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Tuesday, December 1, 2009

2009

I mentioned back on August 21st that it has been a different kind of offseason for me and I meant it. The economy effected my place of employment and I am very blessed to have made it through the year with a job. With that said my position at work changed and it made it really tough for me to keep up with the blog over this past season.

However, it is now time for wrestling and I will blogging once again. But before I get into that I can recount my most memorable football game this past year with ease. That's because it was the last college football game that we had.

Earlham @ Denison

Denison controlled most of game and had a 17-0 lead in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately one of the Earlham players was injured. All of his teammates were geniunely concerned as they rallied around him before he was taken off the field by the paramedics. They wer convinced to come back and win for their teammate. Next thing you know it was 17-7, 17-14, and with 33 seconds left Earlham took the lead 21-17.

Denison marched right down the field and with no time on the clock through about a 40 yard pass down towards my side of the field and our Back Judge had a flag because the defense interfered with the receiver. So we had one untimed down and the offense tried again down my sideline but the pass fell to the ground and just like that my season was over. What an intense way for it to end.

One thing, though. I fibbed a little unintentionally. Thinking back the most memorable moment this year was our Line Judge getting JACKED UP ON A NON-PLAY! He was rushing up the field in preparation for an onside kick and the team on our side was short a player. So at the same time one of the biggest players on this field ran at the same time. They were both running full speed and it was crazy to observe. Our poor LJ went flying and he had a laceration above his left eye and man was he woozy.

We didn't show him a lot of sympathy though. He's a former Marine and we knew he could take it. Sorry Jonesy, but you're the man none the less.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Lakota West vs. Clayton Northmont

Once again it was on.

High school football is back in full force and our crew had our first game last Friday night. We ventured to Dayton Welcome Stadium to officiate the Lakota West vs. Clayton Northmont game in the Skyline Crosstown Showdown.

When I arrived I was surprised because I could hear cheers and a game going on. I wasn't aware that on Thursday night the Mason vs. Trotwood Madison game was stopped due to the weather. So I got to enjoy watching the end of that game. Mason ended up winning 20-17.

At this point in time on that day the weather was awesome. My oh my how quickly things can change. A few minutes into the game we had to delay the game due to lightening and thunder. Good thing we had the early game, it started at 6p. However, there was a game to be played after ours.

After a half hour delay we were back at it. The teams were playing hard and some intense defense. I had 3-4 flags in the game. Unfortunately, one of them was for a sideline warning. I have a bad feeling that there may be a lot of those this year. I sure hope not.

Northmont almost scored once in the half when they made it into Lakota's red zone. But there was a pass play right in front of me and the ball was deflected and intercepted in the end zone.

The score at halftime was 0-0. We were anticipating a close second half as well. Northmont opened up the scoring with a touchdown in the 3rd quarter to go up 7-0. It looked like it might end up with that score, but with about 5 minutes to go Lakota's linebacker made an awesome play by rushing the quarterback, deflecting his pass backward in the air, ran underneath it, intercepted it inside the 20 yd line and advanced it to the 2 yard line. A few plays later they scored a touchdown. Next was the all important extra point. I was positioned under the uprights ready for it to be kicked but something happened on either the snap or the hold so it was no good. That made the score 7-6 Northmont.

This game came down to the wire. With about 9.5 seconds to Lakota West had the ball trying to get in field goal range. Quarterback dropped back to pass and threw it around the 30-35 yard line. But Northmont intercepted it and ran it back for a touchdown on the last play of the game. Their team swarmed the field and I was doing my best to keep from getting trampled.

What a way to start the season. Great game, great players, and great atmosphere!

Tonight we have Springboro @ Sycamore. Here we go again.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Varsity Football Scrimmage

Friday night was the start of our high school season as we officiated a Varsity football scrimmage.

Both teams looked pretty good on offense and it was nice to get back out there and run the field. The weather was hot, the players were passionate, and I was pumped up chest bumping my fellow refs. Friday night lights are back!

I had a few penalties and some talk to the players about situations.

Hard hits, explosive touchdowns, and what? No screaming coaches or fans at the officials??? Not yet. Soon.

The following day I reffed a few Peewee football games and that went smooth. Some really good young football players.

This Friday is the official start to the season as we officiate in the Skyline Crosstown Showdown. We have Lakota West vs. Northmont and it should be a dandy of a game to kickoff the season!

