Youth Sports: Size Does Not Always Matter

There is a great story on ESPN.com about Tim Collins, a 5 foot 7, 155 lb pitcher in the KC Royals organization. Tim Collins just might make his way onto a Major League team despite is size because talent rules. This story should inspire all youth athletes who are short in comparison to their teammates and opponents.

My daughter, CC, is constantly measuring herself to see if she has grown. She is 4 foot 7 which is average height for a 4th grader, but she feels short. She feels short because she plays on a very good AAU basketball team with and against some really tall girls.

The Main Point

I tell my daughter to be patient that she will grow, but she may never be tall. Then I tell her that talent will dictate. Tim Collins proves that point for me.

Youth Sports: 10 Types of Youth Sports Parents

Crazy Youth Sport Parents Series

Here are 10 types of Youth Sports Parents that you will likely find on the sidelines of every youth sports event. Which one are you? Of course you can be more than one.

1) The EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) Parent - This is the mom or dad who calls timeout and runs out on to the field when little Johnny falls and scrapes his knee. Hey EMT parent, the kid is probably crying because he's embarrassed not hurt. You'll just embarrass him more by running onto the field. Let the coaches or trainers attend to your "injured" kid. (I have two counts of impersonating an EMT against me. Read Youth Basketball Busted Lip)

Papa-razzi

2) The Papa-razzi - This is the dad who takes 500 digital pictures at each game and then uploads every single image regardless of quality or redundancy onto Flickr. Truth be known, the Papa-razzi wants to punish all parents who don't care enough to take their own pictures. He secretly wants non-picture taking parents to painstakingly click through all 500 images (mostly of the Papa-razzi's kid) to see one shot of their own kid. (Papa-razzi please edit down to the top 2 or 3 images of each kid before you upload.)

3) The Conspirator Parent - This is the perpetually unhappy parent who schemes behind the scenes to overthrow the coach. This parent does not have the time to coach, nope, they are much too busy to coach. They do, however, have plenty of time to talk behind the coach's back and form alliances. (Honestly, I cannot say I am completely innocent. Some coaches are jackasses.)

4) The Overly Optimistic Cheerleader - This is the parent who is perpetually happy and cheering regardless of the situation. This parent yells GOOD TRY! for every mental and physical mistake a kid makes. Listen Overly Optimistic Cheerleader Parent please note that some kids, actually most kids would prefer it if their mistakes were not acknowledged at all, let alone with an empty compliment. (I have never been this parent)

The Stats Dad

5) The Stats Dad - This is the guy who keeps every stat on every player. The Stat Dad knows how good or bad every player is at every aspect of the game. Parents often seek his knowledge before they approach the coach about playing time. (Guilty as charged)

6) The Snack-Nazi - This is the mom who volunteers to prepare and police the snack list. She makes sure that the assigned parent brings healthy snacks for the players and their siblings.  Don't cross the Snack Nazi, she's union and she's proud.

7) The Team Mom - She's the money manager, travel agent, volunteer coordinator, chief fundraiser and website master. Quite frankly, your team sucks if you do not have a good Team Mom, even if your team is undefeated. (Read about the role of Team Moms here)

8) The Clueless Coach from the Stands Dad - This is the dad who repeatedly instructs his kid on how to do something even though he has no experience in the sport. He's the one who will wrongly yell "Son, keep your elbow up" while his son is batting. You know him.

The Hot Mom

9) The Stop, Drop and Roll Parent - This is the parent who drops off his or her kid in the parking lot for practices and games and squeals the tires to leave before their kid has a chance to get their water bottle out of the cup-holder. This is also the parent who shows up late to pick up his or her kid and makes the coach wait / babysit for 15 - 30 extra minutes after each practice. Basically kids are a major inconvenience to this type of Youth Sports Parent.

10) The Hot Mom - This is the mom who wears a push up bra under a toddler size team spirit-wear shirt. She's the one who sits in the front row of the bleachers and leans forward to show the team dads that she is wearing a thong. Even the Stop, Drop and Roll Dad will sit through a doubleheader when the Hot Mom is in attendance.

READ 10 (More) Types of Youth Sports Parents

The Main Point

Sometimes its the parents not the kids who provide the comedy, drama and action of youth sports.

 There are many other Youth Sports Parent Types - Please add some in the comments.

Youth Baseball: New Prototype Helmet to Protect Pitchers Unveiled

A new prototype helmet designed to protect pitchers on the mound from head injuries was unveiled today by Easton-Bell sports. (Read about the Easton-Bell Baseball Helmets here)

As you know I am a very big supporter of pitchers wearing helmets. I have blogged about it often.

