Church leagues call for less aggressive officiating style

According to the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO), at least 300,000 men and women currently officiate youth leagues and recreational programs in the United States. More games of various kinds are being added to schedules, so additional competent officials are needed.
   
“It takes a special person — a person with integrity, courage and good judgment. It takes someone extraordinary,” said Barry Mano, president of NASO.
   
Steve Karns, who is RA Crusaders basketball director at First Baptist Church, Clanton, said referees for church sports, such as RA basketball, aren’t required to be certified referees. “We prefer you to be (certified), but you don’t have to be,” he said.  
   
“RA leadership seeks referees who know how to officiate church leagues, because calling a church league game is different from a school league,” said Steve Stephens, RA and Challenger consultant for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
   
“In church league play referees call a tight game, but in a kind way, whereas in a school league, referees call a looser game, but more sternly,” according to Stephens.
   
This means that referees calling a church game allow no pushing and shoving under the net, or hand checking (keeping track of where an opponent is).
   
RA Challenger basketball works through 16 district coordinators throughout the state to secure the best referees they can find in their respective areas, Stephens said.
   
Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) certified referees officiate at state RA tournaments, and several seek these assignments due to what is usually a less argumentative situation.
   
Referring to RA basketball, Karns said, “We don’t have lot of trouble with fans or coaches. I can count on my hand the amount of trouble we’ve had in the last four years with coaches and fans.”
   
Karns, himself an AHSAA certified referee, said his refereeing of public and private high school basketball games comes through a Montgomery sports association known as Capitol City. They book referees for games.
   
To be AHSAA certified, applicants must attend numerous meetings, take tests, study rule books, attend work sessions and officiate practice games in which more experienced referees mentor those studying to become referees.
   
“It’s not hard to be a referee, but it’s hard to be a good referee,” he said. “You can teach what a foul is, but you can’t teach judgment,” he said.  
   
For some fourth–sixth grade RA games through his church, Karns has high school students calling, working under the supervision of experienced referees.
   
He explained that individual churches need not be concerned about securing referees, since the leagues their teams play in are responsible for having referees at the games.
   
To referee at a church game, a person must have a good understanding and command of the game they are calling, and if they desire referee training, clinics are regularly held in the major population centers of the state.
   
Barbara Bencko, administrative assistant for equipping congregations with Birmingham Baptist Association, said many of the referees they use for their association’s basketball league, work the high school basketball circuit too. Their games don’t usually fall at the same times as BBA’s games. 
   
BBA referees have to be trained and certified, according to Bencko. Referees used by BBA are certified [cq] though BBOA, JEFFCO, MAGIC, MARVEL or AHSAA.
   
For more information about refereeing, check NASO’s Web site at www.naso.org or www.apollo.carroll/p/levinson/officiating.html.