Traveling official……a balance between acceptance and utter ignorance!

This time of year for me can be pretty brutal when it comes to traveling.  A lot of people’s dream is to “travel”, and while that is great in some instances, other times it’s a necessary evil to travel so that you can afford to travel….does this make sense?

As an employee, a basketball official, a volleyball/travel volleyball official, and father of a travel volleyball player, traveling during this time of year is almost 2^nd nature.  Not to mention several trips up and down the turnpike to NE Ohio to help out my father, who had a mini stroke this past summer and is doing well, but not fully back to where he was, so as his son, it is my responsibility to travel down to assist with this and that.

Being on the road doing basketball games definitely has its ups and downs.  Being in different gyms on a nightly basis, not seeing the same people saying that same things is quite refreshing for the most part….but then you also are subject to run into those people that are still stuck in their ancient ways, where you are judged by the color of your skin instead of the black & white (erry correlation huh?) stripes on your shirt.  As a professional on and off of the court, I just try to go about my business and let those few childish (insert choice words here…lol) dwell in their insane pool of ignorance!  A recent incident at a school system in my area has pretty much led to a boycott of that district from the majority of black/African American (even quite a few non-black/AA officials).  In this day and time where there is a severe shortage of officials, let’s see how the preponderance of ignorance works out of them. 

Okay, on a lighter note, going to gyms where the staff knows you by name and respects what you
do, it quite refreshing.  I actually look forward to visiting some gyms where you are greeted with a handshake, offer of food/drink and some very interesting tales……, while other gyms, it is strictly a business trip…go in and do your best, and move on to the next one.  

There are those that believe it’s financially rewarding to be an official.  I, like most, definitely don’t do it just for the money, but the financial compensation surely does assist with things such as Travel volleyball for my daughter, a few trips to the outlets….lol, etc. 

If you have ever thought about becoming an official, I encourage you to do so, whatever sport you choose, it’s a way to give back to our youth and communities to ensure that high school sports continue to thrive and provide opportunities for our children.

6 years ago I established and wrote my first blog :-)   I have had a very favorable response to this blog, and even requests that I publish more often.  I thank each and every one of you that take the time to read my thoughts/opinions, and will do my best to continue to provide a quality product.

Happy Holidays!

 ✌🏽&❤️

Definition of a good official?

In basketball, an official (usually called a referee) enforces the rules and maintains order in the game. Basketball is regarded as among the most difficult sports to officiate due to the speed of play, complexity of rules, the case-specific interpretations of rules, and the instantaneous decision required (definition from Wikipedia)

Does a good official need to validate that they are indeed that by tournament appearances?  In my opinion, not at all.  I know really good officials that have yet to officiate a tournament game, and have been officiating for years.  I would work with these officials ANY day of the week. 

I have, and will NEVER let a profession that I have chosen to participate in, define me in any way, shape or form.  Tournament games are NOT the only form of validation that you are a good official.  

If an official goes out, works hard and does their very best each time out, that in itself should be a testament of what type of official they are.  Taking pride in your work, knowing and enforcing the rules equitably, professionalism (on and off the court) and having a strong work ethic is paramount to what I feel makes good officials.

When a hall of fame official (50+ years in the game) is sitting in the front row of a game, and tells the officials that they are doing a great job out there....is that validation or what?

Of course it makes some very proud to be able to say I have officiated state tournament games, etc.  Me.....my pride lies in:

1.       My family, the fact that we are all healthy, kids did/doing very well with their education, and fortunately aren't faced with the challenges of a lot of others;

2.       My career/job and staff where there's a much bigger picture and opportunities to make a difference in the lives of so many on a daily basis;

3.       The fact that my work & work ethic on & off the court is recognized by my peers (hall of famers or not).

Now THAT is what I am comfortable being defined by.

Do I, and have I officiated tournament games? Yes!  Will I do so again this year?  Yes!

