When will AAU be back in Ohio?

MooseJaw said:
AAU is dirt cheap compared to what so many parents ridiculously shell out for soccer. The circuit teams are free and the kids get free gear. I don't understand why there are always so many haters of AAU. Yes there are some sharks out there not in it for the kids best interests but the bottom line is that kids are getting to play in the spring and summer - that's a good thing. As many have said, I doubt that there will be any tournaments in schools this summer but maybe there will be some in the privately owned facilities.
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And just like with soccer there is a free portion, but that is reserved for the elite of the elite. To use that as the defense of a youth sport would be disengenous to say the least. The overwhelming portion of both competive youth soccer and basketball is an expensive endeavor for families. That expense is largely due to capitalistic preying on these families by organizations, leagues, and tournaments. The idea of "If I can train better and more, get on the best teams, playing the most games, and traveling the furthest to the biggest tournaments, I'll get my kid a leg up on my neighbor" has taken over our society in every youth sport. The organizations, leagues and tournaments know this and are capitalizing on it. So they keep milking people for all they can get away with.
 
First off, I agree that people that berate refs are idiots. I don’t do that. Second, there is a small contingent of very good refs and a very large contingent of crappy ones. If you watch any ohio High school basketball, that’s pretty obvious. I will also admit it’s a tough gig.

HOWEVER, refs have to start admitting some of their flaws too. Refs are one of the most self righteous group of people ever. Heres what they get wrong - you are there to ENSURE control of the game - not TO control the game. The best refs are humble and 100% understand this difference. MOST refs let the CONTROL aspect go to their heads.
 
Philly_Cat said:
And just like with soccer there is a free portion, but that is reserved for the elite of the elite. To use that as the defense of a youth sport would be disengenous to say the least. The overwhelming portion of both competive youth soccer and basketball is an expensive endeavor for families. That expense is largely due to capitalistic preying on these families by organizations, leagues, and tournaments. The idea of "If I can train better and more, get on the best teams, playing the most games, and traveling the furthest to the biggest tournaments, I'll get my kid a leg up on my neighbor" has taken over our society in every youth sport. The organizations, leagues and tournaments know this and are capitalizing on it. So they keep milking people for all they can get away with.
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Theres a lot of stupid in society. There is a small percentage that get taken advantage of by AAU because they have no awareness of their kids skills.

The vast majority just want their kid to play more of a sport he/she enjoys to play. AAU provides an opportunity for kids that love to play an opportunity to play a lot. It’s enjoyable for the kids and the families. Nothing wrong with that.
 
zebrastripes said:
It seems as though you and your friend just don't like getting your opinions challenged. It's happened on multiple threads recently where whenever someone disagrees with you, you resort to ad-hominem attacks. Not really sure why, this isn't personal - it's a message board, people are allowed to disagree.

I could referee the first perfect game and you and your buddy would still say I did an awful job - because you don't know the first thing about officiating.

Try harder.
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Another example of the self righteousness of refs - if you’re not a ref, you don’t know the rules. Complete BS.

Refs are the only ones that know the rules apparently. So annoying.
 
spirit454 said:
As I said, being a good official is not easy. Most cannot go without a rebuttal. What is the equivalent of a technical for a coach to use on an official who should not get a pass?
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zebrastripes said:
You expressed your opinion, I expressed mine. (And if you didn't notice, I agreed with the gist of what you were saying.)

This is a false equivalence. Officials are paid to be in charge of the game, and that includes penalizing unsporting behavior. Coaches are not.

If an official's behavior is truly inappropriate I can assure you the assigner for the game would want to hear about it. No assigner likes problem children - and chances are, that same official is not held in high regard by other coaches or his fellow officials. If the coach chooses not to report the official's actions, that's on him.

Misbehaving during the game is certainly not the proper way to address it.
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And because they are in charge of the game, they abuse that power by doing exactly what the Other poster said - constant rebuttals to fans and coaches, even when it’s not even close to being necessary.