Friday, August 21, 2009

It's Time!

It has been a different kind of offseason for me this year. Let me just say I'm thankful...

It's that time of the year again. Friday night football starts for me tonight. I've had a little bit of tuning up with some 7 on 7 reffing and already got some Peewee games in.

My adrenaline has been through the roof the past couple of days because we won our co-ed softball championship at work. I know its co-ed but we were still fired up.

Tonight's game is a scrimmage but it involves two good teams. No. 4 nationally ranked Elder at Lakota West. Both of these teams could very well end up in the playoffs.

Let the games begin!

Sunday, June 28, 2009

A Few Months

The past few months have been, hmmm, different.

This spring and summer is the first time I've been off from officiating in 2 years. The previous couple of years I had officiated in the Arena Football 2 league but suffered a bad ankle injury in the last game of the year. I took this season off to let it heal.

With that said I haven't been bored by any means. For a few weeks I officiated one of my favorite sports, Flag Football. It was a youth league on Saturday mornings. It was nice as well because the parents were very calm.

I've also officiated some Men's basketball games and some AAU basketball.

For the first time our crew was selected to officiate our tri-state's high school all-star football game in early June. It was a Thursday night and the weather was awesome. Let me say it was a very exciting game.

The halftime score was 10-7, but it was fireworks city in the second half. There were some special rules for this game. Only so many guys could blitz and had to do it a certain way. We also played according to the rules for the upcoming season so two penalties were enforced for horse-collar tackles.

For the most part I felt great out there. Definitely had to shake off some rust. We did have one situation on the goalline that I may have missed. I plan to borrow a tape to see if I missed it and will work on improving so it doesn't happen again.

Next week I start officiating in a 7 on 7 league. This will be a nice tune-up before it's full go in August. Next thing you know it will be time to attend our football meetings.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Down Time

It has been nice to have some time off from the hardcore officiating and spend it with the family. However, I have had a peculiar couple of months. I'll be back shortly to talk some officiating stuff that may peak your interest.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Lakota West Offseason Duals

I had the pleasure of officiating and off season dual wrestling tournament at Lakota West a couple of Saturdays ago.

We worked our tails off. We had 6 officials on six mats with no break and 8 rounds of hardcore Varsity type matches. There were several state placers and champs in the house. This made for some stellar match-ups.

I ended up officiating the match for first place between Fairfield and Harrison. It was a pretty long day for all of us and all of the officials hadn't officiated for over a month. However, I don't think we acquired to much rust and for the most part it was a smooth day.

The tournament director had me get the officials for this event, so I was able to get some fresh guys and let some of rookies from our association get some Varsity experience. One of them had the most intense dual of the day between Mason and Fairfield.
The second to last match was the 215 weight class that went into overtime. The Mason wrestler had 30 seconds to get up and there were some tough scrambles that put the young official in unique situations. He had both benches going crazy but he stayed strong on his calls and looked poised out there. The Fairfield wrestler ended up riding his opponent out and then his teammate pinned in the following match at 275 lbs. This gave Fairfield the victory and eventually they won the whole tournament.
I had the chance to observe overtime of the 215 match and after the official walked off the mat, I looked him in the face and said, "You said you wanted eventually do the big matches, that's a good start. You still want too?" We shared a laugh. We actually grew up together in high school. Back then we were friends one day and ready to do battle the next. We laugh about those days now. Glad to help him anyway that I can in the officiating process as well as any other official, fan or wrestler for that matter.

Since then I've only officiated Flag football. For now I'm not scheduled to officiate wrestling again until late May.

But I still keep up with the sport and like to stay in tune with new rule changes or anything else that may be going on.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Been awhile

This is the longest stretch I've gone without posting since I started the blog.

I've been extremely busy in my personal life.

A few weeks ago my wife, son, and I got to go to the State Championships here in Ohio and it was a blast as usual.

When I told people at work that I was going to be off for the rest of week and said that it's my favorite weekend of the year they thought I was joking. I explained to them that it's my wife's too.

It was nice to be able to sit back and enjoy the tournament as a fan of wrestling. Since my wife and I have been married, we have been to 3 out of 4 State tournaments. It is so impressive how well the tournament is ran. It stays right on schedule.

There were some unbelievable matches of course and the Semi-finals and consolations Semi-finals were just as good as the finals. We chatted it up with fans and some of the parents of the wrestlers.