Read Safety Equipment for Youth Baseball

Read Youth Baseball: Game Starts and Ends with a Prayer.

Read Youth Baseball: Wanted MLB Pitcher to Wear a Helmet on the Mound 

The Main Point

I applaud the efforts of Easton-Bell to protect pitchers. Easton-Bell is a great company with lots of credibility so I trust that they have designed a helmet that works well. Still, from the photo of the prototype I am skeptical. A kid from my hometown was seriously injured by a line drive that hit on the top of his head as he tried to duck out of the way. Judging from the picture alone, this helmet does not seem to protect the top of the skull. Also, this looks cool, but until an MLB player wears one and makes it vogue I fear that no one will use them. Easton-Bell I hope that you can get Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay to wear your new helmet.

Until this helmet is available, my son and his teammates will be wearing All-Star catchers helmets. 

Youth Soccer: Remembering the First Game My Kid Played

Publix is running a touching TV ad about a young soccer player's first game. It's worth watching for any soccer parent.



The Main Point

Whether your kid is good or not so good, youth sports provide many memories. What I like best about this ad is that the perspective of the kid is what counts not the perspective of the parent. It is a great message for any youth sports parent.

This reminded me of my son's first soccer game. The game went by in a blur. I can't remember the details of the game, but he did score a goal. I do, however, vividly remember the conversation we had after the game. Nic stated very boldly, "Dad, Mom, that was the best soccer game of my life." Truer words were never spoken.

Hat Tip to a JBMThinks Tweet

Youth Basketball: Star Player Dies of a Heart Attack

In a small town 200 miles west of Detroit Michigan, the star player of the local high school's basketball team, Wes Leonard, died on the court after making a game winning shot. His last second heroics clinched a perfect regular season for the undefeated Blackhawks of Fennville High School.

The sixteen year old player died of a heart attack caused by a perviously undetected enlarged heart. Read the USA Today story Michigan Prep Basketball Player Dies After Game-winning Shot.

Michigan has a law that requires each school athlete to get a physical prior to the season. These routine physicals do not typically detect underlying heart abnormalities. Unfortunately these abnormalities only become apparent after a sudden and often tragic event. Many doctors are encouraging schools to do extensive testing of the heart as part of the preseason physicals. This point of view is not without controversy because of the cost. I assume that the number of kids with these undetected heart issues is low so that the cost to benefit ratio does not justify the expense. I also assume that Obamacare will heart pre-screening of athletes even less likely.




The Main Point

My son has a heart condition (Read God Loves Baseball for the details) so my biggest fear resurfaced yet again with the tragic fate of the seemingly heathy Wes Leonard. I pray that God provides comfort to his parents. The pain and sadness must be unbearable.

While pre-screening high school athletes for heart defects may not be viable, equipping schools with automatic external defibrillators and training all coaches and / or trainers on how to use them is. I pray that Wes' death prompts more schools to take proactive measures to protect young athletes.

Youth Volleyball: Unhappy Parent Confronts Coach

Crazy Youth Sports Parents Series

My wife and coach of my daughter's 4th grade volleyball team was confronted by an unhappy parent after the last game of the season yesterday.

The situation

• The first year 4th grade team struggled all season long. 
• Most schools in the area start volleyball in 3rd grade. The extra year experience gave many of our opponents a competitive advantage.
• My wife and her co-head coach were dismayed that they could not help their team win more games.
• My wife and her co-head coach played all the girls equally all year long regardless of ability.
• Typically each girl would play two games and sit one. The parish rule is that every player must play one entire game of the three in the regular season. Playing time is at the coaches discretion in the playoffs.
• During the regular season, a match would consist of 3 games even if one team won the first 2 games. 
• During the playoffs, the matches are best 2 of 3. A match is over when a team wins two games. A third game is not played if a team wins the first two.
• Friday night, my wife and her co-coach spent an hour on the phone setting the line ups for all three games of their first playoff match.
• They decided to rotate in the best 7 players in the first game instead of 8 like they have done all year long.
• They did this to give the team the best chance to win the first game to give the team a chance to play 3 games and perhaps advance.
• Unfortunately, the team lost the first game against a much better team. (15-9)
• Three girls did not play the first game, but were scheduled to play in games 2 and 3.
• Unfortunately the second game was a lopsided loss. (15-3)
• Because the game was so one sided, our team did not get to rotate much.
• One of the three girls that did not play the first game did not get to serve in the second game because her serving slot did not come up during the short one-sided game.
• After the game, this player cried her eyes out.
• I thought she was crying because they lost the game. No she was crying because she did not get to serve the entire day.
• This obviously upset the parent.
• The parent confronted my wife and the co-head coach to share his discontent about his child's lack of playing time.
• My wife and her co-coach were completely taken by surprise. Dumfounded, they did not have much to say.
• Both caring and sensitive coaches walked away greatly upset.
• This dad needs a serious reality check.

