Coaches understanding LGP

[just another ref]

Originally Posted by Smitty

There's nothing to gain from reffing these games if you're an experienced official.

What is there to gain from calling any game? I don't get this. Whatever the level, if you're available and you're asked, if you want to go, go, and if you don't, don't go.

[Smitty]

Originally Posted by just another ref

What is there to gain from calling any game? I don't get this. Whatever the level, if you're available and you're asked, if you want to go, go, and if you don't, don't go.

For an experienced official, a CYO Middle School game offers nothing that will make that official better in any faze of the game. I think you'd have to reach pretty far to say that this represents an opportunity to "see plays" and learn anything. There's very little structure as there is in school district middle school games. If you want to go work these games, knock yourself out.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Smitty

For an experienced official, a CYO Middle School game offers nothing that will make that official better in any faze of the game. I think you'd have to reach pretty far to say that this represents an opportunity to "see plays" and learn anything. There's very little structure as there is in school district middle school games. If you want to go work these games, knock yourself out.

Agree whole-heartedly. There are just some games I will not do. My AAU assignors know that I will not volunteer my services for any games below 12 years old. I also no longer do any youth or adult rec leagues or military intramurals. Way too easy for me to get into bad habits when working games I have no interest in doing, so I stay away from them.

[Smitty]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

Agree whole-heartedly. There are just some games I will not do. My AAU assignors know that I will not volunteer my services for any games below 12 years old. I also no longer do any youth or adult rec leagues or military intramurals. Way too easy for me to get into bad habits when working games I have no interest in doing, so I stay away from them.

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I can train officials much better at high school games. There are more standards. There are procedures that must be followed. What is expected at one school is expected at another school anywhere in the state of Illinois for example. I might have 15 different standards or leagues working a middle/junior high contest.

There is a reason we do not run a single high school camp at a middle school game or contest is involved.

I will gladly pass if the goal is to train someone. I would have to be doing it for the easy money first and then training a distant 100 on the list of 100.

Thanks for adding these points - I didn't even think about the poor mechanics and varying rules these leagues tend to have. I stopped working adult rec leagues many years ago - the last straw was because my assignor happened to play in one of these leagues and he ended up winning the award for the player most often ejected from games for being a jacka$$. Oh the irony. You can't pay me enough to put up with a bunch of whiny adult never-was-but-thought-they-were's.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by so cal lurker

... one of the joys of CYO middle school hoops in our area is we ahve such a wide variety of refs some who know (at least mostly) the rules and some who call based on whatever they've seen on TV.

Originally Posted by Smitty

You're not going to get the cream of the crop in these games - more the sludge from the bottom. And the coaches ... don't know the rules either. There's nothing to gain from reffing these games if you're an experienced official.

Originally Posted by Smitty

CYO middle school ball ... don't have a decent pool of officials in the first place, and in order to have the vast majority of that pool be competent, you'd have to pay them a decent amount of money.

Originally Posted by so cal lurker

...we were warned not to expect good referees ...

Originally Posted by Smitty

There's very little structure as there is in school district middle school games.

You guys wouldn't recognize the games that I often work as Catholic middle school games. Real uniforms (not just T-shirts with numbers), knowledgeable coaches, trained adult timers, and scorers. All the schools have great "subvarsity" (below eighth grade) programs (some with three age group teams below the eighth grade level). Great concession stands (one makes tremendous breakfast sandwiches). League, state, and New England tournament at the end of the season.

Our assigner sits on the league board of directors. Coaches have to attend a mandatory new rules meeting at the start of each season. Officials are expected to show up in full uniform (no sweats, no sneakers). All Fashion Police rules are enforced. Assignments are made through Arbiter. Our assigner hosts (and pays for) a Holiday Pizza Party every year at a local pizza joint, all the pizza, and beer, you can eat, and drink.

We used to have a preseason IAABO Refresher Exam study group until our "high school board" decided it was a great idea and copied it, and now it's mandatory that we go to one of the "high school board" Refresher Exam study groups.

All our officials are "certified" IAABO officials. About 75% are high school varsity officials, the rest are junior varsity (subvarsity) officials. 25% of our forty Catholic middle school officials made the state public high school tournament list last year, and we've got a handful of college officials working these Catholic middle school games.

Our assigner recruits only the best young officials to join our group, all young officials are vetted before they join us, they have to come highly recommended. Young officials don't apply, they have to be invited.

Some relaxed mechanics. We don't switch on every foul, and don't always make it all the way to the reporting area. Lead will occasionally inbound with a bounce pass across the lane to avoid the trail moving across the court.

Veterans are expected to offer constructive criticism to the younger guys, and gals, and help them move up the public high school officiating ladder.

"Varsity" (eighth grade, seven minute periods) double header (a boys game, and a girls game): $86.00. "Subvarsity" (below eighth grade, six minute periods) doubleheaders, or tripleheaders: $30.00 per game.