Our Stake 2011 Basketball Tournament Schedule is attached.
We begin play NEXT Thursday Nite, September 29th. Someone Please confirm this with Ladd Smith so he doesn't send me 23 e-mails asking which nite their Ward plays...
EVERY Ward is scheduled to play the first nite.
I DID schedule Nauvoo Station VS the "No Show" Vineyard to try & get those hapless fellows a win in front of any young sistern that mistakenly wander in expecting to see some high level competition. If the game is a forfeit & the Nauvoo Station boys don't go overboard in the Pre-Game warm ups maybe they won't have worked up too big a stink & they can talk the lassies into a visit to Baskin Robbins after their victory....
All games will be 40 minute formats, as we have been playing all season, for the FIRST nite. All other nites will be 1 hour games, or until one team collapses from exhaustion. Which ever occurs first.
This is the same format we used for Softball. Each team will play at least 2 games. Beginning the 2nd nite of play it will be "Win or Go Home."
I've tried to line up some LDS High School Varsity Level Referees to help with our first 3 nites of Tournament games. No luck. The reputation of "LDS Church Ball" precedes you!! They've all seen & played "Church Ball" & don't want to go near Refereeing an LDS game. I tried in vain to convince them our Stake has good sportsmanship and respects Referee calls.
That means EACH TEAM (BOTH TEAMS for those of you who do not understand the concept of "each") need to provide ONE Referee and ONE ScoreKepper for their game OR work out an agreement with another Ward to Ref / Scorekeep each others games. It don't matter to me. Just so long as we have 2 of each. I will also help Referee, so we'll have 3 Referees per game. Unless Jon Mott from the Ironwood Ward, who never blows the whistle except to call Technical Fouls on Bench Personnel, tries to Referee. Then we'll have 2 Referees and a spectator in a Black & White striped shirt.
However. I have prevailed upon my High School Referee partner, David Dixson, to work the Semi Finals & Championship Game nite.
At our last nite of play a player asked me, in a not too kindly fashion, "Where'd YOU learn to Ref?!" That was after I'd given him a Warning for reaching his hand, arm & shoulder across the Inbounds Line on a Side Line Throw-In Play. (I could have asked him where he learned to play since he apparently did not know he was not allowed to reach across the Throw In Line.....).
I suppose the question is a fair one, tho, since I have been and will continue to Referee our Stake Tournament Games -so here it goes......
"Dream Shot" by Will Folsom
I learned to Referee in Arizona, beginning approximately 21 years ago, starting out in the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) Training Program. The AIA schedules the Referees for all regular season & tournament High School Games in AZ. That training included regular season High School games and many years of Summer Leagues and Summer Camps under the tutelage of Veteran AIA Officials, several Junior College & NCAA Officials and a couple of Arizona fellows that made it all the way up to the NBA. You start at the bottom working Freshman games, then Junior Varsity & finally Varsity level games IF the AIA thinks you are capable of that level. How do they decide that? The AIA conducts Referee Evaluations every season which consists of a in-person Observation by the AIA Official Evaluations at Games & Reports submitted by Coaches and Athletic Directors form the games we work. Varsity Officials submit Evaluations for Freshman & JV Officials that work the games prior to the Varsity game. From the collective Evaluations & Reports the AIA selects the Officials that will work the post season tournament games. Being assigned Post Season Tournament Games is the "icing on the cake" for a Referee. The ultimate honor for an AZ High School Ref is to be assigned a Semi Finals or Championship Game at the Glendale Arena. Since my first years as a Varsity Level Official I have worked at least 2 Post Season Tournament Games each year. Some times 3 or 4 Post Season Tournaments in a year. In the last 4 years David & I have worked 2 Semi Finals 3A Games at the Glendale Arena. Last year we were thrilled to be assigned the Girls 4A Championship Game at the arena. (Hey, I'm 59 years old. It's tough to keep up with the Varsity level boys today at the the pace they play. I can still keep up with the Girls and Stake Men's B-Ball pace of play, tho...).
Because I've worked Semi Finals & Championship Games does that mean I think I'm the best Referee ever? No. Does it mean I don't think I can't "boot a call" once in a while? Nope. No Referee has ever worked a perfect game. At least not in Basketball as there are too many variables and so many perspectives to view each play from. Hopefully your individual Refereeing experiences has helped you see the game from a different perspective?
David is a better Referee than I am. He worked major High School Boys Varsity games in California prior to moving to AZ. David also worked at the AZ Junior College Basketball level. I have not worked at the Junior College Level. I did not start my referee avocation until I was 38 years old. The Junior College level want to bring up Officials with several years of High School Varsity Experience that are still in their 20's to early 30's, not rookie Refs. By the time I had a few years of Varsity Level experience I was well beyond the age at the Junior College want to start breaking in new Officials. Too bad for me.
Since David and I will work the Semi Finals & Championship Games the Wards playing will NOT be asked to provide a Referee. However, they WILL be required to provide 1 Score Keeper each.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING WHITE AND DARK COLORED SHIRTS so no ones has to be the 2nd person to wear those stunk up pull over shirts I bring......
See you Thursday nite in you bets B-Ball attire & bring your "A" Game!!
Vic Pear
No comments:
Post a Comment