Zebras!

One of the many duties of being a youth sports official is being directly involved with the grassroots of skill and game IQ development. NOTHING could be more grassroots than a gr 4/5/6 elementary school tournament and I was blessed (??) with an opportunity to be involved in as part of my referee board's responsibilities to cover the vast majority of games that happen in this area.

The mini-tournament was in my own backyard at the school not far from my place in Wasaga. I really had no idea of the talent level in 'The Beach' but I did know that there was an absence of club presence prompting my assumption that many of the players would be school-trained ... NOT a bad thing, but often exemplifies a lower level of skill. As it would turn out, the proficiency was higher than anticipated making the entertainment value quite high. The icing on the cake, as it were, was a couple of friend's children were playing, so the overall evaluation of the experience was amusingly impressive.

Refereeing elementary basketball is always challenging because:
(a) the gyms are usually poorly designed for the activity, the boundary lines often under the feet of the parents and spectators,
(b) the coaches ... Lord bless them ... are, more often than not, good natured volunteers filled to the brim with love and enthusiasm yet low on in-depth knowledge of higher level development, and
(c) the parents LOVE seeing Johnny or Susy in competition but reveal their lack of understanding when they take exception with a perceived (operative word) lack of proficiency on the referee's part.

Regarding the gyms, there's obviously not much that can be done. Whenever I visit a school I've previously never been, I make a quick assessment of the safety implications like mats on the wall under the baskets, structures sticking out into the playing area, or the aforementioned boundary lines. The gym on this occasion was a pleasant surprise, albeit quite small in overall dimensions.

Regarding the coaches, it needs to be acknowledged that regardless of prowess, without their direct input the opportunity would not exist for kids to have some fun and stay active. We already have too many sedentary activities to occupy free time so let's not condemn or disparage those that are doing their best to change that. As a person who's been involved in the game for a really long time, and in all hubris, experienced success at an elite level, I applaud those incredible humans for donating their limited free time to provide such valuable opportunities. If they can do that AND have some proficiency, that's just gravy on the mashed! 

You should know that there are some genuine superstars teaching/coaching in Simcoe County schools!

The crux of today's diatribe comes at the expense of parents and their misguided enthusiasm for 'assisting' the referees involved in the child's game.

This may be a revelation to some, but the primary objective of a referee is NOT to enforce the rules, but to ensure that the game is a safe and fair competition. Referees will sometimes choose not to make a call if it either won't impact the game (in his or her opinion) or would make a mockery of the activity by stopping and starting play every few seconds.

Yes, sir or madam, that was very likely out of bounds, but with only one referee amongst 10 over-excited littles, in a confined space, with parent's feet straddling the boundary line, the calls that happen on the other side of the court are sometimes ignored so that the play can go on, likely a conscious decision so that some semblance of flow can be maintained in the game.

Yes, sir or madam, Johnny or Susy was indeed in the key for more than 3 seconds, but the referee tried to talk them out so the game didn't have to be stopped. The rule actually entails a sense of advantage/disadvantage when being enforced, so it's very likely it wasn't called as a conscious decision. Additionally, once a shot for goal is released, the count stops because team control of the ball ends and won't restart until clear team control is established. It stands to reason that a player could occupy the lane for 30+ seconds as long as his/her team keeps shooting and successfully rebounds the miss.

Yes, sir or madam, there was contact on that play, but not all parents choose to recall that basketball is a contact game, and as such, every time bodies collide is not a rules infringement. The reason for the contact is weighed equally with the establishment of legal guarding position, and if the shooter is not disadvantaged in any way, the no-call is the right call. Also, if there is illegal contact and the shooter successfully scores without significantly changing their shot, referees are coached (yes, we have coaches) to let play continue. That also explains why there are occasionally what are best deemed 'late' whistles because the successful outcome of the play can dictate whether or not the game needs to be stopped.

For every game, there's likely in the order of 20% of infractions that are ignored in the best interest of the flow of the action, and it behooves spectators to understand that no-calls are often done on purpose. Hey, I'll be the first one to admit that I miss a few calls each game, but I'd wager that my success rate is closer to 97 or 98%, which I'd unequivocally state is superlative.

Having said all of this, I absolutely LOVE still being involved in the game, and I very rarely take offense when an attempt is made to 'educate' me because I understand what more than likely led to the vocalization. IMHO, a referee that is focused on the player's best interest and safety will likely have parental input wash over that like so much white noise. When a situation explodes to a level that requires intervention, it will get dealt with, usually resulting in a removal from the pleasure of watching children have fun.

Did I mention how much I enjoy refereeing? 

My Board of Officials is perennially understaffed and would welcome new blood so if you think you've got the right stuff ...

or you'd love to give back to the game ... 

or are curious about being on the other side of the whistle ...
or would like to experience the grassroots level of development ...

then have I got an opportunity for you!