The “I’m in charge, we’re going to do things my way” syndrome is the EXACT reason why people rail so much on refs and blame them for trying to be the show. Just call the damn game, NO ONE is there to see you throw your badge around, especially in situations where it’s not even close to being warranted.

exactly what I said about control - facilitating control does not mean using power to control - same mindset as a police officer on a power trip
 
MooseJaw said:
I don't understand why there are always so many haters of AAU.
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For me, it comes down to the belittling of other levels of basketball. I'm of the opinion that the best basketball players in the world are NBA players. Anything below that is just kids playing the game. Sure, there are differences in skills and athleticism but they all pale in comparison to NBA players. So I don't appreciate this distinction that AAU is "superior" because the players might have a little more "talent". An AAU game is still a game where almost none of them will make a living playing that game.

I go to watch basketball because I enjoy it. I can enjoy a 4th grade rec league game as much as watching the two best AAU teams in the nation battling one another. Just depends how the game is played. My favorite level of basketball is the local High School teams where the kids grew up playing the game together. College is good. NBA is difficult to watch beside late in the playoffs. AAU reminds me of the NBA regular season. Games don't matter and players are out there for themselves (nothing wrong with that but that is what AAU is about).

So the "hate" of AAU isn't totally correct. I just don't place it at the same level as some others in viewing interest. Just to give an example, I've posted videos on here of LeBron James' games while in HS. Those games are interesting to watch. I have no interest in any of his AAU games or the all-star games he played in after his Senior season.
 
carefree93 said:
constant rebuttals to fans and coaches, even when it’s not even close to being necessary.
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I've rarely seen officials argue with fans. What I've seen is fans that have gone overboard get removed from the game by the official or the site administrator. Hardly ever see an argument back and forth.
 
I find it hilarious how the same two posters who have appeared in multiple threads recently getting their feelings hurt when people disagree with them are the same two posters going on a typical fanboy diatribe against referees out of the wild blue yonder.

It's almost as though there's some sort of correlation.

Oh well, I'm done. I probably started it. But at the end of the day, there's a good reason I don't answer to people like those two.
 
zebrastripes said:
:ROFLMAO: Oh the irony of a clown like you calling me self-righteous.

I'm an independent contractor and can work whatever games I am offered.

"Most of them suck" come join us, partner, and show us how it's done...

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@carefree93 You gonna take him up on this offer to join the officiating ranks? Since you know so much I'm sure you'd be a perfect fit and could aid in the quality of OHSAA officiating.

Funny how you didn't respond to that. You're just a troll, and a bad one at that.
 
Ref talk - everyone is fan boy because they don’t know the game like them.

And if the majority of people on this site disagree with me, I’m doing something right. A lot of really bad takes here. The majority, in fact.
 
MSL said:
@carefree93 You gonna take him up on this offer to join the officiating ranks? Since you know so much I'm sure you'd be a perfect fit and could aid in the quality of OHSAA officiating.

Funny how you didn't respond to that. You're just a troll, and a bad one at that.
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I don’t need to be a ref to know the game. The self righteous refs will lead you to believe that, but it’s simply their own insecurities. Those who can’t play - ref. It’s the only way to get back at all of the real players who never picked them.
 
GopherHole said:
Seems like my "buddy" and I hit a nerve . . . You probably are one of those refs that can't even see your shoes and make it past half court
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definitely hit a nerve - straight to self righteous mode multiple times in this thread, exactly where the crappy refs go when the first sign of someone calling out their crappiness starts. Exact same phenomenon.

Problem is, ref boys have no power here. Ref boys can’t shut down people calling them out in here. Ref boys can’t give me a stern warning after they screw up a call. Put them on an even playing field, and ref boys are the ones that get their feelings hurt.

Ref boys call themselves “zebra stripes” and tell everyone about the Purity of their craft and how they know all things basketball on a message boards. Dude, you’re a ref, no one cares. No one sees you as an expert in your field, so stop with the self righteous BS
 
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carefree93 said:
I don’t need to be a ref to know the game. The self righteous refs will lead you to believe that, but it’s simply their own insecurities. Those who can’t play - ref. It’s the only way to get back at all of the real players who never picked them.
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I don't see where anyone said that except you.

The difference between refs and clowns like you is that, without refs, there is no game.

You're a perfect AAU parent. You should do us all a favor and stick to those games. Spare high school ball your presence. (Actually, I think I recall you said somewhere you don't see much HS ball. Thank goodness.)
 
carefree93 said:
Ref talk - everyone is fan boy because they don’t know the game like them.

