A Behind-The-Scenes Look at the Process of Becoming a Basketball Referee
Photos and Writing by Brendan J. Adams
There's a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to your typically thought of basketball referee. What the spectators see is a man or woman who, in their opinion, better make certain calls or they open themselves to warranted verbal criticism. What the spectators don't see are the many hours of trainings, meetings, clinics, jamborees and film study that us referees partake in before stepping onto the court for an official game. With that, there are also many referee moments that spectators won't see when focusing on the players. I hope this visual story will better help spectators understand that referees put in a lot of work at practice too.
An older, injured referee gives tips to a younger referee during a training session.
A referee in training practices his 5-second count during a training session.
A 25 year veteran referee evaluates a 15-year-old up and coming referee after a training session.
Varsity Official Greg Morrison raises his fist to call a foul.
Morrison runs towards the scorer's table to report the foul.
Morrison explains his foul call to the red team's head coach.
Morrison gets the teams set up for a free throw attempt before administering the ball.
Morrison tosses the ball to the free throw shooter and starts walking backwards under the hoop.
Varsity Official Rodney Snarr watches the ground to see if anyone comes into the lane before the shooter releases the ball.
The free throw shooter releases the ball for an attempt.
The referee crew walks off the court after a hard game.