Do you remember the first game you officiated?

[WreckRef]

I was a sophomore in high school, me and one of my friends signed up to do 3rd grade YMCA games. We had no clue what we were doing, all we knew is we had watched & played tons of basketball so we figured it couldn't be that hard to ref (I had been umpiring baseball for 3 years by this time.)

It was pretty much a disaster, I don't know how many double whistles we had. I would call a foul and he would think it was a clean black or vice versa. We had no clue who was supposed to be looking where. I think we both just watched the ball the entire game.

Later in the year we actually had to break up a fight...in the stands. One dad started choking another dad yelling, "your kid is killing my kid!!!" Needless to say they were both removed from the gym.

I didn't referee basketball again until 1997 or 1998 and have done so ever since.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Texas Aggie

I remember both my first scrimmage and my first actual game. My first scrimmage was a BV involving 2 pretty good teams. 2 other guys started the scrimmage and then the supervising official sent me and another guy in after a few minutes. We had gone up and down the court a few times and I was petrified but hadn't made any calls. Then, I was lead and this Dallas South Oak Cliff player drives the lane and runs right over his opponent. I blew my whistle, hand in the air, then pointed at the offensive player (now on the ground) and put my hand behind my head for a PC. Not the smoothest mechanics ever but it was technically correct. Anyway, I'm reporting the foul and the coach of SOC steps out and says, "Young man, you can't be making calls like that!" I said, "coach, he ran right over him" and then went on. After I "subbed" out, the supervising official asked me about that call. Now worried that I had made a mistake, I stood my ground: "I thought it was the right call." He said, "so did I! But don't wait too long expecting the SOC coach to agree with you."

South O-Cliff? That is/was a pretty rough part of Dallas. Isn't that where Dennis Rodman grew up?

[GoodwillRef]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

No.

Bob...you are still a young man...is your memory going already?

[GoodwillRef]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

I forgot to mention that I received $1.25 for working the game. That was good money for a kid back then, since my part time job working at a local hamburger joint paid $1.00 an hour. I had a friend who worked as an usher at a local theater and he got 85 cents an hour.

I think that after they took taxes out, I was left with something like $1.15. In those days, that bought 23 candy bars.

Mark, how was Dr. Naismith as a coach? Was he hard you guys back then?

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by GoodwillRef

Mark, how was Dr. Naismith as a coach? Was he hard you guys back then?

I didn't play for him. I was his assistant coach. I came up with the idea of naming all set plays after successful basketball programs. Unfortunately, all our plays had the same name, "Springfield Y".

[Juulie Downs]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

I didn't play for him. I was his assistant coach. I came up with the idea of naming all set plays after successful basketball programs. Unfortunately, all our plays had the same name, "Springfield Y".

Holy cow, a new joke? So the world ends tomorrow....?

[Texas Aggie]

South O-Cliff? That is/was a pretty rough part of Dallas. Isn't that where Dennis Rodman grew up?

I don't know about where he grew up, but he went to school there. The scrimmage wasn't at SOC. They were the visiting team. I've never actually been to SOC, though I've probably been to just about every other Dallas HS.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by Juulie Downs

Holy cow, a new joke? So the world ends tomorrow....?

Yup.

[Forksref]

1973-74 season I don't remember exactly the first game but I remember a series of games at the school where I had previously coached, Elmwood JHS, Cygnet, OH.

Of course I was bad, but I felt that I had the temperament for officiating. I made some mistakes in scheduling early on. In order to get games, a guy and I took an entire freshman schedule at my old HS, Perrysburg, OH. BIG mistake. We saw them so much that we knew who was going to do what violation, etc. They, I am sure got sick of us and we of them.

I got good training. We had to attend 5 rules interp. mtgs. in Toledo each season and there were a lot of good officials there. And they helped a lot when we went out and did JV games and the varsity officials mentored us.

Two years later I got my first varsity game in Lima, OH and after the game I realized that I wasn't ready. Good thing to know.

This past weekend I did 19 games in an adult tournament here and they were all 20 min. halves. I thank the Lord that I still am physically capable of doing this. (Mentally is a different story.) 3-man crew definitely extends a career.

[fullor30]

Originally Posted by Juulie Downs

Do I remember??

You never forget your first...

Other than the fact that I was completely and totally awful, the funny thing was my 18 month old son. He was sitting right at the division line with my husband. He'd see me run toward him, and light up with glee, and then as I'd run past he'd start to cry. And then we'd go back the other way and do it all again! Poor kid, he'll probably need counselling for life!

We both had too much to drink that night...............oops wrong thread.

My first patched game was at Bill Murray's old grammar school. 6th grade boys, I was terrible, yet knew how to fake it from watching so many games.

Actually, my first game, many many years earlier was at my grammar school when I was a sophomore in high school. I had no idea what I was doing and got two bucks for the effort. Today, if a school trotted out two unpatched newbies out of uniform, they'd be arrested.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Forksref

1973-74 season I don't remember exactly the first game but I remember a series of games at the school where I had previously coached, Elmwood JHS, Cygnet, OH.

...

I got good training. We had to attend 5 rules interp. mtgs. in Toledo each season and there were a lot of good officials there. And they helped a lot when we went out and did JV games and the varsity officials mentored us.

Were the meetings held in MTD's attic?

[Scratch85]

Can't remember who or where, but my shirt had a collar, my whistle was metal with a rubber mouth guard and a pea and the only call I made was OOB.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

Were the meetings held in MTD's attic?

I remember going to meetings in Og's cave.

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

I remember going to meetings in Og's cave.

Where well-flamed dinosaur meat was served? I heard of that restaurant chain of caves.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by Ref Ump Welsch

Where well-flamed dinosaur meat was served? I heard of that restaurant chain of caves.

They're still in business. The special is mammoth nuggets. You can only imagine what those are like.