Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • Page 18

ll-MattooolD.) Journal Gaiette Saturday, March 10, 1979 mm mmm mh I Chaogomig iroles strain officials 4 By CRAIG SANDERS JG Staff Writer When James Naismith put his first basketball team on the hardwood back in 1 riwllh ip 5 basketball there would be no minor sports programs Yet lately some are beginning to question whether the consequences this major industry creates are still worthwhile What would Dr Naismith have thought were he still around to read a recent editorial in the Bloomington Pantagraph that said of his beloved game. "It is our conclusion that basketball has so degenerated that it may no longer be of value to the educational process, the entertainment and morale of fans or character of players "In recent years the growing number of unpleasant incidents at basketball games at all levels leads us to believe it no longer is a sport any more elevated than cockfighting and bull pit "Regard for officials has sunk beyond measuring, again mostly because of excuse seeking coaches As officials have lost control of players and coaches, they have lost control of behavior The newspaper editorial went on to claim it was not "anti-sport." but described crowd behavior at many games as a form of mass hysteria which can be an ugly thing to behold So just who are these arbitrators who have been assigned the tenuous job of keeping order and the rules at athletic contests'" Most officials are former athletes Second of two parts 1891 he had only 13 rules Dr Naismith wouldn't recognize his game today There are hundreds o( rules, many not well-defined Official Robert McDowell said about 90 percent of the calls in basketball toda are judgement calls, a much easier target (or a player or coach to disagree with "If you're on the play you can see it. but that coach sits somewhere else and the fans somewhere McDowell sjid Bob Avery. Mattoon High School basketball coach and a football official for 5 years, said the only thing an official can change his mind on is "if you've made a mistake on a rule interpretation "On a discretion call in which vou are seeing the action at the same time the coach is, you see it your way. he sees it his way I don't think there's any possible way to back down, Avery said Don Robinson, supervisor of officials for the Illinois High School Association.

90 percent of the calls are now judgement said Bill Brandvold. MHS athletic director and a basketball official, said the costs eat up the money official earn "If you travel all night and then come back to a place and have just $12 left in your pocket it isn very profitable." Brandvold said best friend is calling you blind," Thomas said Wiman (eels many newer officials tend to bring on pressure themselves because they don't know all the rules and regulations There are certain mistakes nearly every new official will make, Wiman said. Robinson of the IHSA admitted his organization does little to help new officials "We're very lax in that area," Robinson said "That is a very legitimate criticism not only of our organization, but every organization Sanders said young officials probably willovereact "You heart starts beating a little faster, you start to perspire a little bit and you haven't done much running yet. "You start hearing noises from directions you haven't heard in the past "You hear that sweet little lady sitting in the stands You hear that very boisterous father saying you blew it you jerk "You hear people try to do some officiating for you hey he traveled Holy cow didn't you see that foul. For Petes sake, what game are you watching "I've been verbally abused at every ballpark I've ever worked in," Sanders said Overlooked by nearly all the fans is the fact good coaches and players use the officials as part of their playing strategy "There are a tremendous amount of blind spots working basketball with a two-man crew," Sanders explained "If I were a basketball coach and 1 wanted to do more picking and shoving then I would find an area that was void of officiating "Occasionally as a high school coach I'd observe an umpire standing in the same place all the time Then I would simply have my tight end run in front of the umpire to catch the pass Use the umpire i to block Sanders said Sanders said he has also seen some line judges standing inside the wide receivers "I'd use him to block for me and get myself 12 people on the field Players and coaches also feej obligated Sanders quoted former Marquette basketball coach Al McGuire that "the first two minutes of a game belong to the officiating "There's no way my kids or I are going to change the mechanics of that official who has been working that sport for IS years, McGuire went on to say Basketball official Rod Sink said as a player "you really don't have the pressure of the crowd and the coaches The official What would Dr.

