An Interesting Friday Night
 

Warning: tl;dr

Two games, JH JV (aka 8th grade) girls at 4:00 on one side of the county, HS JV girls at 6:30 on the other side.

JH JV game is sloppy all the way through. I have an intentional foul in the first two minutes (two-handed shove from behind on breakaway layup attempt), three fouls on the same player in a two-minute stretch (just pushing everybody) (and the first of the fouls was a double foul), and a T (sub went straight on to the court from the bench during a live ball), all in the first half.

Back in the car at 5:10 for what should be a 20- or 25-minute drive, mostly highway. Make it within three exits of the school when I hit a major jam. Near where I work so I know the area a little bit. I jump off and try to go up a parallel two-lane road that is bad as well, so I work my way back on to the highway one exit up. I get on but quickly find out we are basically stopped. Call my partner and he is stuck on the parallel road a ways back. I have no number for anyone at the game site, and it is now 6:00. I scoot up the shoulder to a point about a half-mile from the next exit but we're all but stopped, moving 100 feet or so every minute or two. Get on the blackberry and find out the highway is closed past the next exit, so it is everybody getting off. Then I get a call from a varsity guy who had the night off but is at the game (his wife is the home JV coach.) He asks how I'm doing and when I think I'll get there. With his help I get a shortcut from the next exit, provided I can get to it. It is 6:20 and I guess 7:00. He says the visitors haven't arrived yet either, but they show up while we are still on the phone.

At 7 he calls me and tells me he went home (he lives in that town) and suited up, and he was going to go start the game solo at about 7:10. I was a few hundred feet from the exit so I was looking at 7:25 or so. My partner was still way behind. I finally get there and it is midway through the second quarter, already 35-12 visitors. One of that night's varsity guys is on the court along with the guy who called me. I jump in for the varsity guy and we finish up the half. At the half my fill-in partner calls my partner and tells him to give up and go home; that he would finish the game. I ask the varsity guy how much a-quarter-and-a-half would cost me but he said gratis.

We get it done without too much complaining from the home coach (remember, it was my fill-in partner's wife!) and after our game in the officials' room I ask the varsity guys if they have any feedback or advice from me. One of them says nothing for me, but they have a laundry list for my partner who was slumming in the JV, all in good fun.

I plan to stay through varsity halftime, and it was already about 45-12 at the break, and I found out the visitors had a player 5 points from 1,000. I stayed a little more until it was evident she was going to save the 1,000th point for their next game at home. I did get to spend all that time picking the brain of my fill-in partner, which was good.

Cliffs Notes:
Called an intentional, double, and technical foul in the same JH JV game. Got stuck in traffic and took 2 hours plus to go 20 miles for my HS JV game. Missed 1 1/2 quarters and still got a full-game check!

If I took a 4:00 and a 6:00 game at different sites I would've worked my last HS JV ever. A major no-no here. DH if at the same site are ok. Traffic jams are too common.

Easy to say, but if you have an assignor that says, "hey, mr ignats, I need you to work 2 tonite, we've got no one else that can do the 2nd game. It's 30 minutes down the road, you should have plenty of time..."

I am guessing if you say no, then either way it'll be your last game.

Traffic happens, he was going to make it easy as he was leaving the previous game at 5:10. It's great that the guys stepped up and took care of business. It's about giving back to the game.

I think you're assuming that it is from a different assignor...and i agree that might be a thorny issue.

But, when it is form the same assignor, that assignor should be fully aware that you may not make it from game to game for reasons completely out of your control. If so, the assignor has made that decision and should be the only one accountable for it.

True. Being from a major metropolitan area, that kind of thing never happens. Each conference here has its own assignor.

Same assignor does all our PIAA games, which is HS V, HS JV, JH V (freshman), JH JV (aka 8th grade), and JH C (aka 7th grade). When he gives me a 4:00 at one place and a 6:30 at another, who am I to object? I just go where they send me. I'm only a second-year guy; I don't need to make any waves.

Concur. I'll warn him I may not get there in time - but he knows that and accepts the risk. The bad part is, when (if) you do arrive late - YOU look bad, not your assignor.

I happen to have two kids games followed by 3 rec league games, 4:15 start on kids and 6:30 for rec start. I will walk in at tip off for rec league if traffic is normal and we have no overtime. Assignor gave them to me, and I have no problem with it. Rec league guys requested me.

A 4:00 and a 6:00 DH at same site better be paying me extra.