Today I felt I should, for some reason, rekindle the flame of writing I've been denying for years. This is the year 2010, and my 25th year that I have been involved in the sport of basketball. I've seen it from different angles, as a player for the first part of my life, a coach briefly, a public address announcer, a play-by-play radio announcer, a game-day operations manager, a media director and finally as a referee. My experience is unique, to say the least. I see things from a very different perspective than anyone I know involved in basketball. It makes me feel very alone sometimes.
The connection I have learned to have with players on a court is something I'm not sure can actually be taught. I think most people have a skill set that is unique to themselves and only them, they say you either have it or you do not. I watch plays develop, I watch match-ups between players, I talk people out of silly plays or I encourage players to take it to someone. I've always had success connecting with players and most coaches, the latter is the hardest to do.
Coaches are a strange phenomenon to me, an enigma of sorts. One observation I believe to be true I entitle "the calm coach phenomenon" which I believe is THE best way to conduct yourself as a coach. Simply stated, a coach who has practiced all week or whatever length of time before a game, must guide their players in a direction but with a kind hand. To yell at your players, to scream and carry on like a child towards players does not convey to anyone in a gym that you TRUST your players to carry out your plans or orders. It has been my view through my experience that players respond much more positively to positive reinforcement. This is nothing new to anyone, or at least it should not be, just look at the foremost example of a calm coach....Phil Jackson. I am not a Lakers fan, but I am a fan of the philosophy of Mr. Jackson. I've never read his books or ever met the gentleman, but from the demeanor he exhibits on a sideline, as an official I can understand why his teams over the years have performed to such great heights.
The "CALM COACH" does not get upset over a "bad call" by an official or a "broken play" by his players, they are simply focused on the end goal. The "CALM COACH" is a quiet influence within every aspect of the game and gains the respect and confidence of his players and even the referees assigned to the game. Bobby Knight is a great example of how NOT to be, he is the antithesis to the "CALM COACH," Mr. Knight is what I call the "ANGRY COACH." He tries to CONTROL every aspect of a game with his rage, the simple fact that he has never ascended to a professional level in basketball speaks volumes to this fact. To quote Buddha, "Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."
A calm coach sends their troops into battle, confident in their abilities to carry out orders and reach the end goal. The angry coach sends their troops into battle unprepared, constantly seeking their coach's approval and never learning or growing as a player because of this fact. Isiah Thomas was a GREAT player, but he never reached his full potential under Knight at Indiana, not until he was coached by the late Chuck Daly in Detroit. Daly was a calm coach who helped his players learn faith in their abilities, the same thing Jackson does. Knight seems to have never learned this, and from my observations it is due to his lack of faith in himself. I believe all coaches can learn from these extreme examples between Phil Jackson and Bobby Knight, when it comes to dealing with referees or even your players, I know which way will win. Let me leave it with another quote from Buddha, "In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves."
Something to think about, I hope.
~David
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Beginning The Transition
Another season over and done with, and with it comes the summer ball and summer camps we all know and love. For me, I attended the first huge camp of my life, the WCC Women’s officials camp where I was once again shown that I have a lot to learn as an official. It took place in Seattle at the University of Washington, three-person mechanics (which is rather foreign to me coming from Oregon) with some very reputable evaluators from the women’s college game.
My first game went to TRIPLE OVERTIME!!!! What the f…? I had a partner who was rather green and another who was spectacular. She held us together like glue, was informative to me and gave me hell when I needed it to keep us all on the same page. I saved my worst game for last, which was wonderfully on the main floor of the university in front of most of the officials and evaluators. I messed it up! I blew one call so badly, letting an in-bounder run the baseline when there was no made basket. DOAH! Then compounded it by calling a technical foul on the assistant coach for belittling my abilities to officiate even after I admitted I made a mistake. No matter, he had it coming from the first half.
In that game I blew that call because I had my head swimming with too many things that I had learned during the two previous days. The camp was amazing, but I put too much emphasis on getting everything perfect when I knew damn well that I was far from it. This is just the first step of learning the college game, learning the women’s game too since most of my experience is with men and boys.
I think I held it together better during my first game of that camp during the triple OT. I communicated well with my partners, with the coaches and the players. I felt so comfortable during that game and I had no real clue of what I was doing out there for the right mechanics. That makes me laugh my ass off; I just could not believe how much I really did suck during my final game as opposed to my first of the camp. I put a lot of mental pressure on myself during that game, having one evaluator look at me from Canada West CIS(formerly CIAU) and three from NCAA Division I. I had bad judgment, not holding my whistle on advantage/disadvantage calls and a disputed travel that on the replay showed I nailed it LIVE.
