By: Nick D’Amato
I love officiating, but let’s face it, sometimes, it’s a grind.
The most common question that I get asked from people who aren’t involved in officiating is: “Is it a hobby or do you do it for the money.” It’s an interesting question, and the answer I’ve arrived at is this: “I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy it, but I also wouldn’t do it for free.”
When officiating is at its best, it might essentially be a hobby and a sanctuary from any number of life’s distractions. But any number of things can turn it into a grind, especially in the heart of the season working multiple nights a week. Bad basketball, difficult partners, obnoxious spectators, and awful gyms can turn what most nights is a sanctuary and turn it into an unpleasant experience.
There’s so many things that can make you a better official, but an underrated one is this…remind yourself why you love the sport your officiating. Which brings us to how I spent last weekend watching the Connecticut High School Basketball State Championships.
Setting the Stage
Connecticut hosts their State Championships at Mohegan Sun Arena, home to the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun and inside Mohegan Sun Casino, one of the largest casinos in the country. In total there are nine games. Five games are on the boys side, with five divisions primarily based on school size but also factoring in historical success, mostly moving small private schools up into top divisions. Girls basketball remains in four divisions, primarily by school size. The games are divided into three sessions, with the Boys Division I final being the marquee game on Saturday night.
Basketball Community
One of the best things about this setup is that it easily attracts every basketball junkie in the state of Connecticut. The teams bring fans that pack sections behind the baskets and benches, but other sections are mostly just filled with basketball enthusiasts. Sitting in any random section you can look around and see Coaches, Athletic Directors, Officials, and a lot of people who you don’t know who they are or what they do, but you know you see them in various gyms over the course of the season.
Watching great basketball with no rooting interest is a wonderful experience. Every time the whistle blows officials are looking at each other, nodding or silently arching eyebrows, wondering whether they would have blown the whistle. Other fans picking up on the fact that there is a lot of basketball knowledge around them and striking up conversations, not even knowing who they are talking to. Experiencing this is a nice reminder of the role we play in the basketball community, especially after the sometimes contentious relationships with coaches and fans we experience throughout the season.
Basketball at the Highest Level
Not every game over the course of the season is competitive or well played, but seeing the best teams in the state play is a great reminder of how good the game can be. In the second quarter of the Boys Division 1 Final there was one foul called. The players recognized what the officials were calling, and relied on athleticism and solid basketball IQ to play the game the way it was meant to be played. Especially when your season is over, seeing great basketball games can be an exciting feeling going into next season.
Aspirational
I never had plans on reffing college basketball, until I was working at a Division 3 school and going to basketball games. Watching the referees, I soon realized “I can do that.” That’s not to say that D3 officials are bad in anyway, or that I was already at that level, but I recognized that I could get there. Watching the State Championships is a similar experience. Seeing great basketball played in that atmosphere gives me a goal to strive for. It’s not about ego, but reffing great basketball in a great atmosphere is an exciting thought for the future.