We had a pretty extensive conversation with David Taylor's father and let me say that the man knows his wrestling. My wife really liked him. It's good to see a parent like this and not all over their child obnoxiously.

Since the tournament the only officiating I've done is one night of basketball and one day of flag football.

This Saturday I'll be at Lakota West for an offseason Varsity dual tournament. That will be fun and we'll be working hard because it will be 6 officials on 6 mats.

It's already been a few weeks since I've got on the mat and it doesn't take long to get cobwebs. However, it'll be ok. I'm ready to rock!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Wrestling Division III Districts

Last Sunday I had a warm-up for this weekend's Districts. The youth district at Mason was awesome and the little guys were going at it.

But this past weekend at Kettering Fairmont high school was full go for everyone! Let me say that this was my first District that I officiated in. Not bragging by any means but I've had several coaches ask me why haven't I got a District or I should be reffing Districts. It's nice to hear but doesn't mean much until you actually do it and do it well.

I definitely felt like this was my strongest weekend of the season and I'm very glad about that because I know the kids are depending on their own skills but definitely want us to be on our 'A' game.

We had 10 officials for 4 mats and at 3pm Friday it was time to get started.

I would have to say my peers had a great showing as well. Of course it's expected because all of us had to be voted in and some of the guys were state officials. For the most part, the coaches didn't get to upset over the weekend. Just battling for their kids.

Friday night we wrestled the first and second round of Championships and one consolation round.


There definitely is a sequence of events that stands out to me during the tournament. Of course the championship semi-finals and championship finals were awesome. But let me tell you that the most electric and loudest the gym got was during the consolation semi-finals. The intensity was so thick. I can feel the adrenaline trying to creep back up typing this.

The kids and coaches were leaving everything out there on the mat and the fans were screaming hoarse. Just like most of the rounds we had two officials on the mat focused like no other.

There was serious passion, tears, disappointment, and overcome of joy to the near point of collapsing. This round was it for some of them. Win and you punch your ticket to the dance, lose and you go home. Man you feel for the kids but we had a job to do.

It was an honor and a blast to be a part of. I got a long well with all of the officials and we seemed to work well together. I will see some of them at our banquet in a few weeks. Bob, Bruce, Dan, Dick, Galen, Mike, Remy, Mike, and Rick, it was fun officiating with you guys and Thanks for helping bring the season to a positive close. You can be my wing man anytime. (Yeah Dan I know it's cheesy.)

See some of you at State next week.

To all of the readers, I'll still be blogging in the offseason even though I'm taking off from Arena 2 this year. I'll actually be officiating the Ourway Jr. High State this Sunday.

Well if I can convince my wife to be cool about it. Lol!

Special Thanks to Lisa Lesh for the pics!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Moeller Division I Sectional Wrestling Tournament

That's what I'm talking about! Some good wrestling.

For those of you reading that may not know, you have to place in the top four in your weight class to qualify for the District tournament the following week. All the wrestlers that make it to District have to place in the top four to qualify for the State tournament.

So as you can imagine, it is an intense day for everyone in the gym. The wrestlers, coaches, officials, fans, scorekeepers, trainers, and anyone else you can think of.

One great thing about the day for us is that we had a strong day! Dan, a fellow official who I spoke about on a previous post gathered us around and coached us up. For this tournament there were 6 officials on 3 mats. Wrestling started at about 10:30am with six rat-tail matches. I had the pleasure of getting us started, and just like that it was qualifying time.

Good battles all day long and just a lot of rooting by the fans and a lot of coaching by the coaches. I think I only got booed once on the day (at least the only one that caught my ear, ha ha!). After the first round, we had two officials for every match in the winner's bracket. That definitely worked well.

So before you know it we're drawing numbers for our rotation to officiate the finals matches. Once again I would be starting us off with the first championship match at 103 lbs. Because of the draw I would end up officiating three finals. The next final I would officiate was the 135-weight class, but it would end early because of injury default.

The last championship match I would officiate on the night was the 215-weight class. At this weight the Hamilton wrestler was winning the entire match against the Glen Este wrestler. What was really great about officiating this match is that the Hamilton wrestler stayed aggressive and kept going forward the whole third period so I didn't even have to think about calling stalling.

This makes me think about something else, the match of the day. I mentioned Dan earlier rallying us around and coaching us up. Well he had the honor in officiating Part IV of the Match!