And if the majority of people on this site disagree with me, I’m doing something right. A lot of really bad takes here. The majority, in fact.
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Um, the majority of people don't disagree with stripes. But keep telling yourself that.

And refs make half the gym mad no matter what call they make. If you care what fans think as an official you won't be around too long. So it is probably good he doesn't really give a damn what you think.
 
MSL said:
Um, the majority of people don't disagree with stripes. But keep telling yourself that.

And refs make half the gym mad no matter what call they make. If you care what fans think as an official you won't be around too long. So it is probably good he doesn't really give a damn what you think.
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Oh, he gives a damn, that’s why he can’t help himself in his constant responses as ref boy.
 
carefree93 said:
definitely hit a nerve - straight to self righteous mode multiple times in this thread, exactly where the crappy refs go when the first sign of someone calling out their crappiness starts. Exact same phenomenon.

Problem is, ref boys have no power here. Ref boys can’t shut down people calling them out in here. Ref boys can’t give me a stern warning after they screw up a call. Put them on an even playing field, and ref boys are the ones that get their feelings hurt.

Ref boys call themselves “zebra stripes” and tell everyone about the Purity of their craft and how they know all things basketball on a message boards. Dude, you’re a ref, no one cares. No one sees you as an expert in your field, so stop with the self righteous BS
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Amen and mega dittos. Do yourself a favor and sit at a game with a common ref... not a super ref, just a guy who enjoys reffing some games. Total eye opener for me. It's sickening what the guys who want tourney games will do to kiss in order to get certain games...
 
GopherHole said:
How is circuit basketball a money grab??
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Working a 16U Regional years ago...... Second day of the tourney, I get a kid for hook on a spin to the bucket and he slams the ball down sending it into orbit, so I whack him. He responds by MFing me three times as he's walking to the bench. So may partner whacks him again and dumps him. The coach goes ballistic and earns himself a copy of the home game as we instruct him to leave as well.

At halftime the tourney director approaches us and asks us to reconsider. I laughed and said "I think we punished them all we can"... He didn't laugh and said he was reinstating both of them. "they paid a lot of money to play in this event and we aren't doing that to them." was the response to me...

I advised that the kid MF-ed me 3x and the coach called my mother a whore. Was told I needed a thicker skin. (announcer speak)...

So we chucked our whistles at the TD and told them they needed two new officials and walked out.



Stories like that are plentiful around the circuit. Guys who work for TD's like that (and the paltry fees that are offered) don't do any official and favors.
 
AllSports12 said:
Working a 16U Regional years ago...... Second day of the tourney, I get a kid for hook on a spin to the bucket and he slams the ball down sending it into orbit, so I whack him. He responds by MFing me three times as he's walking to the bench. So may partner whacks him again and dumps him. The coach goes ballistic and earns himself a copy of the home game as we instruct him to leave as well.

At halftime the tourney director approaches us and asks us to reconsider. I laughed and said "I think we punished them all we can"... He didn't laugh and said he was reinstating both of them. "they paid a lot of money to play in this event and we aren't doing that to them." was the response to me...

I advised that the kid MF-ed me 3x and the coach called my mother a whore. Was told I needed a thicker skin. (announcer speak)...

So we chucked our whistles at the TD and told them they needed two new officials and walked out.



Stories like that are plentiful around the circuit. Guys who work for TD's like that (and the paltry fees that are offered) don't do any official and favors.
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I've never officiated a game but I would have been tempted to keep working the rest of the games that day and never blow my whistle once. It would be interesting to see how physical the game got when the players realized that no calls would be made.

I also thought of another way of shutting down some coaches. I would make a call and when the coach of the team complained loudly, I would change the call in his favor. At the same time, I would yell to the other team's coach that he has one free "call change" whenever he wants it the rest of the game.
 
Yappi said:
I've never officiated a game but I would have been tempted to keep working the rest of the games that day and never blow my whistle once. It would be interesting to see how physical the game got when the players realized that no calls would be made.

I also thought of another way of shutting down some coaches. I would make a call and when the coach of the team complained loudly, I would change the call in his favor. At the same time, I would yell to the other team's coach that he has one free "call change" whenever he wants it the rest of the game.
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That's stuff we talk about at the local watering hole. Never act on it, but talk about it. ;)

The TD reinstating the player and the coach (the player did something similar the day before) undermined any ability for us to officiate any game in the tourney. He had to wait 40 minutes for other officials to arrive to resume the game. Later that day, 10 officials turned back all their remaining games leaving said TD in a pickle for officials for the remainder of the long weekend.
 
