I’ve been asked multiple times why I’ve returned to officiating basketball after an 18-year hiatus. “Why subject yourself to all the abuse from fans and coaches?”
“You couldn’t pay me enough to get out there.”
Those are the types of comments you often hear. Along with many more that give you a negative impression of what it’s like to serve as a basketball referee.
Keying on the word “serve” gives you a better perspective on why I love being out there, and why many of us continue running the hardwood even though our bodies are screaming for us to stop. We enjoy serving the game. We want to make it better.
There are other broad basic categories that keep us going, like, “I love the game. I’m giving something back to the sport. It’s great exercise. The camaraderie with other officials is a blast. I’m ON THE COURT being involved in the contest, and that’s exciting. If you don’t have good officials, you don’t have a high quality contest.” The list goes on.
More specifically, I’ve had a few things occur the past two years or so that stand out and remind me why officiating basketball is fun, poignant and a life-learning experience on a regular basis. Take a fifth grade girls game as an example.
This occurred in the fall of 2019. I watched a stick-thin girl come into the contest, clearly something physically wrong with her. Based on her lack of hair, shrunken limbs and some other physical issues, it was very apparent she was likely undergoing cancer treatment or for some other disease. Yet, here she was battling on the court.
And, I mean BATTLING. She got in there and started bodying her opponent down to the hoop. Shorter and easily 50 pounds lighter, she didn’t back down. I marveled at the sight, my heart warming, getting emotional, just seeing this kid out there on the court wanting to do her best and give it her all. That keeps you wanting to referee.
I bumped into her and her dad in the hallway afterwards, congratulating her on how well she played and her effort. Near the end of the game, she canned a three-pointer. You would have thought she won the NCAA Division I women’s championship game on a buzzer beater. Her smile (and her father’s) beamed when I congratulated her.
This past season, I officiated a girls’ junior varsity high school game. Nothing unusual. I wore a mask, all the players wore masks, as did the coaches and fans. The game proceeded.
In the second half, we put a girl on the free throw line for two shots. An opponent lined up, looked at her, and said, “I really like your face mask.”
The girl about to shoot the free throw smiled, and said, “Thank you.” Then she made both shots.
I cracked up. I’ve probably told that story a dozen times I found it so amusing that in the middle of a pandemic this simple little statement from one adolescent to another could make my day.
Those are the actions that keep me going. You don’t think about them beforehand. They just “happen” in the course of a game. You might be emotionally touched by an incident, you might laugh, you might ponder something later that evening while sipping a beer. Who knows?
What I do know is this: There is always something new happening on the court, and if you aren’t out there, you don’t get to see or hear it. Get in the game.
“You couldn’t pay me enough to get out there.”
Those are the types of comments you often hear. Along with many more that give you a negative impression of what it’s like to serve as a basketball referee.
Keying on the word “serve” gives you a better perspective on why I love being out there, and why many of us continue running the hardwood even though our bodies are screaming for us to stop. We enjoy serving the game. We want to make it better.
There are other broad basic categories that keep us going, like, “I love the game. I’m giving something back to the sport. It’s great exercise. The camaraderie with other officials is a blast. I’m ON THE COURT being involved in the contest, and that’s exciting. If you don’t have good officials, you don’t have a high quality contest.” The list goes on.
More specifically, I’ve had a few things occur the past two years or so that stand out and remind me why officiating basketball is fun, poignant and a life-learning experience on a regular basis. Take a fifth grade girls game as an example.
This occurred in the fall of 2019. I watched a stick-thin girl come into the contest, clearly something physically wrong with her. Based on her lack of hair, shrunken limbs and some other physical issues, it was very apparent she was likely undergoing cancer treatment or for some other disease. Yet, here she was battling on the court.
And, I mean BATTLING. She got in there and started bodying her opponent down to the hoop. Shorter and easily 50 pounds lighter, she didn’t back down. I marveled at the sight, my heart warming, getting emotional, just seeing this kid out there on the court wanting to do her best and give it her all. That keeps you wanting to referee.
I bumped into her and her dad in the hallway afterwards, congratulating her on how well she played and her effort. Near the end of the game, she canned a three-pointer. You would have thought she won the NCAA Division I women’s championship game on a buzzer beater. Her smile (and her father’s) beamed when I congratulated her.
This past season, I officiated a girls’ junior varsity high school game. Nothing unusual. I wore a mask, all the players wore masks, as did the coaches and fans. The game proceeded.
In the second half, we put a girl on the free throw line for two shots. An opponent lined up, looked at her, and said, “I really like your face mask.”
The girl about to shoot the free throw smiled, and said, “Thank you.” Then she made both shots.
I cracked up. I’ve probably told that story a dozen times I found it so amusing that in the middle of a pandemic this simple little statement from one adolescent to another could make my day.
Those are the actions that keep me going. You don’t think about them beforehand. They just “happen” in the course of a game. You might be emotionally touched by an incident, you might laugh, you might ponder something later that evening while sipping a beer. Who knows?
What I do know is this: There is always something new happening on the court, and if you aren’t out there, you don’t get to see or hear it. Get in the game.