kick 'im while he's down

[26 Year Gap]

Adult Wreck Leagues. There is really no good reason to do these games. Money is not a good reason. The jerk-to-participant ratio is higher than at almost any other venue. It does not allow you to really work on your game. And you end up with 'help me' posts on the forum.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by 26 Year Gap

Adult Wreck Leagues. There is really no good reason to do these games. Money is not a good reason. The jerk-to-participant ratio is higher than at almost any other venue. It does not allow you to really work on your game.

I slightly disagree with this post. Thirty years ago, when I first started officiating, my high school assigner actually assigned mens recreation league games in a few towns in addition to assigning high school games. As an inexperienced official I had to learn game management skills real fast, on the job. I learned that hustling, giving my best effort, and officiating these games in a professional manner, as I would a high school game, helped me to manage certain situations. Of course, these techniques were supplemented with a few, well, maybe more than a few, well placed technical fouls, and ejections.

My local assigner no longer assigns mens recreation league games. I don't make myself available to work any mens recreation league games from various "mini" assigners, even though I have been asked to do so on many on occasions. But I'm still glad that I had those early challenging experiences. My high school games are a "piece of cake" compared to those mens recreation games. I honestly believe that those early experiences helped me to become a better high school official, especially in terms of game management.