As President of my association, I feel the need to publically recognize those really good officials who are not recognized in this manner.  Is the selection process political in nature?  I don't know, but the perception is certainly out there. I believe one of my roles as President of my association, is to represent ALL members of our association, not just those that are selected to participate in the state tournament. 

I am extremely proud of those from my association that are selected, please don't get me wrong, and I congratulate each one both publically and in person.  There is an immense sense of pride when one or more of your association members are representing the assoc. on the biggest stages in Ohio high school basketball...but there is also something special to be said about those that work extremely hard, do a helluva job, be it Varsity, JV & Freshman, Junior High/Middle School, CYO, or any of the number of AAU related tournaments that now exist.  Do all officials work hard....NOPE!  Everyone knows at least one that doesn't....LOL, and it’s sad and hard/frustrating to watch a lazy official.

To those officials that continue to work hard, give back and provide the game with what our main mission/purpose is as officials...... I encourage you to PLEASE keep the faith, continue to work hard, take pride, and give the teams/ schools your best while on the court...they deserve it.   Please do not let a perceived arbitrary process define your impact on the game, and what we as officials bring to the game....it's much bigger than that!!

You ARE making a difference!

Small town Friday nights!

Sporting events in small rural towns in something special to behold.  When the entire community comes out to support, not only the varsity team, but the JV team, now that is some type of special community support.
 

In larger communities, attendance at some of the “bigger” games has the support, but the majority of the games has medium to sparse attendance from what I have witnessed.

 I recently officiated a game in one of the small town/rural communities in NW Ohio.  My usual modus operandi(aka…M.O.) is to arrive at the site/school shortly before 6pm for my 7:30 games, pretty much 1.5 hrs before my scheduled tip off.  On this evening, I arrived at 5:40pm, only to find the entire parking lot was already filled with vehicles…(hmmm wondering if there’s another event taking place simultaneously....concert?  play? what??).

Upon walking into the school, there was a line of about 8-10 people waiting to purchase admission tickets.  I looked around the line into the gym to see one side was already almost completely full (my mind went right to…..did they move the varsity start time up??...lol).  I meet the site administrator, and he begins to walk me to the officials locker room.  Once inside the gym, I see that the other side is almost full also!

Game time arrives….we exit the locker room and enter the court, and the place is PACKED!  Student sections jammed, parents and grandparents in the customary seats, etc, the only thing missing was the pep band….but there was enough noise coming from the respective student sections that it really didn’t matter.

What I really love is that during the game, whether it be during time outs, etc. some fans take the opportunity to tell you that “you guys are doing a great job out there”.  I like to ask one or two of them if they’d like to “trade positions” at least for a quarter…and the answer is ALWAYS a resounding NO Thanks!!  This particular game, there was a group of older gentlemen sitting together ( I imagine they’ve been doing this for years), but one guys says to me(during a time out)… “hey ref, you guys are doing a great job, but the guy down there isn’t happy with you”  I laugh, and reply back….”yeah I know, he thinks I suck and has expressed that to me several times already, but I told him one more time and it’ll suck being outside in the -2 degree weather”.  The gentlemen chuckle and one says, “yeah that would REALLY suck”.
 
Another asked if I’m going to do anything else about it……

Me: Nope, I might blow my whistle REALLY loud right in front of him, but that’s about it!”

The game goes off without any of that type of drama, and turned out to be a really good game!  At one point, the student sections were so loud (chanting back and forth), that any weak whistle (sorry…pet peeve of mine) would not be heard…..lol”

After the game, I shower and get dressed and as I’m walking out of the school, players, parents/grandparents all turn to say, “Thank you, you guys did a really good job out there tonight” and offer me some food for the ride home!   Can’t really ask for anything more!
Support for today’s youth is paramount!  Yes, we live in a generation where the majority of them think that they could never survive 5 min’s without that shackle (aka…phone) in their hands, but communities that come out and show support to these kids are doing them a huge service, even if the majority of them don’t/can’t comprehend it at this stage of their lives.

It’s all about support, and support is something that is increasingly fading away in today’s society.

Keep up the awesome work small town, America!