Today I called an old friend who kept me in officiating when I was thinking about leaving it. Tom Spitznagel, he officiates on the men’s side of the WCC and PAC10 NCAA DI. He instilled in me a lot of confidence that was nowhere to be seen two years ago, I had no personality on the court back then; I just looked pissed-off to be out there. Now I turn back to him to try to figure out where I need to go to learn the 3-person game and where I need to go to gain the exposure. To me, men and women’s basketball is very different to switch back and forth from. I tend to let women beat up on each other like I do with the men, and I realized after watching some tape that I need to figure out which side I need to concentrate on. I would say questions are prominently in my mind now that needed to be there a while ago, and perhaps now I can figure out a path or direction with a little help from my friends.
My first game went to TRIPLE OVERTIME!!!! What the f…? I had a partner who was rather green and another who was spectacular. She held us together like glue, was informative to me and gave me hell when I needed it to keep us all on the same page. I saved my worst game for last, which was wonderfully on the main floor of the university in front of most of the officials and evaluators. I messed it up! I blew one call so badly, letting an in-bounder run the baseline when there was no made basket. DOAH! Then compounded it by calling a technical foul on the assistant coach for belittling my abilities to officiate even after I admitted I made a mistake. No matter, he had it coming from the first half.
In that game I blew that call because I had my head swimming with too many things that I had learned during the two previous days. The camp was amazing, but I put too much emphasis on getting everything perfect when I knew damn well that I was far from it. This is just the first step of learning the college game, learning the women’s game too since most of my experience is with men and boys.
I think I held it together better during my first game of that camp during the triple OT. I communicated well with my partners, with the coaches and the players. I felt so comfortable during that game and I had no real clue of what I was doing out there for the right mechanics. That makes me laugh my ass off; I just could not believe how much I really did suck during my final game as opposed to my first of the camp. I put a lot of mental pressure on myself during that game, having one evaluator look at me from Canada West CIS(formerly CIAU) and three from NCAA Division I. I had bad judgment, not holding my whistle on advantage/disadvantage calls and a disputed travel that on the replay showed I nailed it LIVE.
Today I called an old friend who kept me in officiating when I was thinking about leaving it. Tom Spitznagel, he officiates on the men’s side of the WCC and PAC10 NCAA DI. He instilled in me a lot of confidence that was nowhere to be seen two years ago, I had no personality on the court back then; I just looked pissed-off to be out there. Now I turn back to him to try to figure out where I need to go to learn the 3-person game and where I need to go to gain the exposure. To me, men and women’s basketball is very different to switch back and forth from. I tend to let women beat up on each other like I do with the men, and I realized after watching some tape that I need to figure out which side I need to concentrate on. I would say questions are prominently in my mind now that needed to be there a while ago, and perhaps now I can figure out a path or direction with a little help from my friends.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Keepin' it short
Just before Christmas, I had a peer evaluate me at a game in downtown Portland. I had no idea that he was going to do this, nor did I really want him to since it was a hard game to officiate. I felt I had not done a very good job, but surprisingly enough he gave me a score of 88 out of 100. I suppose what you feel inside, the standards you hold yourself to, are nothing like what anyone else does. I personally would have given myself a 70 for the game he saw, but there have been games I would give myself 150 on. It depends on the day, the amount of rest, food, water, ibuprofen….
This week was cool; I had a kid throw-up on the floor at the beginning of a game. We had lined up for free throws and just as the ball was given to the shooter, this boy just tossed his cookies all over the lane! It was all liquids, thank God! I’ve never had this happen before in a game. It turns out he was just really nervous and got the jitters out by throwing-up. I later joked that I should have called a lane violation on him because he wasn’t able to keep his puke inside the free throw lane lines. Well, I know it’s a sick joke.
I’ve been having knee problems lately, my left knee is popping, snapping and crackling. I’m a bit worried I am over doing it with the amount of games, and I have no health insurance to cover injuries. Not smart, but if anyone has any ideas, please leave a comment. I am not inspired lately to write too much, so I’m keeping this short.
Dave
This week was cool; I had a kid throw-up on the floor at the beginning of a game. We had lined up for free throws and just as the ball was given to the shooter, this boy just tossed his cookies all over the lane! It was all liquids, thank God! I’ve never had this happen before in a game. It turns out he was just really nervous and got the jitters out by throwing-up. I later joked that I should have called a lane violation on him because he wasn’t able to keep his puke inside the free throw lane lines. Well, I know it’s a sick joke.
