The game from H-E-double hockey sticks
 

Sixth grade girls game last night. There's your first clue. This is what we call around here an "elite" league, not just rec but the "top" competition. In the first quarter, we had 17 held balls! No, I am not making this up. The scorer kept track. I don't know how many there were for the whole game, but it was a ton. Score at halftime was 37-3. Final was 58-8. The losing coach lost his AC midway through the second quarter courtesy of my partner. Three girls fouled out but we were never in the bonus. One girl cried when she fouled out, and I mean really heavy tears.

Before the game, my partner asked me if the girl's fingernail polish had to match their uniforms. It took me a moment to realize he was kidding. One team was wearing what could only be described as "neon day-glo" polish in assorted colors. It was bizarre.

There were a few moms and dads taking video. However, I doubt you'll see any of it on youtube.

Oh yeah, the winning team was the visitors. My partner and I got out of Dodge as soon as the final horn sounded. I did notice, however, the home coach kept his girls away from shaking hands even though the other team lined up to do so. There's no "shake hands" rule for this league, or else I would have reported it. It was still stinky sportsmanship. The visitors didn't really pour it on. They were just that much better.

WELL????................. Did their finger nail polish match their uniforms???????

or they could be black, white, or beige?

did a favor on Saturday for one of my college partners and did a home school league and there was one kid with four of those thin sweat band things on each arm above the elbow? personally I think they were cutting off the circulation to his hands but we made him take them off, much to his displeasure.

Sunday I filled in a girls league locally and the fourth out of five games was just like that Mark I bet their were thirty five held balls in that game. But I didn't see any neon nail polish.

Thank god I get back on the real circut with an ORCC Game Friday night. and JC on Saturday. I have longed for some good basketball for awhile but I'll have to wait until saturday for that.

Seems like the first and third sentences here contradict each other.........No such creature as elite 6th grade girls.

Girls tonight.

All the JV players from the home team were wearing fluorescent green shoelaces. All the varsity players were wearing fluorescent pink ones.

Next we'll be the shoelace police.

Sock Police comes first.

If that's what they want to pay me for, I guess I'll do it. $115 (including mileage) for a girls varsity game isn't a bad payday.

I guess one team was just slightly more "elite" than the other. :p

I see somebody has inside poop.

How could this have been an 'elite' league with 17 held balls? first quarter? absurd. Did you let the play evolve or toot the second the both touched the ball? Sounds like a very weak league. Not to mention the lopsided score.

No value judgement Mark, but it sounds like you don't enjoy doing this level of play.

Actually, he just has a good laugh at it, which is necessary for sanity.

In my GV game last night (see above), I called 4 carries (some of these were beauties, too -- I mean hand under the ball, 3-step carries right around a defender) and (wait for it) another 3-second violation. And this one was a beauty, too. I was watching the player and was about to call it (and when you average one a year, you can imagine the level of camping this involved) when the defensive coach started yelling for it. Well, I don't like to be told how to call the game, so I let it go some more. Finally, about 3 seconds LATER with the player not moving, I had to call it and prepared for the other coach to start in about the coach calling the game. Nope, he told the player, "What did you expect?"

So it wasn't a top notch game and we had bodies all over the floor all night with parents and coaches wanting SOMETHING called and we felt like it was like being in the twilight zone.

Was it a fun GAME to work? Not really. Does it mean I'll be giving up the LEVEL because of it? Nope.

(And there was some perverse joy in getting a $115 check for a game that probably wouldn't have been a decent big school freshman game. Of course, I spent 4 hours driving to and fro...)

Can I ask what they give you for mileage?? Are you way up in "Ya hey dere country?"

My standard for blowing the held ball adapts based on the quality of play, I'll be the first to admit it. In a good girls varsity game, I'll make sure the ball is tightly held by both players and will wait to make sure it's not just momentarily touched by two opposing players. For a boys game, I'll wait even longer.

6th grade girls? The threshold is considerably lower. I don't care how "elite" they are. Letting it go too long is just asking for it, IMO.

Nah, I live 20 minutes north of Madison.

It's the conference. They recognized that to get officials out to Southwestern Wisconsin they had to pay mileage and good game fees. They are the only "local" conference to pay a $65 game fee. It appears that they cap the mileage at $50, which is actually $20 more than I was expecting last night.

I'm sure you've had the partner who can't wait to signal jump ball the nanosecond it's touched by two opposing players.