Desert Foothills Athletic Club Basketball@dfacsports.com
Referee Notes
Please be kind to our referee's. All of our adult officials are volunteers. When you see some of the younger kids officiating remember that they are learning to referee just as some of us are learning to coach and the kids are learning to play basketball. Our referee's will make mistakes. There is nothing wrong with challenging a call, but after the call is made, accept it, and let the game continue.Please remember that these games are for the kids development and enjoyment and not about wins and losses. Just let the kids play and let the referee's do the best they can. All games should begin and end with courtesy and respect. Also remember that all referee's are different. Some may call a very tight game and call traveling and fouls much tighter than another official might. Accept it and adjust to it accordinly. It is not a perfect world and officiating at any level is not perfect either.
Think about High School, College and NBA referee's and how many times you think they make a bad call and put into perspective that they are highly trained and highly paid officials. If they can't get every call right how can you expect our volunteers and kids in training referee's to get every call right? I went to a Suns game the other night and was amazed at how often the crowd booed the officials calls and these are the best officials in the world!
Please don't expect our referee's to catch everything. Yelling at them and trying to intimadate them from the sidelines does not help them in anyway and sets a very bad example for our children not to mention how it makes you look in the eyes of the kids and parents.
Also, please encourage all parents to only say positive things and not to berate the officials. I also think it is a good idea to thank each official after each game for there time even if you don't agree with some of there calls. If you think you can do better, by all means volunteer to go through our referee training classes and volunteer to referee games each week to get a first hand look at what it takes to referee a recreational league game.
The past couple of weeks we have had numerous complaints that coaches, assistant coaches and parents have been out of control during games. Enough is enough. If you are constantly complaining and berating officials about calls during the games, you will be asked to leave the gym. If it continues during upcoming games, you will be asked to stay out of the gym's and replacement coaches will be found. As a coach you are responsible for setting a good example to our kids and keeping control of your assistant coaches on the sidelines. If you are unwilling to accept these requirements please let us know and we will replace you as a coach.