I’ve been having knee problems lately, my left knee is popping, snapping and crackling. I’m a bit worried I am over doing it with the amount of games, and I have no health insurance to cover injuries. Not smart, but if anyone has any ideas, please leave a comment. I am not inspired lately to write too much, so I’m keeping this short.
Dave
Monday, January 09, 2006
To forgive and learn...
I have had some touching experiences lately on the hardwood. On the weekend, I showed up to a game five minutes late. I am dealing with a first half schedule that is based upon my proximity to my old address since I have now moved to the west side of Portland. When I arrived they had not began the game, how could they, I was working solo. But before the jump ball, I apologized to all of the players standing on the floor waiting to get started. Now these boys were all of eight to ten years old, if that. Some of them said, “It’s okay” but one boy spoke for both teams.
“It’s alright mister, we forgive you.”
I had to catch my breath, he completely astounded me and all of the boys nodded in unison after he had said it. It was the most touching moment I have had on the basketball court and we weren’t even playing the game yet.
So I said, “Thanks guys! Now who’s ready to play some ball?!”
They all cheered and we got it started right then and there. I really felt bad that I had shown up so late, five minutes isn’t a lot, but for me it is completely out of character and I just didn’t want to disappoint those young boys. It’s funny sometimes how kids can just touch your heart without even realizing it. They inspire me sometimes with the way they play their hearts out, with the way they listen to me when I make a call and explain what the right thing is to do.
An example of this is a kid who dribbled with two hands on the ball. After letting it go a couple times, I called it and immediately explained to the boy what to do so that it wouldn’t be called again. That boy promptly learned to dribble with one hand, and in so doing, he started driving to the basket and scoring about four in a row for his team. That is inspiring to see for me.
So let this be a lesson for us all, don’t show up late and make sure to talk to the kids, especially the young ones because they are always willing to listen and forgive. Until next time…
Dave
“It’s alright mister, we forgive you.”
I had to catch my breath, he completely astounded me and all of the boys nodded in unison after he had said it. It was the most touching moment I have had on the basketball court and we weren’t even playing the game yet.
So I said, “Thanks guys! Now who’s ready to play some ball?!”
They all cheered and we got it started right then and there. I really felt bad that I had shown up so late, five minutes isn’t a lot, but for me it is completely out of character and I just didn’t want to disappoint those young boys. It’s funny sometimes how kids can just touch your heart without even realizing it. They inspire me sometimes with the way they play their hearts out, with the way they listen to me when I make a call and explain what the right thing is to do.
An example of this is a kid who dribbled with two hands on the ball. After letting it go a couple times, I called it and immediately explained to the boy what to do so that it wouldn’t be called again. That boy promptly learned to dribble with one hand, and in so doing, he started driving to the basket and scoring about four in a row for his team. That is inspiring to see for me.
So let this be a lesson for us all, don’t show up late and make sure to talk to the kids, especially the young ones because they are always willing to listen and forgive. Until next time…
Dave
Monday, January 02, 2006
3 T's, 2 Days
Christmas has come and gone for me and the rest of us, I hope you all enjoyed it. I did not. I was unable to go home to Canada to visit my family for the holidays. I just recently moved in with a friend in a new town, and I did all this during the Christmas break….some break. At least I had two weeks off from officiating OSAA games, but I am ready to hit the second half of the season with vim and vigor.
An interesting thing occurred just before the break in some games, I handed out three technical fouls in two days. Now I was not at all emotional about any of them either, which for me is a first and a giant accomplishment. It is extremely difficult to not take anything said to you by a coach or player or fan personally, but I assure you with practice it can happen. The game situations where I had to assess the technicals were completely warranted, but I can now understand things from the point of view of the coaches. Before this season, and a huge blowup in the summer at a couple of camps I attended, I had no idea how coaches felt or how I came across on the court in my non-verbal communication. That's a whole other entry though.
I tend to frown on the court, almost scowl at the players when I call a foul or talk to the coaches. Well, now that I had a number of peers talk to me about my demeanor on-court, I realized that I needed to smile more and take what I was doing much less seriously. This doesn’t mean I want to let more fouls get by me, or let the game get out of control, no way. It means that I needed to deal with tense situations much more calmly, and the only way for me to be calm personally is to smile and laugh or joke around with people. When I assessed these T’s to the coaches, I actually put a little humor into them.
