Wreck ball...

[ma_ref]

Originally Posted by Bearfanmike20

Thats what I was thinking... that I would weed through alot of the bs stuff that i havn't seen yet. The level that I'm doing is.. "too nice"... I havn't issued a T... not that I want to, but I need to push myself... to handle the messy situations too....

Then men's rec leagues are definitely what you're looking for! lol

[Mark Padgett]

Around here, most of the refs with whom I work use the term "wreck ball" just for men's leagues. Kids leagues are not usually put in the same category at all. It's very unusual to find kids who are angry at life because 10 or 20 years ago they were cut from their HS team and, of course, it was because the coach played favorites and life just isn't fair so now they have something to prove, including taking out the aggressions that built up that day at work and at home onto a basketball court.

Or something like that.

[BillyMac]

When I first started officiating, I did several years of high school level recreation basketball. With the exception of "convenient" switching, I treated these games like any other high school varsity, or junior varsity assignment. When I first started, the coaches, and players, weren't used to me, and what I expected from them in terms of sportsmanship, etc., so there were lots of technical fouls. After a several games they all got used to me, watching me consistently make calls from week to week, watching me hustle, observing me showing up in full proper uniform, etc. After that, it was easy. I was even asked to do playoff games, by the coaches, every year.

Set a good example, set high expectations for yourself, and the coaches and players will follow suit.