Naismith have thought of a recent editorial that said "basketball has so degenerated that it may no longer be of value to the education process or character of players?" "The players have to learn there are rules they have to go by because there are laws in life and someone is going to enforce those laws." "11 takes a particular type of person Vou have to have a great amount of confidence." said Bob Wiman. MHS baseball coach and a basketball official Bob Thomas, ho officiates basketball, said he got into officiating because "I was getting to the age where 1 couldn't participate any longer and I still wanted to stay involved It's relatively easy to become an official One merely writes the IHSA to get a rule book and an open book test Upon completion of the test, payment of a $10 fee and furnishing of two character references, the man or woman is a registered official Said Thomas, "anyone could pass the test What transpires next may not be "It's hard to get started," Wiman said. "You usually start in industrial leagues where most players used to play basketball and know most of the rules Or you Officials could be influenced is in the granting of contracts Wiman notes it takes one to two years to build up a schedule "One of the problems is someone says I'm ready to officiate and there's no place to officiate Unless you know somebody at this school and that school that will hire you for the first time, you're not going to officiate because you don't have any place to of iciate. Sw ickaid thaSonce an official becomes knownTi ie favors his employer "Anwywhere you go you're always going to have the visiting team say they hired homers If we did that at every school we wouldn't have any contracts at all," Swick said "You have to make the decision as you see it rather than stop and think 30 seconds as to what would be the consquences of my calling this would I have another job back," Swick said "Some officials I've seen it happen There are some officials I'm sure that want to go back to that school I think the attitude an official needs to have is that Calling a foul: officials' "Before and after the game we view them as we should." said Avery "During the game I view them if they're within range to call the play what else can 1 do I hired them so I expect them to call it fairly and that's all I can say." he said "If they're dragging behind I'm a little bit perturbed about it I think you gripe at a call because we're prejudiced to win and hope we get all the close calls." Avery said Does being an official make any difference to Avery1 "I don't think so Not during the game It makes me respect the situation much better afterwards then I used to "He (official i may need a little prodding." Avery said "That (officiating) isn't generally what beats you Most of the time a coach wants to burn off a little steam You recover and everything's fine." Avery said Swick said officials sometimes have to break in coachs want way and don't realize oujob is to make decisions out there and their job is to coach." Swick said "You work for enough coaches enough times and you know what these coaches try to do and what they think is part of their coaching ploy to handle officials, other teams or other athletes." Sanders said Both Sanders and Wiman agreed coaches talking with officials can be beneficial to the official and the game "It takes pressure off himself and a good coach will react occasionally to take pressure off his team," Sanders said Wiman said managers in baseball will get involved and umpires welcome this "to cool off the game "I think it's good for the officials if the coach has something to say constructively," Wiman said Wiman feels every coach should be involved in officiating in some aspect In Illinois high schools, officials are hired by the home school and therefore are approved by the home coach Since officials are paid, can they be influenced through the pocketbook'' The answer is both yes and no On the one hand the money to be made in officiating is not that great Officials in high school in Illinois make from $25 to $35 a game Sanders noted Big Ten officials are paid $250 per game "Officiating can't be done for the money," said Thomas, "you have to enjoy that to be doing it Still Wiman said he "no doubt (feels) a lot of people do it for money "The thing is $20 sounds like a lot of money for an hour and a half of action but if you put in the time you leave and go to the place you work, you're really not making a lot of money for your time," concedes "there are still parts of the rule book which are not well written "Neither do the people who wrote them have all the answers. Robinson said "An official knows when he makes a wrong call and that you've make just as many one way as you have the other McDowell said "I don't think any ballgame I've ever called the outcome has been from mv calls," he said -J Try to tell that to frenzied crowd, a i'foach fighting for his job.

and a player frying to get a scholarship Never mind that the team missed five Sree throws early in the game Nevermind 3he team's leading rebounder wasn't hustling on the boards or the 25 turnovers "We wouldn't have lost if that official hadn't (of would have i called that foul W. Sanders, a physical education instructor at Eastern and Big Tan col leg football and high school basketball of ficial, said a term used in sports psychology to describe many tans is "selected paranoia "Regardless of the call if it against their team, the fans see things they want to see and don't see things which they don't want to see," Sanders said "It's an identity crisis People like to identify with a he said Winning may have been the only thing to i Vince Lombardi. but winning begets rewards off the field "Financially you'd be surprised what a successful football program will do to a large university or to a small university in regard to the number of students. Sanders said "A large number of students, believe it or not, will select a school to attend that's got a successful program because they're sports fans," he added Although the Illinois High School Association describes high school basket ball as "schoolboy ior schoolgirl basket ball," the fact is high school basketball in Illinois is a highly profitable enterprise What other business, besides a large conglomerate, can generate Si 5 million in revenue for a 21 -day period Last year the gross receipts from ticket Although it hasn't surfaced as a major issue yet. probably most officials are not in good enough physical condition to officiate basketball as it is played today.