The first T was the first half of a freshman girl’s game in downtown Portland, it went against the visiting coach. I had talked with her about walking out onto the court and also about her borderline comments to myself about the way we were calling the game. To be truthful, it was a God-awful mess and no amount of over-officiating was going to clean up what bad players or bad coaching had already achieved. Granted, my partner didn’t know what the hell he was doing out there, but he was trying very hard to learn from me. A couple of bad calls later and the visiting coach came unglued, her 6’3” frame walked out on the court and said something I don’t really remember. I was within six feet of her and proceeded to walk at her, give the T signal and told her to please sit down and be quiet. She continued to fume, I asked her to count to ten and breath deeply and smiled as I said it. This made the assistant coach sitting beside her chuckle and say that she’d handle it, and she did. There wasn’t a peep out of that bench the rest of the game. They always want to test your boundaries.
The second game I gave the T to the home coach, which was a crowd pleaser, but she walked onto the court again like the first one and I popped her for it. I just shook my head and told her, “I told you not to walk onto the court coach, you give me no choice. Merry Christmas.”
The third T was to a kid the following day who swore loudly after a call I had just made against him. I told him Santa wasn’t stopping at his house for that one. The little rat probably still got everything he wanted anyway. My point is, taking anything on the court personally was a mistake I no longer make, and getting worked up over idiotic actions or words from players or coaches is pointless. They are looking for a reaction to get you in trouble so they don’t look like a fool for flying off the handle. I have almost become bored with the things people say to me now, even the crowd because I always have a better zinger to wing back at them. Sometimes I say it too, but most times I just shut up and leave the venting for here. I’m looking forward to a fun second half of the season. Until I write again….
Dave
An interesting thing occurred just before the break in some games, I handed out three technical fouls in two days. Now I was not at all emotional about any of them either, which for me is a first and a giant accomplishment. It is extremely difficult to not take anything said to you by a coach or player or fan personally, but I assure you with practice it can happen. The game situations where I had to assess the technicals were completely warranted, but I can now understand things from the point of view of the coaches. Before this season, and a huge blowup in the summer at a couple of camps I attended, I had no idea how coaches felt or how I came across on the court in my non-verbal communication. That's a whole other entry though.
I tend to frown on the court, almost scowl at the players when I call a foul or talk to the coaches. Well, now that I had a number of peers talk to me about my demeanor on-court, I realized that I needed to smile more and take what I was doing much less seriously. This doesn’t mean I want to let more fouls get by me, or let the game get out of control, no way. It means that I needed to deal with tense situations much more calmly, and the only way for me to be calm personally is to smile and laugh or joke around with people. When I assessed these T’s to the coaches, I actually put a little humor into them.
The first T was the first half of a freshman girl’s game in downtown Portland, it went against the visiting coach. I had talked with her about walking out onto the court and also about her borderline comments to myself about the way we were calling the game. To be truthful, it was a God-awful mess and no amount of over-officiating was going to clean up what bad players or bad coaching had already achieved. Granted, my partner didn’t know what the hell he was doing out there, but he was trying very hard to learn from me. A couple of bad calls later and the visiting coach came unglued, her 6’3” frame walked out on the court and said something I don’t really remember. I was within six feet of her and proceeded to walk at her, give the T signal and told her to please sit down and be quiet. She continued to fume, I asked her to count to ten and breath deeply and smiled as I said it. This made the assistant coach sitting beside her chuckle and say that she’d handle it, and she did. There wasn’t a peep out of that bench the rest of the game. They always want to test your boundaries.
The second game I gave the T to the home coach, which was a crowd pleaser, but she walked onto the court again like the first one and I popped her for it. I just shook my head and told her, “I told you not to walk onto the court coach, you give me no choice. Merry Christmas.”
The third T was to a kid the following day who swore loudly after a call I had just made against him. I told him Santa wasn’t stopping at his house for that one. The little rat probably still got everything he wanted anyway. My point is, taking anything on the court personally was a mistake I no longer make, and getting worked up over idiotic actions or words from players or coaches is pointless. They are looking for a reaction to get you in trouble so they don’t look like a fool for flying off the handle. I have almost become bored with the things people say to me now, even the crowd because I always have a better zinger to wing back at them. Sometimes I say it too, but most times I just shut up and leave the venting for here. I’m looking forward to a fun second half of the season. Until I write again….
