I agree with you canuckrefguy.
in FIBA is the same about the certain "look" for officials.
but i think that if you are not so tall like myself(1.74m)but you are a good refree you can be a professional refree.

p.s
now,when someone will ask me :"Hi what is you'r hight?
i will say :"5ft 6in"...
it's sound taller than 1.74m...
i think i will try to Convert our metric system to Feet and inches...

Wow, Canuckref, I didn't realize we knew each other :D That's a joke. But I'm also 5'7" (roughly 1m 70cm). Maybe the similarity stops there. . .

I posted this story once, but I'll mention it again. When I went to camp this summer, Mickey Crowley was just talking to a bunch of us informally. He was saying that he hoped the camp would tell us what we need to do to "move up" to our desired level. So he looks right at me and says, "You? You need to grow about 6 inches!" It was obviously a joke, everybody laughed. We moved on.

But I'm not a real tall person, and I do have D1 aspirations. So on the last day of camp, I sought out Mickey and I asked him seriously how much my height would hold me back. His reply was close to the following:

"If you'd asked me 4 or 5 years ago, I'd have told you that you didn't have much of a chance. They were looking for guys with a very specific look. They wanted tall, athletic refs. They wanted the refs to resemble the players. But they came to realize that calling the game is much much more important than how the crew looks.

Now, if you were a 6'4" black guy who could run, then I'd have a home run. But if you can call a game, and understand what needs to be called, that's more important. I don't think you should worry about your height. If I were you, I wouldn't even think about it."

For what it's worth, I don't think he was just trying to make me feel better, either. Just my two cents.

Chuck

I am 6'4" (dunno the metric conversion).

The reason I add this reply is that although I am fairly tall, I have a relatively thin build. I only go about a buck 85 on the the scales (dunno the metric conversion there either). I do try to use mechanics that will project strength and use good posture to my advantage. However, I have to say that I have the same concerns about a certain "look" when it comes to build as Romano does with height. I guess we all can't look like Ed Hochuli!

Has anyone dealt with this aspect?

Mike Burns
Who is or what is Ed Hochuli?...
enywhy i agree with you

I care about how they handle the game - consistent calls, keeping up with and anticipating the play, good game management, knowing the rules, etc. Doesn't mater how tall you are to do that.

Ed Hochuli is an NFL (American Football) Ref that is in better shape than most of the players on the field. ;)

IMHO
The only true advantage to height is being able to have better vision in the Lead position. That being said, I belive that regardless of how tall an official is, they must work hard when officiating the post to get the right angle or position to officiate the play.

I remember a game that Ed worked earlier this season, where Larry Allen of the Cowboys (350 or so pounds) was bent over backwards and couldn't up/righted himself. Ed pulled him up and Pat Summerall commented that if Ed wasn't a weightlifter, there was not way he could have done that.

OK
NOW now i know Ed Hochuli !!
i can see that he is a good man...

I'd have to agree. Mike Carey is also in great shape. But Ed is very impressive. Both are very good officials as well.

PS - Ed refereed the Oakland-Tennessee game and Mike refereed the Tampa-Philly game.

PSS - Mike's brother, Don, was the back judge in the SB.

So as we all can see the official can be tall or short but he must be very good in the court!i'm not worry about my hight.what's more important is that you can call a game .

One other short official I just thought of. Randy McCall. Calls in the Mountain West Conference and others in that area. He is about 5'7". He has called Div 1 playoffs.

Good thread and I think Chuck is right on here. A few years ago, anybody under 6'2" would not even be considered for D1 Men's ball as a new official coming in. I think the pendulum is swinging back the other way and your officiating ability is the main driver now. I would say that as a "vertically challenged" official, you need to be really good to get past the presence or appearance bias.

Andy
i know it's a Good thread because i have the same "problem"
and i want to talk about that with you (all the others ref's)and see if you (the shorts ref's) have the same "problem" to.and now i know that the others think like myself about the hight of the officials.

[Edited by ROMANO on Jan 31st, 2003 at 12:57 AM]