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Old Wed Feb 16, 2000, 04:39pm
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Our local basketball program is run by our county P&Rdept and teams are formed from the different schools. Our director is always apologizing for the lack of quality officials and citing lack of money as a big reason. My question is this: Has anyone been in a program where instead of paid referees the coaches officiated? An idea is to maybe do this thru age ten and pay officials for older ages. This could cut the budget in less than half and hopefully bring in quality refs with better pay. If anyone has been in a league like this please reply. Certainly anyone can express their opinion on this but Id really like to hear from experienced people if any. Thanks!
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Old Wed Feb 16, 2000, 04:52pm
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Sounds like a reasonable plan. What are the reasons NOT to do that?

I've had many leagues at my gym, where coaches/parents have officiated for that age range. Works out fine with little problems.

They also implement a rule where every quarter's score is zeroed out for the next quarter to prevent the ridiculous blowout scores.

I've also seen, at other facilities, where the older players, as a requirement to their participation, would officiate lower level games, schedule allowing. This is by far the most ambitious, but I would love to see more youngsters given the opportunity.

Good luck!

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Old Wed Feb 16, 2000, 05:44pm
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In my rec league (9-10 boys) fees we pay up front ($35) goes towards t-shirts and refs. The refs are usually high school players and they ref a whole day's worth of games but I'm not sure what they are getting paid. Everyone knows these kids and they do a very good job. We have 160 kids in this program so I'm sure there's enough to pay them for the year. It works out well for our program.
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Old Thu Feb 17, 2000, 09:00am
BK BK is offline
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First, I want to qualify my statements by giving a background on myself. I am a varsity official and a program director at our local YMCA. I have officiated HS basketball for about 6 years and have had my job for over 5.

As a youth league director and official, I feel that the number one "customer service" I can give to my kids and their parents is quality officials. I have used coaches and, as a whole, they just don't have the experience or training to hit that quality level that I feel I need for the program. Hand in hand with quality officials goes higher costs. If you pay them, they will come! Officials are by far, the #1 expense in youth leagues. Some places help offset expenses by doing fundraisers, some charge admission, and some just charge $50-$60 registration fees. The amount depends on the # of games in the league. Awards and utilities are the other big cost items.

I know of very few leagues that use volunteers. Those that I'm aware of that do, are always struggling with the issue but they can't get over the fear of losing the program due to budget constraints. I just think that a happy customer will pay the price or support us if they know their children are safe and that they are learning the correct skills early.
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Old Thu Feb 17, 2000, 10:06am
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I've either run or assisted the Jr basketball Pgm in Bogota NJ for 10 years now. We have always used Coaches to Referee. It used to work well in the past. But the last few years, have been hard. It's hard enough to get coaches these days. Some know the game, others are doing the best they can. You scare some off when they hear they have to officiate. Plus some don't mind coaching and spending an hour or so in the gym, but now you're asking them to double the time they are up there. Lately we tried kids 13 -15 years old who need to perform community service (for school/church). These kids are willing, but because of schoolwork or other committments, are not real dependable. I am looking at increasing the fee (which currently is only $20) by $10 or so next year
and get at least 1 official per game. The age group is 8-12 year olds. I will have to run this by the Recreation Commission who set the rates for the sports in our town. I hope this help you. My final comment to you is Times are changing. The same people are the ones who Coach every sport. They get burned out, and without new help, the kids and the administrators are the ones who will suffer.
GOOD LUCK !!!

[This message has been edited by DrC. (edited February 17, 2000).]
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Old Thu Feb 17, 2000, 10:25am
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BK, I agree with you 100%. Though budget seems to be an issue we all struggle with, I KNOW that the results of having qualified officials (in all sports) has a positive effect on the entire program. I run the youth basketball league in my town, also. It is run by a local "Athletic Assoc." whow sponsors the bulk of the cost for us. When I took over the program a few years ago, one thing I insisted on was that we use (and pay for) board officials. Other sports (soccer, baseball..) all usually have paid refs/umps and some are not certified! Why not hoops! I also educated the coaches and parents with my "misunderstood basketball rules" handout (which I am trying to put together to post on here). I noticed the players started to learn to play better by not fouling, reaching, swatting at shots, grabbing... When we have played other towns on occasion, I could tell which ones had used board officials and which had not. I know we're lucky to have a "sponsor" to defray the costs. Even if you have one certified ref for the younger kids (and I'll use someone else who is in training/volunteer), it can make a world of difference. Find a sponsor, or sponsors, and you can make the programs better. I'd love to hear from more of you guys/gals on tips, rules, etc. that you use in your programs (i.e no pressing at certain ages, no three pointers, smaller ball...)Always looking to improve!
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