"I'm 52 years old, and in all my years..."

[DLH17]

"...of watching basketball, I've never said anything to an official after a game until now." "You are the most whistle happy official I've ever seen in those 52 years. I just thought you should know that."

This is the fan feedback I received after an MAYB game over the weekend in which 3 players on "her" team fouled themselves out of the game....and lost by 15 points in the process.

I could only smile and chuckle as she removed all doubt that she was absolutely clueless about the game and how it should be officiated.

[CLH]

WOW! Someone finally outdid me on the MAYB circuit! I worked that crap for a couple of summers and they stopped using me because there were more people leaving the buildings than entering because I was throwing every coach and spectator out. Those people were absolute nuts and of course everyone of them is a referee themselves in a former life. Thus, they know ALL the rules and you don't know jack. It was absolutely pathetic, youth sports at its worst. Never again!

[tref]

Originally Posted by CLH

Those people were absolute nuts and of course everyone of them is a referee themselves in a former life. Thus, they know ALL the rules and you don't know jack.

Had a coach that "reffed too" over the weekend. I call a b/c foul on the defender just above the FT line extended. When I indicate that the throw-in is on the endline, he replies "that's above the FT line, we should get it side out!!"

Yeah ok ref, I'm sorry ummm, COACH

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by tref

Had a coach that "reffed too" over the weekend. I call a b/c foul on the defender just above the FT line extended. When I indicate that the throw-in is on the endline, he replies "that's above the FT line, we should get it side out!!"

Yeah ok ref, I'm sorry ummm, COACH

Where the ball gets inbounded can be very important to a coach - and should be to a ref.

We get harped on this allot in our evaluations. I make sure to point the spot out to my partners and ensure they go there.

[DLH17]

Originally Posted by grunewar

Where the ball gets inbounded can be very important to a coach - and should be to a ref.

We get harped on this allot in our evaluations. I make sure to point the spot out to my partners and ensure they go there.

BTW....great point (pardon the pun). I'm working on doing this in a consistent manner. Another reason why I love working these tournaments. Lots of games provides lots of opps to strengthen weaknesses (and develop bad habits for some).

[JRutledge]

I do not know if you can expect the best of the best officiating when you have guys working multiple games in a row and you have running clocks all day. It also does not help when everything about the games are modified to keep games within an hour. And most of the time you do not get the best officials working these tournaments at all. In many cases tournaments and leagues like this get whomever (or whoever ) they can get. Most veterans that have been around are not working these games. I worked a tournament this past weekend where every official was hustling because it was a camp to get hired. And we were working 3 Person the entire time. It was tough to do that as teams were running up and down the court and hardly running offenses. I can only imagine what it would be like to work multiple games in a row and only two person with those athletes. Hard to get officials that can keep up in those cases let alone expect consistent hustle.

Peace

[CLH]

Originally Posted by tref

Had a coach that "reffed too" over the weekend. I call a b/c foul on the defender just above the FT line extended. When I indicate that the throw-in is on the endline, he replies "that's above the FT line, we should get it side out!!"

Yeah ok ref, I'm sorry ummm, COACH

Yeah I excused a fan out of a district matchup this season. She somehow convinced the gym administrator that since she's a referee also that she was allowed leeway through the state that allowed her to return. I saw her back in the gym and killed the game and the administrator informed me of this. I politely let her know that there is no such provision that allows this and further she is only taking this lady's word that she was an official in the first place. I didn't want the adminstrator to look dumb by believing some lies and allowing an ejected fan back in the gym so it would be best for all parties if Ms. Thang was politely escorted back outside the gym.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by tref

Had a coach that "reffed too" over the weekend. I call a b/c foul on the defender just above the FT line extended. When I indicate that the throw-in is on the endline, he replies "that's above the FT line, we should get it side out!!"

Yeah ok ref, I'm sorry ummm, COACH

Okay, I have to ask, because the way you worded this leads me to believe the ball should have been taken out on the sideline. Unless it's in the FT circle, anything above the FT line would be taken out on the sideline. What am I missing?

[Judtech]

"Thank you for noticing coach. I really do enjoy officiating and am glad that happiness is showing through. You just made my day. And BTW, I had you pegged for someone in their early 40's"

[DLH17]

I've worked dozens of MAYB games. Overall, I love the work. There are isolated instances of crap like this, though. What was interesting about this particular game was the fact the head coach was in my ear on two previous occasions during the game acknowledging how much his team was fouling and praising me for the way I handled one of his disgruntled/disrespectful players at mid-court during free throws.

I had the coach on my side. Grandma-fan was insanely lost in all the "drama". She should have sought a debriefing with her grandson's head coach before approaching me. But, that is ok. I was confident in how I managed the game. I'm ready to pizz her off next weekend - or whenever she dares to watch me work again.

[rockyroad]

OK, help me out here. What is MAYB???

[DLH17]

http://www.mayb.com/index1.html

[bainsey]

Originally Posted by rockyroad

OK, help me out here. What is MAYB???

Thanks for asking, Rock. I'm on the other coast, and hadn't heard of it, either. Sounds like the equivalent of AAU in our area.

Nice reply, Judtech. I'd have to resist the temptation of saying, "You're ONLY 52?!" (That wouldn't end well.)

[DLH17]

Originally Posted by bainsey

Thanks for asking, Rock. I'm on the other coast, and hadn't heard of it, either. Sounds like the equivalent of AAU in our area.

Nice reply, Judtech. I'd have to resist the temptation of saying, "You're ONLY 52?!" (That wouldn't end well.)

In terms of the level of play, AAU is much much better around here, imo. But, MAYB is a growing organization that attracts a lot of teams - good and bad - to dozens of tournaments with 5 game guarantees.

AAU ball around here uses a shot clock and, depending on age group, allows a player 6 personal fouls. MAYB does not utilize a shot clock and allows 5 player personals only.

As far as that 52 yr old Grandma-fan, when she approached me, she had a pleasant look on her face and extended her hand. I shook her hand (which turned out to be a mistake cuz she wouldn't let it go until she made her point). That's when she said, "I'm 52 years old". Of course, I immediately smiled and said "No no no! You look more like FORTY 2."

Unfortunately, she didn't fall over dead from being killed by my kindness. She wouldn't let go of my hand until I had all I could take of her perfume, hand lotion and criticism.

[JRutledge]

I have worked many of the alphabet soup leagues and all of them are basically the same. I do not know why this league would be much different as you still have coaches and fans that are clueless. And the kids are made up of players from different places or schools than who they would normally play with. The only difference I see is when we work these games from an officiating camp standpoint. As those camps encourage officials to take care of business and we are being evaluated for how we handle the coaches and players. Other than that, I do not see how these individuals behave differently.

Peace