The Main Point

This disgruntled parent was completely out of line. First he violated a team rule that states an upset parent  cannot approach a coach until after a 24 hour cooling off period. If he had, maybe he would have realized that his daughter did not play a lot because the team only played 2 games. Maybe he would have realized that his daughter did not get to serve only by happenstance and not some evil plot by the coaches to thwart her opportunity to serve.

Listen there are unfair coaches in this world and I think that parents have every right to approach the coach with concerns or questions or even complaints, but this must be done in a respectful manner. I think that the 24 hour cool down period is a good idea.

My daughter had a great year and loves the game. She will eventually need to pick one sport over another, but for now we are happy that she is playing multiple sports.

Bump Set

First Spike

Winner Inside the Line

Am I What's Wrong With Youth Sports?

I recently received this negative comment regarding my post called Should Your Young Athlete Play Up. The post was about my daughter who was in kindergarten at the time playing up in a 3rd and 4th grade league. I didn't want the dialog buried in a comment on a post that is almost one year old. I'm trying to provide an honest and authentic blog about youth sports. And the honest truth is that I question and second question myself all the time regarding my over-scheduled kids.

Anonymous said...You are exactly what is wrong with youth sports. How many goals scored is completely unimportant at this age. The fact that you stated you are a coach and didn't realize one of your players was moving up is a huge tell. For your daughter's and other kids sake give up coaching and be the type A parent you really are from the other side of the field.

My first reaction was wow - this parent must have some anger issues. Perhaps Anonymous has been on the bad side of a bad coach at one time in his / her life. Who knows, but I wanted to take time to think about and respond to the comment.

My Response - In all honesty Anonymous - I just may be making a big mistake with my kids regarding sports. I often wonder if I should be holding them back. Should I convince them to play on less serious teams or for less serious coaches (BTW - I do not coach anymore, my kids play on teams with paid coaches now). Should I limit the number of sports they play especially in the same season. My wife and I talk about this all the time. We wonder if we are putting them at risk of overuse injuries. We wonder if they are going to get  burned out before they even get to high school.

We talk to our kids often and ask them about their thoughts and concerns about the teams they are on and their busy schedules. We provide our point of view and our concerns, but we let them make their own decisions. 

This is what they tell us - They love to play sports. They love to be on the field with their friends. I could not prevent overuse injuries if I tried, my daughter will play a double header basketball game and then come home and immediately go out side to our basketball hoop to play more. My son is the same way. Last week, they had a rare Saturday afternoon off. They each invited a friend over and the four of them played basketball for 5 hours. It's the way I was wired. It's the way my wife was wired and it's how my kids are wired. I wrote about this in Youth Sports Fanatics by Nature or Nurture?

By the way Anonymous - I agree scoring in soccer especially at that young age is not important. I was using scoring as proof that my daughter was right - that she could play with the older girls. I am glad that she talked me into it. And quite frankly that experience helped her make her current elite soccer team that competes at her age level

Finally Anonymous, if you read my blog consistently you would know that I praise my kids for hustle and hard work first and foremost. I do not overly emphasize the statistics with them. Why because hustle and hard work never goes into a slump. And hustle and hard work will serve them well when their sports careers are over. Plus if they hustle and work hard, the statistics will follow.

The Main Point

I didn't push my daughter to play up on a much older team for my own ego. She pushed me to allow her. In kindergarten she had the skills to play with older kids because she played against her older brothers all the time. More importantly, she had the confidence to play with older kids. If she did not have the combination of skills and confidence I would have never allowed it.

Parenting youths sports athletes is not easy. Your kids did not come with an instruction manual if best use. You are going to make mistakes. The very first game that my daughter played as a kindergartner against 3rd and 4th graders, I thought I made a terrible mistake. Here is the play by play.

