Put LOTS of miles on the shoes and the Jeep this weekend…lol
Saturday’s AAU tournament in Michigan (early morning I might
add), my officiating partners were kind enough to let me get my games in so
that I could hit the road to Sandusky, Ohio to join my family & friends at
the indoor waterpark.
Saturday was a strange kind of day on the court….the
Ying to my Yang, then the oil to my water water, or whichever cliché that you’d
like to/or normally use.
With my one partner, we roll through games seamlessly as we
are almost always in synch on the court.
We have a ton of fun out there, but we are on our P’s & Q’s while
doing so, and we make the necessary calls to keep the game flowing under
control.
Now my other partner
on Saturday….NOT so sure bro was a “real” official
(and the red font was no mistake)…lol I’m pretty certain that he didn’t know some of
the rules, had VERY weak mechanics, didn’t make any tough calls, and just
seemed to be going through the motions for the most part. So imagine alternating between the two
partners for 8 straight games….I was in need of a few TALL ONES after that!!
After finishing up my last game (and telling my other
partner NO on a couple of occasions that I didn’t want to do his last 3
games..NO THANKS BRO, I gotta go!), I hit the road and headed to Sandusky to
the water park, sweaty, tired from being up since 6:30am and working in a hot
gym, and just ready to relax. An hour
later I arrive at the hotel and check in, etc. and open the door and I’m
greeted by my little one, who runs and jumps into my arms…not caring that dad
is sweaty, in need of a shower, tired, or whatever…lol She really doesn’t understand that her dad
works hard in order to provide things like this for her, but at the age of 7, she really doesn’t need too, she just needs to
enjoy herself and let dad worry about all that…LOL. But she said “thanks dad, this is so awesome”
I was able to get a
quick shower and headed down to dinner & drinks with my family and friends. After dinner I changed and went straight to
the waterpark to access the hot tub…lol WHOA….
talk about sitting back and letting the day pass me by mentally as I held my
feet and lower legs against the jets of water..ahhhhh!
AAU basketball has been and is still good to me and my
fellow officials. It provides an
opportunity to work on our games/mechanics, to have fun, and to make extra $$,
sometimes LOTS of extra $$.... Periodically I’ll bypass a day of reffing in
order to do things like the waterpark, shopping, etc. I know some wonder and will ask why I’m
giving up a day of making $$....but to see the smiles and excitement on my
family’s faces…THAT is reason enough for me!