Dave
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Set Your Boundaries
Well, well, well…I write again! I’ve had my first varsity game, and it went smoothly with coaches thanking myself and my partner afterwards. There has been a moment where a kid shot a three from beyond the NBA range and nailed it at the buzzer. There was another buzzer beater last night in a town in the middle of nowhere Oregon. It’s those moments I live for as an official, but I want to talk about applying officiating to real life and real situations.
Last night, I had to give a girl in my life her second technical foul and throw her out of the game and off my court. Now, most won’t know the situation and circumstances surrounding this ejection, but it was warranted believe me. As officials, we hear so many excuses from players, coaches, and fans that listening to them in our personal lives are the last thing we need. Now, I have been dealing with this girl and her excuses for almost a full month, and the sick part is I’d never met her in person. Modern day technology has given us the opportunity to have relationships with people through the internet, and cell phones that seems to have screwed up the younger generation’s idea of health and happiness. Why I even made it a month is laughable!
Every time we went to meet, this girl had a new excuse, yesterday she said she was sick which may even be the truth, but I really don’t care anymore. There is a breaking point to us all isn’t there? We take so much from people and then we have that certain point that we will not take any more. With players and coaches, we give them a little leeway to complain and moan about calls we have made. In relationships, we give room for excuses and alibis but we trust that they are truthful. Now I have no proof that this girl is a liar, I wish I did. The only facts I have are, she showed me pictures of herself, we had talked on the phone, and that’s about it. What kind of proof is that? It’s not real life, it’s not make believe, I guess it’s the internet world of relationships. I do not enjoy it.
I am too used to being an enterprising person of sorts, I have boundless energy thrown into my passions and I guess I can’t understand people who do not give their 110%. Perhaps my standards are too high, I expect too much from people and relationships, but it is the standard I try to live. Sometimes people can push you too far, they like to test your limits just to see what they can and cannot get away with. When this is done on a basketball court with me, it is a simple boundary I observe and when it is crossed, the technical foul occurs. In real life situations, there are certain boundaries that if crossed I will walk away. Too many times people stoop to a level of ensign instead of taking control of their own ship as the Admiral. I am not one of those people, and I hope those reading this are Admirals too, for life is too short to play games with liars and cheats, excuse makers and drama fakers. Indeed, life is meant to be savored and cherished by those who surround you in love and support you in love. I’m afraid the girl in my life has never found love, and as bad as she wants it and needs it, because of her desperate loneliness she may never find it. Putting people to the test is like poking a sleeping rattlesnake with your finger and bare arms with no antidote. I feel sorry for people who feel that life is found in other’s suffering. I hope this girl one day finds happiness, I’m just glad that I had a chance to know her briefly and learn quickly that the snake needs to be left alone. When I T’d her up, I got angry and took it a little personally, but that happens in a game too. When I calmed down later, I learned a lot about myself, what I have taken away from this I know will help me to find a good person in time.
Set your boundaries on the court, set your boundaries in life and stick to them. When they are crossed, try to be calmer than I was, but certainly let that person know with clear communication that they have crossed the line. Stand firmly on the fact that you know yourself and you know what you want in life, let no one get in the way of that because they have their own path to follow. It’s good to be writing again.
David
Last night, I had to give a girl in my life her second technical foul and throw her out of the game and off my court. Now, most won’t know the situation and circumstances surrounding this ejection, but it was warranted believe me. As officials, we hear so many excuses from players, coaches, and fans that listening to them in our personal lives are the last thing we need. Now, I have been dealing with this girl and her excuses for almost a full month, and the sick part is I’d never met her in person. Modern day technology has given us the opportunity to have relationships with people through the internet, and cell phones that seems to have screwed up the younger generation’s idea of health and happiness. Why I even made it a month is laughable!
Every time we went to meet, this girl had a new excuse, yesterday she said she was sick which may even be the truth, but I really don’t care anymore. There is a breaking point to us all isn’t there? We take so much from people and then we have that certain point that we will not take any more. With players and coaches, we give them a little leeway to complain and moan about calls we have made. In relationships, we give room for excuses and alibis but we trust that they are truthful. Now I have no proof that this girl is a liar, I wish I did. The only facts I have are, she showed me pictures of herself, we had talked on the phone, and that’s about it. What kind of proof is that? It’s not real life, it’s not make believe, I guess it’s the internet world of relationships. I do not enjoy it.