CC hustled toward a free ball. An older girl bigger and faster ran toward the ball from the opposite direction. The older girl beat CC to the ball and kicked it. The ball hit CC in the face. I was standing on the sidelines less than 10 feet away. I remember her blonde, almost white hair, fly back in a quick flash and then forward over her face. My thoughts raced, I'm an idiot. I should have been smarter. I should have said no. I didn't I say no. I hope to God she is not hurt. What were you thinking. Her tiny hands immediately snapped up to her face under her hair and just as quickly pushed the hair away from her face. She looked at me with tears in her eyes. There was a brief pause as she was deciding whether or not to cry. They she turned her head to find the ball and ran off to get it. She never looked back all year.

Anonymous, thanks for making me think about that great memory again. I hope that you have many positive youth sport moments too.

Youth Sports: 1 Year Old Stats Dad is Now in Twitter

I celebrated the one year anniversary of StatsDad.com by launching a twitter page www.twitter.com/Stats_Dad. Follow my tweets.

The Main Point

I am hoping to reach more people and get more comments on my site. My hope is to start conversations about youth sports so that we can all learn how to make youth sports a better for everyone.

Youth Sports: The High Cost of Participation

Youth Sports can be expensive. Just click on the Youth Sport Costs tab above to see just how expensive participating in select / travel sports can be. We just topped $1,750 for the year if you include gas. Last year we spent nearly $9,000.

I recently wrote an article for the website Coachhub.com called How to Save Money on Youth Sports. I also found an article on the called The Most Economical Sports for Kids on the Financial Edge website. The article provides some perspective on youth sports cost.

Hopefully these resources can help you plan your budget and show you ways to save money.

The Main Point

You may think that the amount of money we spend on youth sports is ridiculous, but that is how we chose to spend our discretionary money.  Some families spend money on a boat or vacation home. I would love to have a vacation home, but we prioritize our time and money on youth sports.

Youth Basketball: Coaches Forfeiting

Crazy Youth Sports Coach Series

In the last two weeks, I have seen two coaches forfeit games before the game was over.

Situation 1.

My son team was playing a tournament game against a team that I will call the the Hawks. We had beaten the Hawks once and lost to them once during the regular season. In fact, the lost to Hawks the last game of the regular season kept my son's team from winning the Division II title outright. The last game of the season was a very physical and both teams left the floor a bit angry.

As luck would have it, a week later, both teams would meet again in the 2nd round of a local tournament. This is the game the refs let get out of control. See Youth Sports Refs and Umps have Tough Jobs. Toward the end of the game, my son got pounded and our coach got upset. He said something that upset the scorekeeper of the Hawks team. The Hawks scorekeeper snapped at our coach and an argument ensued. Play continued after the refs calmed coach and scorekeeper down. On the next possession, there was a battle under the boards for a rebound. One of the Hawks players caught an elbow to the nose, yet the refs did not call a foul. The dad of the injured kid yelled out to his son's teammates to throw elbows on the next play. The command from the fan was loud and clear. Our coach decided to pull our kids off the court and forfeit the game. The game was lost anyway.

Situation 2

Last night the rains poured down outside and leaked on the court inside. One of our players went to defend a fast break and slipped under an opponent while she was trying to make a layup. Both girls went down and both were injured. The refs did not call a foul. The foul total was 9 against the Indiana team and only 3 against our team. The coach of the Indiana team was irate and pulled his girls off the court and forfeited the game. Our team had amassed a 14-0 lead, but the Indiana team had the momentum and closed the gap to 6 points early in the third quarter.

The facility director was called in to check the floor and arranged to move the game to the next available court. The coach of the Indiana team indicated very clearly that he did not pull his team off the court because of the wet floor, he pull his team off of the court because of biased refereeing.

The Main Point

I was OK with my son's coach pulling his team off the court. That situation was a powder keg and we all have watched enough YouTube to know where this was going. There was no way our team was going to win, so the only thing that could happen in the closing minutes was not going to be good for anyone especially the kids.

I was disappointed with the Indiana coach when he forfeiting the game just minutes into the 2nd half. He cheated his team out of a chance to advance in the league championship tournament. He taught his kids that when times get tough you just quit. He also cheated our kids out of a chance to get a legitimate win against an older team that beat us the week before. Finally, he cheated all the parents of the girls, some who drove upwards of 40 miles, out of a chance to watch their kids compete.

Youth Baseball: Buying a Glove for a Select Player

My son, Nic, needed a new baseball fielding glove for the 2011 season. Over the past few of weeks, I did the research on how to buy a glove for a serious teenage player. I hope you can learn from my work.

