How to deal with bad refs

[M&M Guy]

coach-rec, Bob gave you the best advice here - talk to the league administrators. Part of the reason you may not be getting the answer(s) you want is because we hear a lot of complaints from coaches and fans about how we miss calls, cheat, etc., and in most cases it is actually a lack of understanding of the rules by those same coaches and fans that leads to their wrong conclusions. Add to that the fact that fans, coaches and players have an emotional stake in the outcome, and see things with that built-in bias, while officials (for the most part) really do not care who wins or loses.

In your example plays, are you 100% certain the defender that "came across the legs" of your player actually initiated the contact, or did your player initiate the contact and move into the defender? On the no-call at one end with the foul on the other, are you 100% certain the actions and contact were exactly the same? Did you have the same angle on both plays to be able to say for certainty they were the same? On the blocked shot, are you 100% sure the ball didn't get blocked first, then the arm was hit after? Or, did the ball get hit first, causing the shooter's arm to look like it was hit? Did you have the same look as the official on the play?

There is, of course, the other side of it, as mentioned by some of the others. Most of the time you will get less-experienced refs working rec leagues, and therefore you will get "less-experienced" calls. I can guarantee you won't find Ed Hightower or Karl Hess working any of your games. You may be able to get a slightly better level of officiating by getting the league to pay better, or by providing training to the officials that do work the league. It sounds like there isn't much in the way of proper mechanics being used, if each official stays on one end of the court for each half. They should switch positions after every foul call, and in some cases on violations. But it is well known that mechanics are a lot looser in rec leagues than they are in sanctioned games. Is there also a chance the officials working those 2 "favored" teams know the guys on those teams? Sure. But again, it's an issue that you and the league need to work out. How much more are you willing to pay to play, to allow for better pay and training for the officials? What if the guys that do work are the only ones available, since all the better officials are out working sanctioned games those nights?

Finally, what difference does it really make in the long run if you have bad officials, or if the officials make bad calls? Does your team make all it's shots? Do the officials ever have to watch your team throw the ball away with unforced errors? Will it keep you from earning a living and paying for food for your family? Will it prevent cancer from being cured? In other words, keep the rec game in perpsective - it's only a game.