[Joe Friday]

Having read this thread and having posted something already about referees on the Girls’ Basketball Forum – this gets a bit old and redundant. All referees know – no one misses a call from the stands! It is always a good thing when teams have their fans cheering them on but referring to officials as ‘trash, cheats, terrible, and etc.’ does not add anything to the game of basketball. It is, in my opinion, ways for those who are completely ignorant of the rules to feel that they had a say in the game’s outcome! It is always the same – ‘walk, 3 seconds, 5 seconds, over-the-back, foul, keep his hands off…’ Someone who doesn’t referee, explain the 5 second rule, heck, explain the 3 second rule, verticality as it applies to rebounding and block/charge! :rules: Quick now, you have less than a split second to determine the block / charge! In addition, you are not sitting in the bleachers with popcorn in one hand :popcorn:, a hot dog in the other, and your drink between your legs, you just finished running 52 feet, stopped to make the call, and, by the way, this time it counts.

Some have said that referees need more training, others say pay them what they deserve; so, first, JV games are used to teach players how to play at the high school level. JV referees are also learning how to referee at the high school level – you don’t move to varsity until you show you are good enough – the same applies to referees. More training costs money and if schools had to pay more money to the referees, the schools have to raise the money – are the fans willing to pay more at the door? :lmao:

Referees in the 15th Region have for over 15 years paid for the pleasure to attend summer officiating camps in the local area and go to a hot gym and referee two or three games in a row for three days in order to better their craft. Notice I say the referees pay to officiate summer games / tournaments – they are not paid for their time or travel.
The best thing I can tell you is – don’t judge an official until you have actually refereed a basketball game in his / her shoes! You would then see, it isn’t as easy when you are the one responsible for enforcing and administering the rules of the game…