Refs make it their calling
February 01, 2002
By JASON MITCHELL / H-P Sports Writer
They are the target of sometimes irrelevant and unsportsmanlike conduct.
It doesn't phase them.
A chorus of boos often can be heard echoing down through the bleachers and toward the basketball court.
That's all blocked out.
Basketball officials aren't out on the court to make friends or enemies. They're just doing their jobs.
For St. Joseph residents Dave Buck, Paul Knuth and Dave Turley, it's more than just a job. It's a labor of love.
The three long-time refs work as a team, and are often seen officiating games in the Big 16, Kalamazoo Valley Association and Wolverine conferences.
"We've worked off and on together for years," said Turley, who is approaching his 30th year of officiating. "Just this year we've become a regular team. It just kind of made sense to have three guys in the St. Joe area work together."
Although these three come from different backgrounds, come game time, they are a team. They are part of the game.
Working as a team
Since the three officials all live in the same town, they often ride together to the game site. The closeness there brings closeness on the court.
"It's fun to ride together, the camaraderie is great," Turley said. "It gives us an opportunity to stop, grab a bite to eat, talk about how the game went and why we made this call or that."
Buck and Knuth officiated together for years, but Turley joined them this year to form a three-man crew.
"It's been a really easy transition," Knuth said. "Those two are very good officials and we have to trust each other."
The biggest thing the three stress is continuity in a game and making sure the calls go both ways.
"We try to call a game where we let the players play to the extent they're capable of," said Buck, a 22-year veteran official. "We'd rather not spend the whole night at the free throw line.
"The teams with more physical players tend to like that. Some teams with smaller players don't like that physicalness, so it varies."
During halftime, the three talk about how the half went and try to plan out how the second half will unfold.
"Sometimes we'll know that this team is going to come out hard defensively, or that team is going to attack inside," said Turley. "We know how different schools play and have to adjust. When you do know each other and like each each other, you can read each other. We kind of have a feeling among ourselves of what constitutes a foul so it doesn't look like we're not on the same page."
Juggling time
All three work full-time jobs. All three spend their winters traveling about to different schools to ref. All three have to balance their needs.
"It kind of goes day by day," Knuth said. "There's usually something going on every day, and sometimes there are two things going on a day."
He should know. Not only does he have four kids, he also helps coach his son's middle school basketball team.
That's in addition to coaching the St. Joseph freshmen girl's basketball team, being an assistant coach to the St. Joe varsity baseball team and coaching various levels of summer baseball. And he's been officiating various sports for 18 years.
His counterparts don't have it much easier when it comes to making their schedules click.
Turley is an insurance agent who works in Kalamazoo, which puts him in the car about two hours a day. And Buck, a computer software instructor, shoves in all those basketball games while working between his company's offices in St. Joseph and South Bend.
"You've got to prioritize your time and be organized," Turley said. "I have to make maximum use of the time I have."
Sportsmanship: it's getting better
The popular thing to do at a basketball team is to boo the officials. Buck, Knuth and Turley all know that. They don't really mind, either.
"They (the fans) pay to get in and it's all part of the business," Buck said. "But really, the fans aren't that much of an issue and we don't have to deal with it. We do deal with it when the fans are affecting the players on the court. When it's directed at us, it's not a big deal."
Unlike the other two, Knuth also coaches. So he has a different take on dealing with coaches and fans.
"I take a pretty laid-back attitude toward that," Knuth said. "I work as much as I can with coaches. From the fans, you hear everything. You really can't tune them out, but basically try to stay away from anything that's going on there and focus on the game."
The Future
All three love their work. The future of basketball officiating, however, has them worried.
With the recent Federal court ruling that could affect when girl's basketball is played, all three are concerned about the impact it could have on officiating in Michigan.
"Is the current pool of officials large enough to accommodate this? Not right now," Turley said. "The quality of officiating will go down. Guys are going to start wearing out. If anything, I think the pool will shrink."
Buck put it more bluntly.
"I think it's going to be very difficult for the girls to retain the level of officiating they have right now," he said. "Like it or not, when having the choice of working a schedule of boys vs. girls, guys are going to work the boys. The girls are going to be the ones that are hurt."
Buck, who has two young daughters, has lessened his officiating workload to spend more time with the kids, but still enjoys the game.
Turley, who has a 20-year-old son and an 18-year-old daughter, won't be hanging up his whistle anytime soon.
With children ranging in age from 9 to 17, Knuth's future with youth is pretty solid.
"I so enjoy working with the young kids," Knuth said. "I'm fortunate that I have these opportunities."
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