"I find it somewhat sinful for a man to go out and accept an assignment as an official and do nothing more each year than to attend the state-required meeting. We've got guys today who are using the same mechanics they used 20 years ago and they think they're doing a hell of a job." "I've had coaches approach me just before a jump ball in a tournament championship and say hey I've got a couple ballgames at my place next year, you interested in having them Sanders said he always replies "this is not the time and place to talk to us about next year's assignments Assigning officials would prevent hustling and charges of "homers." but opinl on is split Brandvold is against assigning by the IHSA "I'd rather have my own officials," he said But Avery favors it "There's some officials who could tend to give you a break when it gets down to about three or four dates at your place," Avery said, "call the game as you see it and go home The longer you stay i business the more you see this thing could have happened and does happen Robinson doesn't think the IHSA could handle the job of assigning officials "Administratively in the state of Illinois we're facing an impossible task where we have 839 schools who play approximately 23-24 ballgames That task would quite insurmountable as far as I'm concerned," Robinson said "Our officials are individual contractors, Robinson said, "if he's obviously making bad calls week after week they'll weed themselves out because they won't get hired," Robinson Robinson said he gets complaints about the system used in Illinois to assign officials "We get complaints But we don't get any answers," he said Sanders said an official when he puts on the striped shirt must make the assumption the only friend he has in the entire gym or stadium is his fellow official "For some reason spectators as a rule don't appreciate the effort made i.y officials," Sanders said Thomas sees a higher purpose to officating then love of athletics or wanting to stay active. "The players have to learn there are rules they have to go by because there are laws in life and someone is going to enforce those laws." player said. "Well it's your house too you pay the heating bill," Thompson said. Thompson said he suggested storm windows be installed but the Idea was rejected because it would detract from the historical significance of the mansion.

"Historical significance Can you imagine that," he snorted The governor stepped up to the bar, but his favorite bourbon wasn't available sending the bartender scurrying downstairs for a bottle of Jack Daniels. Nearly all the slightly over 100 players, media and selected guests walked around as though they had just awakened on Christmas morning It was too real to be true. One reported lamented he was missing covering high school basketball. "I made the mistake of showing the invitation to my wife," he explained. Just before 9 p.rfTrjroner was served.

Thompson got up and apoligized. It seemed the Delaware chickens were "as skinny as the Delaware defense" and the meal had to be supplemented with Illinois chickens. He said if the players thought their meal seemed more appropriate for a lady's tea, they were to raise their hands and Jayne would see to it they got more to eat. A few did. All too soon it was over.

My night in Camelot ended and I didn't even get my picture taken with the governor. Thompson posed with the media people, but I was left out because someone had to take the picture. C'mon Darrell. Lets win it again so I can get my picture taken next time. "You have to make the decision as you see it rather than stop and think 30 seconds as to what would be the consequences of my calling this would I have another job back Panthers skin hens start in junior high where players make a lot of mistakes Wiman explained John Swick has umpired in baseball since age 15 "The lower the level of officiating the more difficult it is to officiate." Swick said It also more dangerous as few industrial leagues take any security precautions for thier officials "Before you get to work varsity games, you have to have some experience," Thomas said, "they don't hire you unless they've seen you work "There's all kinds of games to be worked Coaches are constantly looking for officials to work games You're going to get the opportunities." Thomas said The first thing the young or new official discovers, Sanders said, is the "fishbowl phenomenon "They're being scrutinized by not only players but coaches and bv fans and possibly other officials." Sanders said, "and the first thing they find out is can they handle the pressure Thorn said the most difficult thing about getting started is learning to live through the harassment stage "A lot of young people have no idea of what it's like until they do it They don't realize the effect it has." he said "You might turn around and one of vour the ref to block? is being rated every minute that the game goes by You better pretty well know what you're talking about Swick doesn't feel there is adequate training for officials, particuarly when officials first get started "I think there ought to be training seminars at each of the levels." Swick said Sanders said officials go through three levels of development The first phase is the first two years of officiating The second phase is when "you realize that mechanically you can continue to work and can become consistent, but you start looking into st me of the gray areas of officiating In the third stage, Sanders said the official begins to really take his work seriously "If a guy's got pride in himself he starts saying if I'm going to do it I might as well do it right "I'm guessing that most officials probably stay at stage II They don't know the difference "I find it somewhat sinful for a man to out out and accept an assignment as an official and do nothing more each year than to attend the state-required meeting which is an interpretation meeting." Sanders said "We've got guys today who are using the same mechanics they used 20 years ago and they think they're doing a hell of a Job" "Here are coaches earning a livelihood.

