home from #9, I've had to spend time cleaning them up. I'm sure someone can top that...with or without puke!

Larks....(AKA Mr. Rookie Puke Shoes)

[daves]

Last season I did four 6th and 7th grade games in a row and then went to the high school across the street and did the late boy's varsity game. It was kind of a difficult transition to go from the grade school games where you let a lot of stuff go to doing a HS varsity game where you call everything. It worked out ok but I was pretty beat by the end of the day.

[devdog69]

Last summer I took a crew to Newton, KS and worked the MAYB national tournament. There were over 700 teams in the tourney. We worked about 22-23 games including 10 on Saturday, all 8th grade girls. There were some really good teams, especially by late Saturday and Sunday when we got into the bracket play. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. My last game on Sunday at 2:00, I was near death, and it went to triple overtime. I coulda cried, but just had to suck it up and finish the best we could. Had one girl Saturday night at 10:00 whine because "we've played 5 games already today". I said "don't whine to me I've reffed 10". Only had one parent/coach problem all weekend, and these tournaments are notorious for those. The teams had to do some adjusting to us and those that did got along good. We called it just like we would a regular Jr. High game which was considerably tighter than some others in the gyms around us.

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

My partner Daryl Long, three times have officiated six full games in one day.

The first time was in 1997: On the last day of the AAU Boys (14 & under) N.I.C. we officiated three games starting at 08:30am (using NFHS Rules, 8 min. quarters) followed by three games in the AAU Girls' (13 & under) N.C. (using NCAA Women's Rules, 16 min. halves). Both tournaments were being conducted by the same organization in Cocoa Beach, Florida, and once we got started that day we just did not stop.

In 1999 we officiated six straight games in the Michigan AAU Girls' (13 & under) Qualifier to the Nationals. Same rules and timing situation as in the N.C. tournament in 1997.

Now you think that we would have learned our lesson, but this summer in the YBOA Boys' N.C. we officiated six games (using NFHS Rules, 8 min. quarters) in one day not once but twice. On the second day of the tournament we did six in a row, and on the next to last day of the tournament we started the day with one game, then a game off, the two game in a row, one game off, two games in a row, then one game off, and the one game.

We must be getting senile in our old age because everytime we did six games in a day we would say never again but then we go out and do it again.

[Tim Roden]

I am with Mark in my record is six for one day. All Girls HS Open division in the BCI National tournament in 1999. Eight minute quarters. Called the first game at 8:00am and finished the last at 4:30pm. I call that a full days work. The next day I came back and saw 4 boys games on my schedule and went to the assignor and got a trade to go back and work more girls. My legs weren't ready for the fast pace of a boys game.

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

At least Tim you were smart enough to say never again and stick to it. We just can't seem to say no.

[hooters]

6 games in one day?
10 games in one day?
that is retarded, how can you give the game 100% after that? if you are not tired after 2 or 3 then you are giving it your all. i am young and in good shape, i still decline more than 2 or 3 just for the fact that i cant perform on the court to my satisfactory if i were to do any more. talk about just doin it for the money!

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Hooters, I agree you can get very tired.

First, officiating six games in a day is not an everyday occurence for me. Second, these tournaments are during the summer when all of the officials are there for a whole week and we usually officiate four games in a day and not consecutively. Third, I officiate approximatley 375 basketball games a year, and it is important that I stay in shape to do it. That means except when I am officiating in a week long tournament, I run 3 to 4 miles a day at least five times a week, even on game days. And, finally, one usually finds that instinct takes over and you find yourself going just as hard and fast in the last game as you are in the first game. I think that one's professionalism causes some natural drug that really pumps one up and that you cannot wait to it the court and run with the players.

I would not recommend that anyone make this a regular habit but if one takes care of himself physically it can be done from time to time. Just like running a marathon. Know that is really nuts.

[Tim Roden]

Hooters, The day I did six I was only scheduled for four. A noshow here and there and guess what. You have six games under your belt. A couple of nights ago I had a no show and ended up calling three games when I was scheduled to call two. The first game was called solo. My Varsity partner was suppose to call the JV game with my partner from the ninth grade game so we did the JV game together and then did the Varsity. Yes I was exhausted after that too. But when you are asked to do extrodinary things is when you do extrodinary things.

[Tim Roden]

Originally posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.
At least Tim you were smart enough to say never again and stick to it. We just can't seem to say no.

I can't say that I will never say no again. I will do it if I am ready and they are paying well enough. But it is very tough to go all day long like that. In my case I never had more than a 20 minute break the whole day. I got plenty to drink but to eat I only had a peanut butter sandwich and a banana. I will say that game six was the most difficult. Game 4 and 5 were rather easy. Game six the girls started to scratch and claw like they do during a normal varsity game. When the coaches started complaining about the officiating, I just growled something like, Shut up, I've been here all day and I don't want to hear it. If I miss a call it isn't because I am calling the best game I can because I am not. They shut up and we had a real street fight for the final game. The next day the assignor made the necessary changes so that a fresh shift would be there for games 5 on so all I had to do that day was 4 games. I also made the mistake in that I asked for girls again. The girls started the playoff portion of the tournament and I got a buch of losers bracket games. The ugliest form of game on the planet especially when the teams playing both think they should be playing on the winners side of the bracket. The experience does take on a whole new deminsion to physical conditioning.

[Mark Padgett]

Two years ago, I had a rec schedule where I did 8 games every Saturday for 10 straight Saturdays. The games were 7 minute stop time quarters. I followed that up by usually doing 4 full time games the following Sundays.

The Saturday games were on middle school courts, but the Sunday games were on HS courts.

This is back when I routinely did over 350 games a year. You know - when I still had knees.

[rainmaker]

This summer at a "camp" I did seven varsity and JV boys games a day for five days in a row -- two of those days also included time for flights to and from, so the reffing was condensed. I can't say I did my best, but the kids knew it was camp for us and they cut us a little slack (a very little). It was good for me, to learn that I could suck it up and keep giving and it wouldn't kill me. I've never really been pushed physically before that, and it wasn't all that awful. And I lost quite a bit of weight!!