I am too used to being an enterprising person of sorts, I have boundless energy thrown into my passions and I guess I can’t understand people who do not give their 110%. Perhaps my standards are too high, I expect too much from people and relationships, but it is the standard I try to live. Sometimes people can push you too far, they like to test your limits just to see what they can and cannot get away with. When this is done on a basketball court with me, it is a simple boundary I observe and when it is crossed, the technical foul occurs. In real life situations, there are certain boundaries that if crossed I will walk away. Too many times people stoop to a level of ensign instead of taking control of their own ship as the Admiral. I am not one of those people, and I hope those reading this are Admirals too, for life is too short to play games with liars and cheats, excuse makers and drama fakers. Indeed, life is meant to be savored and cherished by those who surround you in love and support you in love. I’m afraid the girl in my life has never found love, and as bad as she wants it and needs it, because of her desperate loneliness she may never find it. Putting people to the test is like poking a sleeping rattlesnake with your finger and bare arms with no antidote. I feel sorry for people who feel that life is found in other’s suffering. I hope this girl one day finds happiness, I’m just glad that I had a chance to know her briefly and learn quickly that the snake needs to be left alone. When I T’d her up, I got angry and took it a little personally, but that happens in a game too. When I calmed down later, I learned a lot about myself, what I have taken away from this I know will help me to find a good person in time.
Set your boundaries on the court, set your boundaries in life and stick to them. When they are crossed, try to be calmer than I was, but certainly let that person know with clear communication that they have crossed the line. Stand firmly on the fact that you know yourself and you know what you want in life, let no one get in the way of that because they have their own path to follow. It’s good to be writing again.
David
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
141 OSAA Sanctioned Games This Year!!!
This past season was a blur, it took a huge toll on me. It seemed like one day we were sitting in the classroom gearing up for the beginning, and the next it was done. I wanted to keep this blog up every week, making an entry to keep people up to speed with the inner workings of a referee. However, truthfully, it just was not a priority as much as basketball was.
141 games is not the record for a high school season, but it’s up there! I just turned thirty years old and my body has taken three weeks to recover from all of the games. I went directly from refereeing into working as the Team Recruitment Manager for the fundraising organization called Special Olympics Oregon. It’s been none stop and I can’t complain, I just don’t have the time like I used to for completing a journal. Besides, who really cares to read this damn thing anyway?
I’ll be starting my first steps towards college basketball officiating this May. I will be attending several camps and working on the rules and mechanics for the college game. I am nervous, but ready for a new challenge. I had to reject a couple of high school camps to attend these; I detected sour grapes from those individuals, but despite being admitted to the regular membership of the PBOA I won’t see the good games for years to come.
One day, at this rate, I’ll be running a camp of my own but maybe not for just officials. A team here recently hired me in the IBL (International Basketball League) named the Portland Chinooks to do their PA announcing. Doors just keep opening up for me from the connections I have made in officiating, I truly feel blessed and lucky to have gotten to the point now where I can work for myself and not worry about working for “the man.”
Oh, maybe I’ll write something again sometime soon, REFEREE magazine wants another article from me on the Trail Blazers Street Jam…www.blazersstreetjam.com. But don’t hold your breath, I’ve gotten too busy, if it slows down I’ll post here again. Until then my friends, live well and be happy.
Dave
141 games is not the record for a high school season, but it’s up there! I just turned thirty years old and my body has taken three weeks to recover from all of the games. I went directly from refereeing into working as the Team Recruitment Manager for the fundraising organization called Special Olympics Oregon. It’s been none stop and I can’t complain, I just don’t have the time like I used to for completing a journal. Besides, who really cares to read this damn thing anyway?
I’ll be starting my first steps towards college basketball officiating this May. I will be attending several camps and working on the rules and mechanics for the college game. I am nervous, but ready for a new challenge. I had to reject a couple of high school camps to attend these; I detected sour grapes from those individuals, but despite being admitted to the regular membership of the PBOA I won’t see the good games for years to come.
One day, at this rate, I’ll be running a camp of my own but maybe not for just officials. A team here recently hired me in the IBL (International Basketball League) named the Portland Chinooks to do their PA announcing. Doors just keep opening up for me from the connections I have made in officiating, I truly feel blessed and lucky to have gotten to the point now where I can work for myself and not worry about working for “the man.”
Oh, maybe I’ll write something again sometime soon, REFEREE magazine wants another article from me on the Trail Blazers Street Jam…www.blazersstreetjam.com. But don’t hold your breath, I’ve gotten too busy, if it slows down I’ll post here again. Until then my friends, live well and be happy.
Dave
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