[crawldad]

I Know this is a Subject which is usually taboo and spoken of in whispers only.
books could be wrote on the subject.We have all heard the terms 'Home Cooking" Which is defined as referees being swayed on CALLS or NONCALLS by Various factors. The 3 F's.. (fans-Friendship-FreePass) The first one is obvious They are all human and most defintley do not want to turn a Large faction against them Booing and heckling on thier every motion. the second They are from the area and The coach or players family are very good friends and you will likewise see them on every occasion.
The Last but most important is the FreePass as i call it. Whatever the does he ALMOST~ALWAYS recieves any consiquences. If So it takes a LONG PROCESS to take care of said official. Overall certified officials do a very good job. COACHES GETS FIRED. OFFICIALS DO NOT. So coaches most certainally do not want look like sore a sore loser. and let things go on they Dont want to. If you do not thiink officiating can decide the outcome of a game your simply out of touch. Ultimatley The reason for writing this I Saw
two things Happen in two different tournaments. One when a 13th region young ladies career was maybe ended recently because the referees decided on "Letting them Play" to quote one of them. THey were allowing a lot of things to go on other officials would have not. But they were consistent on calling both ways. But it should have not happened. another time at the Bowman tournament I seen Bell county shoot almost 50 free throws to the other teams hardly none. Sometimes in the first few minutes of the game you can tell which way the officiating is going to go and you more than likely as a coach will play your game towards what develops.
The same official above allowed a home based Lynn camp player to undercutt from behind another player and she landed with such force it seperated her shoulder and it went paralyzed for minutes. This Play in question was equivalant in football as a Shoestring tackle on the 1 yard line as the young lady was going in for am easy layup. This was actually called a Charge and was ridiculous. Im sure You as well as me can go on and on. But what I would like to make a Case is that for "Ultimatley the referees Job should Be to Protect your Kids" from Harm and allow them to play on an equal playing field. Consistancy is the key here. I Understand Parents..coaches and fans getting upset at officials.
But their are some really good ones in our area. And some may simply need more training and expeirence. I Understand they do not make much money. But we or our parents if were from this area have done much harder jobs for little more or less pay. So for a Great new years wish may we all wish for the remainder of the season that all our Mountain players Stay happy and healthy.