In Reply to: I've officiated high school summer league games way back posted by ej on January 30, 2026 at 11:06:06
when I was stationed at Walker AFB (Roswell NM) and a member of the New Mexico Officials association. Being in the military back then (and having a family--3 of 4 daughters were born there), the pay wasn't great and I did it on the weekends and some nights when I didn't have duty assignments-- primarily for some extra money. At the JC level, I officiated a couple of the New Mexico Military Institutes games when Roger Staubach was there. He was a guard on their team. We were also teammates on the Roswell men's AAU basketball team (they had men's AAU ball back then). Had no idea that Roger would become a famous NFL QB. He was such a good baseball player (catcher with a rifle for an arm and all kind of scouts were after him) we thought he would go on to be a major league baseball player--he was that good.
I've always believed that officials who have actually played the game at an organized level were in a better position to correctly interpret and apply the rules. Knowing from experience what type of contact gives the opponent an advantage is important as all contact shouldn't be called a foul, IMO. Incidental contact occurs very frequently and if every touch or bump were called, games would take over 3 hours to play turning the game into a FT shooting contest. It's difficult to see how going to clinics and reading and learning the rules make guys who haven't played the game good officials. No doubt there are some but I see many officials at lower levels (HS down and some in college) that don't seem to have a clue.
In today's games with players being bigger, quicker, more athletic and generally more physical, I'd hate to be out there officiating. So easy to get blocked out where you may not see a critical foul or other infraction. That's primarily why they have 3 officials now with 3 different viewing angles. It's certainly a very challenging and often stressful job and no doubt, lots of criticism from both sides being given.