Background

Before you buy a glove you need to assess the situation. Here is our situation.

My son, Nic, signed with a new select baseball team. Like his old team, this new team plays at the highest division of youth baseball in the area.

My son had been the primary catcher for his old team for the last 3 seasons. His new baseball team has 3 other catchers, so he will not be need to catch 70-80% of the innings anymore. We are thrilled because catching can take a toll on a player. We also happy because we think that young players (6-14) should play / learn multiple positions.

At this point, we're not sure which position will be his secondary position to catching. This uncertainty makes buying a fielder's glove more difficult because there are different glove designs for different positions.

Nic is hoping to play infield but outfield is a possibility too. As such, he needs a versatile glove that will be his gamer through high school regardless of position. Nic is in 7th grade.

The sites researched

There's a lot of information on the internet regarding this topic. I visited many sites, some were good and some were bad.

ehow - How to buy a baseball glove This site was light on information and expertise. A waste of time.
Dick's Sporting Goods - Buyer's guide - How to buy a glove This guide was comprehensive but did not offer a strong recommendation for or against specific brands.
BaseballGloves.com - This is a comprehensive site with information and links to every major and niche brand.
Wilson.com baseball glove selector tool. Wilson makes great gloves but their baseball website is terrible. I am sure that they are losing business because their site is so poorly architected and the content is so poorly written.
High School Baseball Web. This is the best site I found for very specific information and expert advice.

This is the info that we took with us to the sporting goods store after I did the reseach:

Position - Not sure - infield (not first base) or outfield.
Size: 11.75 is the most versatile size for multiple positions.
Material: Leather - the better the leather the better the glove. I wanted a glove with top quality leather that would last.
Color: Personal preference - my son likes black.
Web: We decided on the trapeze web or H web.  Both versatile web choices.
Brand: Wilson. Nic has a great Wilson A2000 Showcase catcher's mitt. He received a free Wilson A2000 Showcase catcher's mitt for participating in consumer research for Wilson. He is loyal to Wilson.
Price Range: $150 - $200

The stores we shopped

We did not consider online stores. A player needs to try gloves on to get the best fit. Even two of the same model gloves do not feel exactly the same.

We went to Dick's Sporting Goods, our typical go to place for sports equipment. The particular store we went to was sold out of the top quality gloves. They had 100's of gloves for younger little league players, but only had 1 top quality glove. That one glove was not the size nor the brand we wanted. The clerk told us that they were expecting a large delivery the next day. We returned the following week. The Wilson A2000 and A2K glove bins were still empty. Dick's lost a sale.

Subsequently, we went to specialty sporting goods store in Cincinnati called Koch's Sporting Goods. They have a nice selection of top end gloves for the same price at Dick's Sporting Goods. They also provided expert advice that confirmed all of our research and gave us peace of mind.

The Glove we bought


We bought the Wilson A2000 Limited Edition Black Out (A2000LE 1796). It is a 11.75in glove with a trapeze web for $249. 


Note: Wilson makes the same glove for $199 called the A2000 1796 - The difference a yellow W and yellow A2000 markings. Unfortunately they were sold out of the $199 model. I was tired of driving around looking for gloves, so I spent the extra $49 for the Black Out. Wilson made 500 of these gloves. My son has glove number 132 of 500. Nic loves being unique so he his thrilled. He calls his new gamer the black stealth mamba.  

Preparing the Glove for Play

Baseball Glove Steamer

Have you ever heard of steaming a glove?

The specialty sporting goods store clerk steamed the glove in a Mizuno steamer. They sprayed the glove with what looked like a water and soap solution and placed the glove in the steamer for 2 minutes.

After they steamed the glove, they beat the glove with a wooden mallet to soften the leather and form the pocket. The glove was nearly game ready after this treatment.

The clerk / baseball equipment expert told me to put a very light coating of Vaseline on it inside and out in about a week to treat the leather and help break it in.

The Main Point

1) Assess the situation - your son's age, skill level, commitment level, position, etc.
2) Assess your budget.
3) Do your homework.
4) Go to the store and try the gloves on for fit and comfort.

Youth Sports: Top Ten Youth Sports Blogs

Blogs.com asked me to compile a list of the Top 10 Youth Sports Blogs. It is easy to make the list if you are the one compiling it, but I figured I must have a worthy blog if they asked me to do it.

I spent a couple of weeks reading, critiquing and comparing youth sports blogs. I was surprised that the universe of active youth sports bloggers is actually pretty small. I kept seeing the same blogs appear again and again on blog rolls. I started there.