Sometimes their being employed might indirectly or directly be determined by an official in the way he calls Here are ten athletes on a high school basketball floor who hopefully have learned to train and discipline themselves "And here's an official who goes out and unbeknowingly does a less than adquate job in officiating and it turns in to a fiasco This is the type of official that bothers me While knowing the rules and having good mechanics are probably the most important part of officiating, every official would agree he or she has to be in position to be able to make a call correctly Although it hasn't surfaced as a major issue yet. probabjy most officials are not in good enough physical condition to officiate basketball as it is played today. "The game has gone past the physical condition of many officials." aid Robinson He said many officials "have had it" by the fourth quarter and "you're going to miss calls "We have some guys working basketball who can't run If you can't run working high school basketball you're putting that program in a real tough position because run and guy seems to be the thing." Sanders said For all the protesting coaches do about officiating, for all the griping to the media, and for ail their actions during Ta game, how do coaches really feel towards there's other schools in the area and you don't have to go back to that school." McDowell said Sanders said some blacklisting goes on of officials when conferences get together and draw up officials' lists "That would be an opportunity to prevent seeing this official when I go on the road." he said "If I as a coach felt an official was beneficial to me, I'll control my officials at home and I'll take my chances on the road I think in essence this is what a lot of coaches do, Sanders said "I've always kndwn what we call hustling for games exists," Sanders added "It's a way for a young official to get started if he doesn't have an association. Only a plainclothes state trooper who pointed to which door to enter Up a winding staircase lay a different world. Soft piano music filled the room Black-jacketed waiters attended to our needs.

Crystal chandeliers cast a warm glow upon the polished tables and overstuffed chairs. A woman with a long, powder-blue dress extended her hand "Hello. I'm Jayne Thompson." Mrs. Thompson apologized for her husband's absence. He was touring the state to inspect flood damage and he would belate A long line had formed at the open bar.

"Do you get any hor d'oeuvres," one player asked another. "Naw, the coaches ate them all. In another room a waiter brought a tray of hot hors d'oeuvres. The players eyed them for about a second and them started grabbing. Within five seconds every hors d'oeuvre -on the tray was gone.

Head coach Darrell Mudra was talking to a reporter and reached around for one. He was mildly surprised to find they were all gone. The players looked at their coach sheepishly. Mudra grinned and remined one if he kept eating he would gain enough pounds to play defense. When Thompson arrived the players clustered around him.

Several players had brought cameras and started taking group snapshots. "This is quite a place you got here." one sales and broadcast rights for the boys and girls state tournament series came to $1,577,518 -a rate of 171 428 a day Basketball receipt primarily enabled the IHSA to pay off its spanking new i headquarters building in suburban Bloomington in two years Nearly two-thirds of the IHSA operat ling budget comes from basketball receipts and some point out that were it not for Will the players use By CRAIG SANDERS SPRINGFIELD I've always wondered what it would be like to be someone really important. To know presents, kings and prime ministers by their first names'; drink their wine and dance to their song in their glittering palaces. Last night I finally got a fleeting glimpse of Camelot. In the mail recently came a card, the kind you can run your finger across and feel the print.

"Governor and Mrs. James R. Thompson cordially invite you to join them at dinner honoring "The Panthers' Eastern Illinois Univesity Football Team The Executive Mansion, Springfield, Illinois. RSVP Last December when Eastern won the NCAA Division II national football title, Thompson had wagered Illinois peaches against Deleware chickens Eastern would win. The Deleware governor finally paid off and as.

premised, Thompson invited the team to dinner. I could scarcely hold the phone and contain my excitement as I Called to secure my place on the guestlist. Visions of black ties and strange foreign foods tempted my imagination Dinner with the governor. Well it's not the White House, but how many people an boast they ate dinner in the governor's mansion. There weren't any red carpets or trumpets blaring as I walked up to the north entrance of the mansion.