The Penalty Box
February 24, 2021 at 2:30 a.m.
The Penalty Box
By Roger Grossman-
I have been officiating basketball again.
I never really stopped doing it, but for the last seven seasons I have been doing almost exclusively elementary games. And while I enjoy that level of basketball, I have had the itch to start working up the ladder a little bit.
Having a license to officiate middle school basketball is not required, but for freshman, junior varsity and varsity games it is. For me, that didn’t matter. I knew I would feel better walking onto the court with the patch on my shirt that says “this guy isn’t someone who they just pulled off the street.”
I have been working some middle school games over the last couple weeks. I didn’t intend to fill a lot of dates, because I already miss a lot of family time with my broadcast schedule as it is. But I had a goal in my head, and I made it there this year.
Here is why I did it.
We need more officials.
You have heard me say during game broadcasts and in this space dozens of times that our pool of officials is drying up, and there is no flooding rain to replenish the supply on the horizon. The IHSAA did give us some positive news on that front back in January when they said the number of officials who applied to work tournament games grew by more than 80 this year.
But I felt like if I was going to encourage others to get involved, I needed to put my whistle where my mouth was.
It’s a great compliment to game broadcasting.
Being a basketball referee has helped me so much when I have the headsets on. One of the biggest problems with the fans, and broadcasters, who scream about the officials’ calls is that those people who scream loudest don’t have the first clue what they are talking about. It also helps me to know where the officials are supposed to be, what they are supposed to be looking for and looking at on any given play.
Of course, it leads me to know when an official is out of position or didn’t do their job properly. But I think it’s fair to say that there have been many more times that being an official has helped me explain why the ref on the court got the call right and why he or she made the call they did that the other way around.
It also, in 100-percent honesty, has helped me remember that I have been in and will continue to find myself in situations just like the one that presented it to the official in the game I am broadcasting—and I could miss that call, too.
It’s a paid position.
I think it’s important to point out at this point that officials in all sports get paid. How much each contest pays depends on the level, the school and other variables. Maybe you are supplementing your income. Maybe you have specific things you are saving up for. Maybe you need to put money away for vacations or college or into your IRA—officiating can do that. (Sorry, I guess I drifted into writing the Saturday morning financial planning column for Alderfer Bergen, eh?)
And there are other things that are positive.
It’s a way to stay actively involved in sports. It’s a way to meet new people. It’s an adrenylyne rush. It’s one of the few activities that pays you to exercise.
Here’s what it takes to do it, and do it well.
A good official has to be willing to learn from others and take constructive instruction from experienced officials.
A good official has to be willing to constantly review rules and situations so they recognize them during games and adjudicate them correctly. When things get sideways during games is when obscure and unusual plays happen, and officials flinch on what to do about it.
Oh, and in case you thought I was going to forget, you have to be a little thick-skinned. Most officials start with elementary and middle school games played in gyms where every complaint about every call and non-call echoes around for everyone to hear. That thought scares a lot of people away. But, if you are doing it right, you get really focused on what’s happening on the court and you don’t hear anything else.
It’s fun. It’s rewarding. It pays.
Getting back into it has helped the schools in our area, and their athletes. And it’s helped me, too.
Could it be something you could do?
I have been officiating basketball again.
I never really stopped doing it, but for the last seven seasons I have been doing almost exclusively elementary games. And while I enjoy that level of basketball, I have had the itch to start working up the ladder a little bit.
Having a license to officiate middle school basketball is not required, but for freshman, junior varsity and varsity games it is. For me, that didn’t matter. I knew I would feel better walking onto the court with the patch on my shirt that says “this guy isn’t someone who they just pulled off the street.”
I have been working some middle school games over the last couple weeks. I didn’t intend to fill a lot of dates, because I already miss a lot of family time with my broadcast schedule as it is. But I had a goal in my head, and I made it there this year.
Here is why I did it.
We need more officials.
You have heard me say during game broadcasts and in this space dozens of times that our pool of officials is drying up, and there is no flooding rain to replenish the supply on the horizon. The IHSAA did give us some positive news on that front back in January when they said the number of officials who applied to work tournament games grew by more than 80 this year.
But I felt like if I was going to encourage others to get involved, I needed to put my whistle where my mouth was.
It’s a great compliment to game broadcasting.
Being a basketball referee has helped me so much when I have the headsets on. One of the biggest problems with the fans, and broadcasters, who scream about the officials’ calls is that those people who scream loudest don’t have the first clue what they are talking about. It also helps me to know where the officials are supposed to be, what they are supposed to be looking for and looking at on any given play.
Of course, it leads me to know when an official is out of position or didn’t do their job properly. But I think it’s fair to say that there have been many more times that being an official has helped me explain why the ref on the court got the call right and why he or she made the call they did that the other way around.
It also, in 100-percent honesty, has helped me remember that I have been in and will continue to find myself in situations just like the one that presented it to the official in the game I am broadcasting—and I could miss that call, too.
It’s a paid position.
I think it’s important to point out at this point that officials in all sports get paid. How much each contest pays depends on the level, the school and other variables. Maybe you are supplementing your income. Maybe you have specific things you are saving up for. Maybe you need to put money away for vacations or college or into your IRA—officiating can do that. (Sorry, I guess I drifted into writing the Saturday morning financial planning column for Alderfer Bergen, eh?)
And there are other things that are positive.
It’s a way to stay actively involved in sports. It’s a way to meet new people. It’s an adrenylyne rush. It’s one of the few activities that pays you to exercise.
Here’s what it takes to do it, and do it well.
A good official has to be willing to learn from others and take constructive instruction from experienced officials.
A good official has to be willing to constantly review rules and situations so they recognize them during games and adjudicate them correctly. When things get sideways during games is when obscure and unusual plays happen, and officials flinch on what to do about it.
Oh, and in case you thought I was going to forget, you have to be a little thick-skinned. Most officials start with elementary and middle school games played in gyms where every complaint about every call and non-call echoes around for everyone to hear. That thought scares a lot of people away. But, if you are doing it right, you get really focused on what’s happening on the court and you don’t hear anything else.
It’s fun. It’s rewarding. It pays.
Getting back into it has helped the schools in our area, and their athletes. And it’s helped me, too.
Could it be something you could do?
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