Letting it get out of control

[VaTerp]

While I have seen games get "out of control" in large part due to incompetent officials, they are few and far between and ultimately the players are responsible for their own actions when things get out of hand.

What I really hate is when coaches say "you're gonna get my kids hurt." I did some 14U girls "league" games tonite and heard this from one coach and from a mother who is heavily involved with the AAU organization that runs this and other leagues throughout the year.

The mother's comment really agitated me. This is a competitive league where almost all of these girls will be playing HS ball next year and are relatively skilled so we let them play more than you would a regular 14 year old girls game. There was a loose ball situation that got very awkward with a couple of players hitting the ground. But there was no foul to be called whatsoever. Just players hustling and going for the ball. The mother is standing right by the table and says to me "somebody is gonna get hurt out there." I respond "there was nothing to call." She then says "it doesnt matter" to which I respond again "Ok, next time I'll just make something up."

The game after this one got much worse and I may share that story some other time. For now I'll just say that the more I officiate basketball the more I am reminded of how stupid and crazy SO many people are. Unreal.