I eliminated the blogs that were not updated with regularity. I eliminated blogs that were new because we all know that blogs come and go. I eliminated a lot of great parenting and sports blogs that only occasionally talked about youth sports. Sports and youth needed to be the major focus.

I wanted a mix of multi-blogger / general information sites like momsteam and the more personal blogs. I tend to read the more personal blogs more often. I like to get insightful information without a lot of clicks. Finally, I could have compiled a list of blogs that focus on the sports my family is most interested in, baseball, basketball and soccer, but I wanted to make the list universally appealing.

Blogs that made the short list

We Play Sports
Girlsplaybaseball.com
High School Baseball Web
One Voice Sports
Sports Feel Good Stories
Youth Baseball Blog

Up and coming blog

Loud Mom in the Stands

The Main Point

While the universe was small, the final list was not easy to pick. What are your favorites? What would you add / subtract from the list and why?

Youth Basketball: College Bound?

Have you ever pictured your kid playing on a big stage?
Have you ever pictured your kid making a jump shot on a Division I college basketball court in front of a big crowd?

I did today. And I had my camera.

My daughter's 4th grade AAU basketball team played an exposition game tonight. The game was played at the Cintas Center during half time of the women's basketball game between the 6th ranked Xavier and George Washington. My daughter scored 4 points during the 6 minute game in front of a crowd of 4,516 people (the official attendance). The actual crowd was probably closer to 2,500, still a big stage for a 10 year old girl.

Listen, I am realistic. I know that the chances are slim that my daughter will ever play division I basketball. My daughter and my wife and I can dream about it and enjoy all the moments that may or may not lead up to her debut on a division I basketball court in front of a big crowd.

If she does make it, it will be because of her confidence. I asked her if she was nervous during the game. She said she was nervous on the bench waiting to get in, but once on the court, she didn't even think about it. I asked her if she thinks she will play for Xavier when she gets older. She said, "Nope, I am going to play for UCONN." Like I said, confidence is key and she seems to have it.


The Main Point

Youth sports provide so many lasting memories, make sure you bring your camera. Oh yeah, let your kids dream big and support them.

Youth Sports: Playing Up To Get Better

Playing up has advantages and disadvantages.

My daughter's 4th grade team has dominated every 4th grade team that they have played. They often play against older teams to find the competition that they need to get better.

I understand the concept but it can be humbling and risky. How? Why? The younger girls could lose their confidence, create bad habits or get hurt.

The Main Point

I worry about the injury risk because my daughter is so small compared to many of her teammates and the older competitors. I am not worried about her confidence because it soars when her team beats an older team and it does not wane when they lose a game they were not expected to win. Regarding bad habits, my daughter tends to pick up her dribble to quickly against bigger and faster teams, but as long as she is improving every week I think that this will eventually make her better than her peers.

Overall, I think that teams and / or players should play up to find the right competition level as long as it does not erode confidence. Confidence is the long term key to success.

This past weekend, CC's 4th grade team won both pool play games and entered the elimination round as the 3rd seed. They lost a very close and physical game in the first round. 

Jump Shot

Youth Sports: Refs and Umps Have Tough Jobs

I am not sure why anyone would want to be a youth basketball referee.

My daughter had a 5th grade basketball game today. There were 4 fouls called in a very physical first half. Both coaches were on the refs for not calling fouls. In the second half, the refs called 25 fouls. Both coaches complained and the ref almost ejected a fan from the gym.

My son had a game today. In the first half, the 7th grade boys were playing a tough and physical game, but the refs did not call any fouls. The fans were all over the refs. The coaches did not mind because they were calling a consistent game on both sides of the court. In the second half, the game started getting out of hand, so the refs started calling fouls on every play. The fans and the coaches complained vigorously.

The Main Point

I think that the most difficult officiating job in youth sports is basketball refereeing. Let's face it. There are fouls on every single possession in basketball. The ref can't call every foul or the game will last too long. Conversely, the ref can't let every foul go or the game will get out of hand. Every play provides a coach or a fan the opportunity to complain. And because the ref is so close to the fans and coaches they hear an earful all game long. I good ref just ignores the chatter and calls a balanced game.

I believe that baseball umpires have the next toughest job again because they are close to the action. It is easier than basketball because the game is less physical and there are typically fewer calls that are questioned in each game compared to basketball. Unless of course the home plate ump has an erratic strike zone.

What sport do you think is the toughest to officiate?