AllSports12 said:
That's stuff we talk about at the local watering hole. Never act on it, but talk about it. ;)

The TD reinstating the player and the coach (the player did something similar the day before) undermined any ability for us to officiate any game in the tourney. He had to wait 40 minutes for other officials to arrive to resume the game. Later that day, 10 officials turned back all their remaining games leaving said TD in a pickle for officials for the remainder of the long weekend.
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Good to see. I understand the TD's reason for wanting to keep them in the tournament but that is one of those things where it crosses your mind but realize that it will only hurt you in the long run.

I ran a local rec league for 5 years. There was a very big difference in the ability of some of the refs but I was happy with them all and supported them. Running that league taught me how valuable the officials are to having a successful league.
 
AllSports12 said:
Yet, earlier today......
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standing up and berating officials is one thing. Making an assessment of their performance based on what you observe is quite another.

most people would agree that the refereeing in Ohio basketball isnt all that great. There are some very good ones, but most simply aren’t very good. This is a completely objective observation.

most are still around because it’s a necessity to give them games.
 
Philly_Cat said:
And just like with soccer there is a free portion, but that is reserved for the elite of the elite. To use that as the defense of a youth sport would be disengenous to say the least. The overwhelming portion of both competive youth soccer and basketball is an expensive endeavor for families. That expense is largely due to capitalistic preying on these families by organizations, leagues, and tournaments. The idea of "If I can train better and more, get on the best teams, playing the most games, and traveling the furthest to the biggest tournaments, I'll get my kid a leg up on my neighbor" has taken over our society in every youth sport. The organizations, leagues and tournaments know this and are capitalizing on it. So they keep milking people for all they can get away with.
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Coaching friend of mine said: if most of these parents put most of their money into tutors, they’d have a much greater chance of getting some scholarship money. Great Thought.
 
carefree93 said:
standing up and berating officials is one thing. Making an assessment of their performance based on what you observe is quite another.

most people would agree that the refereeing in Ohio basketball isnt all that great. There are some very good ones, but most simply aren’t very good. This is a completely objective observation.

most are still around because it’s a necessity to give them games.
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Maybe more people should get into referring. That would help the perceived problem
 
zebrastripes said:
You expressed your opinion, I expressed mine. (And if you didn't notice, I agreed with the gist of what you were saying.)

This is a false equivalence. Officials are paid to be in charge of the game, and that includes penalizing unsporting behavior. Coaches are not.

If an official's behavior is truly inappropriate I can assure you the assigner for the game would want to hear about it. No assigner likes problem children - and chances are, that same official is not held in high regard by other coaches or his fellow officials. If the coach chooses not to report the official's actions, that's on him.

Misbehaving during the game is certainly not the proper way to address it.
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Many officials feel they are in charge, I have always seen them more as an arbitrator who lets the game play out. If you feel you are in charge then you actually control who wins and I would never hire you if that is the way you feel. Unfortunately this happens more than it should because of the low number of available officials. Many know they will get called upon over and over because assigners have little options.

But again my question would be if a official has a T against an unruly coach or player, what does the coach have against an unruly official?
 
Always love the....those that can't play...ref. Most are way beyond their playing years. They don't get paid much. Pretty much just do it for the love of the sport and to give kids opportunities to compete in said events. In my experience it's normally the lesser team that use refs as an excuse for the loss. Can't be the kids or coaching.
 
Carefree 93 is a Liar and a Clown, on at least his 3rd Screen name. His Clown antics will keep going! I suggest the Ignore feature on here. It works great!
 
spirit454 said:
Many officials feel they are in charge, I have always seen them more as an arbitrator who lets the game play out. If you feel you are in charge then you actually control who wins and I would never hire you if that is the way you feel. Unfortunately this happens more than it should because of the low number of available officials. Many know they will get called upon over and over because assigners have little options.

But again my question would be if a official has a T against an unruly coach or player, what does the coach have against an unruly official?
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I already answered your question. If you don’t like my answer, that’s not my problem.
 
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