It was at 130 lbs. and it was the classic Gcl match-up between Moeller and St. Xavier. I had the privilege of officiating Part II between these two wrestlers a couple of weeks ago and that was a doozy! I was told there first match-up was 1-0 with the X wrestler coming out on top. The match I officiated was 5-3 for the Moeller wrestler. They went at again last week for the league title in the championship match with the Moe wrestler coming out on top again 1-0. So here we go again in the finals for all the marbles.

As an official we love to do these high pressure matches. I remember my rookie year in officiating someone said if you really want to be a great official, "You need to officiate a lot of matches and get experience, and desire to do the tough matches and get it right." Couldn't agree more.

Dan was happy to have drawn this match and has kind of gotten used to them since he does such a good job and has officiated in the last two State Championship tournaments. So enough talk the match was on. One thing though, I didn't get to watch one moment of it because I was officiating two very good wrestlers in the own right for the third place match right next to it. So I had no idea what was going on. So as I think back, I heard the fans a few times throughout their match. But then as my matching was getting near the end I heard a thud and the crowd erupt crazy loud! I still had no idea what was going since I had to focus on my own match. So the first place match ended before mine. So a few moments later my match was over and I got the 411 on the championship match. It was 3-2 with time winding down, just like the match I officiated between these two recently. But this time the X wrestler hit a throw for a five point combo and that was it. 7-3 was the final. The place went nuts.

So Dan if you happen to read this, I've heard great feedback on how the match was officiated.

Part V could very well happen again next week at the Districts at Fairfield. It's sort of too bad we'll miss it. It's not all bad because Dan, myself, and about six others will be officiating at the Kettering Fairmont District.

If I have the pleasure of getting a match of that caliber I will work to be as steady and consistent as Danny Boy! My wife, friends, peers and most importantly myself have confidence that I'll come through in the clutch. So I'm good to go!

Foot on the line, 'wrestle in the center of the mat', 'shake hands', Whistle!!!

Friday, February 20, 2009

GMC Wrestling Tournament at Oak Hills

I started my post season last Saturday.

I think this is the 4th or 5th year I've officiated this tournament. Awesome tournament to be a part of and a privilege.

I have to say for a tournament of this caliber, I was surprised that there weren't more fans. After all it is probably the greatest individual sport to watch.

The tournament went pretty smooth for me this year. I ended up officiating three finals matches with the last one being the 215 weight class. Two good wrestlers with the Hamilton kid coming out on top with a major decision. I figured I would have a lot to write about pertaining to this tournament but everything went so smooth and calm that I don't remember anything out of the ordinary happening.

Lakota West came out on top with Mason almost overtaking them. Fairfield ended getting third.

I just remembered there was one thing. On one of the matches I was assisting, one of the wrestlers threw up on the other. Yuck! Sometimes I guess it just happens. Injury time, clean up, lets wrestle.

My post season continues tomorrow at Moeller for the Division I sectional. I'm praying for the snow to stay away so the tournament does happen on schedule. Next week is the end of my season besides some off season tournaments, as I will be officiating at the Kettering Fairmont District.

Pray that I finish strong. Not for my sake, but for the kids and the sport.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Moeller vs St. Xavier Varsity Dual

Gcl madness on Saturday. Moeller vs X for my last match of the regular season. It was originally scheduled a couple of weeks earlier but had to be rescheduled because of the snow. I was fortunately open on the make-up date.

It was Senior night for Moeller and they did recognize the class of '09 wrestlers. But after they finished they also recognized coaching legend from X, Dick Murphy. Class act by Moeller. I had Fairfield earlier in the year and they did the same thing for Beavercreek's head coach. Nice work everyone!

We started the evening at 145. There are couple of moments that stand out to me after doing this match.

At 189, it was in the third period and the Moeller kid was leading either 8-5 or 8-6 and was on top. The wrestlers get near the endline and the X kid ends up getting out and locks around the Moe kid's ankles. But when the Moe kid hit the mat it looked like his shoulders touched the hardwood floor. I gave one escape instead of two reversal. X coach wanted an explanation of the call and never got disrespectful. I told him why I had one and he didn't agree. His kid ended up losing the match either 8-6 or 8-7, can't remember exactly. I spoke to the assistant after the match and he thought it should have been two. I replayed it over in my head a few times after this and agreed that it should have been two. A couple of matches later there was injury time during a match and I got a chance to speak to the coach again. I told him that I apologized and think he was right it should have been a reversal. I Told him I felt bad. He was all class and said, "Don't worry about it, you're doing a great job." Class act! Thanks coach!

