This basketball season has been an enjoyable one for me. I have been able to see a lot of different teams in a lot of different match-ups in a lot of different facilities on both sides of the Tug River and in all parts of Mingo and Pike Counties. And let me tell you, we have some talent in this area.

We have some tremendously talented male and female student athletes playing basketball in our area. And we have some equally talented coaches leading them. All of these individuals pour their heart and their souls into their game and their teams and they are wonderful to watch a work.

However, the only major unpleasantry I have found in visiting these different venues and watching these teams has been in taking note of how truly bad the basketball officiating has gotten on both sides of the river. And I’m not talking occasionally bad - I’m talking consistently, night -in, night-out, all-around stink up the gym baaaaaad!

Now having been around high school athletics for well over twenty years, I have come to realize and expect that there might be one or two bad calls in any given game, on any given night, in any given arena. But this year’s bad calls have been more like 10 or 12 per game, in nearly every game, on nearly every night and certainly in every arena. No team, no gym, neither county, neither state nor either sex has been spared the inflation of bad calls and just overall bad officiating. In fact, I can count on one hand the quality officiated games I have seen this year at the high school level.

There are several reasons I believe for the increase in poor officiating. Some have a simple fix - others require complex ones.

First, look at the officials themselves. You’re not seeing very many new faces. There aren’t many young people stepping up to the plate to don the striped shirts. And those that are, don’t stick around for long because they are stuck in the lower paying junior high and high school junior varsity games while the better paying high school games are all going to the older and yes, slowing down, veteran referees. Now seniority does have it’s place and means something - but it shouldn’t be a barrier causing our younger, more physically fit ref’s from making equally good wages and being in the faster paced high school games.

Second, the evaluation process for officials in West Virginia is a joke. Coaches are asked to rate officials and place their names on evaluations as the season goes. The refs see these before tournament play begins. Thus every coach I know is almost afraid to put down their true evaluations for fear of retribution down the pike if they happen to meet up in a game where that ref is calling, What a ridiculous system!

Finally, there is virtually no oversight of referees, as independent “officiating boards” control almost every aspect of prep officiating. The WVSSAC should step to the plate and make the officials direct employees of the WVSSAC and not separate contractors. The schools could send their fees to the SSAC who would assign the officials for games..

At any rate, that’s how I see it from the other side of the desk. Does anyone agree with me?