All Girls, All the Time

[nine01c]

Originally posted by Jerry Blum
I officiate both boy's and girl's here in missouri and on the girls side of it the only difference I see other than the athleticism and the competiveness(sp?) of blowouts is that the boy's aren't as vindictive. Meaning that if there is a problem or something that upsets someone in the boy's game there is usually a reaction and it ends pretty much right away. In the girls games the same situation there may be a reaction right away but 4 or 5 possessions later they will make up for what happened. Sometimes it makes you have to keep on your toes more for the girls games than in some boys games.

I would rather do the boys games but if I was in a situation of having to be in 2 associations to get both I wouldn't have any problem doing all girls if would get more and more competitive games.

What you observe, Jerry, IMO, is the nature of boys versus girls, in general. Boys, in daily work/play duke it out, wrestle around some, then it's forgotten. Girls, however, hold the grudges, and let things seethe for an undetermined length of time. This is not saying one gender is better, just different.

As far as refereeing games, I prefer boys for the faster pace and (generally) better skills. I agree, many an 8th grade boys game has been far better than the girls JV game the day before. However, being a female ref in Massachusetts will require me to "fight hard" to get the boys games (I'm talking Fr/JV). It will be a rough road if I decide to travel it.