I should have checked with the assistant before going on and it wouldn't have hurt if he came to me to discuss it. It's a good learning experience and hope we can improve from the situation.

The other moment was the 130 match. I was told that earlier in the year when these two met it was a 1-0 score. Well they did not disappoint the fans. Right off the bat the Moe wrestler took down X near the endline. X wrestler got a couple of escapes and the Moe kid got one as well. Now it's 3-2 in the third period and the clocking is winding down. I can probably count on one hand how many times I've called stalling to tie a match up with seconds to go. This was one of those times. The X wrestler had the Moe wrestler's arms locked up. The Moe wrestler had his head right in his opponent's chest with hips back. As usual I was being very vocal with the wrestlers to turn it up, but then with about 8 seconds left I hit the Moe kid for stalling. He had already been warned once so this one cost him a point and just like that it's tied 3-3. Must have lit a fire to him because he immediately took the X wrestler down near the endline with 2 seconds left and there you have it, 5-3.

Awesome match and the fans were appreciative of it. The match of the evening. It was a lot of fun to be a part of and a great atmosphere to end the regular season!

Just like that it's post season time!

La Salle Varsity Wrestling

Friday night wrestling. That's what we had last week.

First a JV match between La Salle vs Hamilton. There were some good matches.

Then it was on to the Varsity. First La Salle bested Northwest. Then it was time for the final dual for the night.

It was La Salle vs Hamilton and there were some awesome matches. Unfortunately for only the second time during a Varsity match I had to deduct a team point because of a wrestler's actions at the end of the match. His coach spoke with him and it he'll be fine.

But it all came down to the end. I don't remember who was winning but one of the teams had the lead 35-34 going into the last match which was Heavyweight.

So here we go. Whistle, match, to his back. Hamilton kid came out with authority and took control right away, had the the La Salle kid on his back. Slap, match over. Hamilton wins!

Long night, three duals by myself but it was fun. Not to much booing so maybe I did alright for once. Nah

Sunday, February 8, 2009

LIttle Miami Tri-Match

Wednesday wasn't the best weather but the matches went on.

It was a Tri-Match between Little Miami, Norwood, and a team from Kentucky.

The Kentucky kids wrestled hard but went down in both matches. Norwood only had seven wrestlers but the magnificent seven can hold there own. They have some hammers on their team. To many forfeits to overcome. Little Miami ended up winning this one as well.

FAVC Jr. High Tourney

It's been a long week for me. On the mat and personally.

However, it was nice to officiate at my favorite place to attend. Last Saturday I was at Harrison Junior high to officiate the FAVC tournament and it was a blast as usual. You may wonder out of all the officiating I do why would this be my favorite to officiate. I'll tell you why.

  • Treatment-First the people treat you great and take care of you. It's the little things that we come to appreciate.
  • Food-The food is awesome. They do an great job with a fantastic selection and have plenty of it. (You knew food had to play a part).
  • Good wrestling-Jr. High yes. Good wrestling yes. The kids know what they're doing and it can get pretty intense out there
  • Efficient-They know how to run a smooth tournament and yes even the officials appreciate that.
For example this is always a two day tournament. But because of the weather they had to run it all on Saturday. Not only did they pull this off, but they did an outstanding job of it as well. Nice work McGraw!



Because of the five match rule they did something different so the 3rd place matches could be wrestled, all of the first round losers were eliminated. However, the first round losers were put into there own kind of tournament so they could wrestle their way back and win a T-shirt. Because they care and want what's best for the kids and the sport.

Right before the tournament started I ran into and old rival of mine on the football field who I'm now good friends with. It was good to see him. A couple hours later I happened to be officiating his son. His son did lose his first round match but did wrestle all the way back and won a shirt. It's all about the kids.

Nothing out of the ordinary for me on this day. Just hard nose wrestling. I will say that the Ross Rams brought hammer down on some kids and took the team title. Nice work guys. You deserved it!

Special Thanks to Christy Quincy for the pics!

Friday, January 30, 2009

St. Xavier @ Elder Varsity Dual

Let me say it felt like Friday night football on this day.

It was X vs Elder in a Varsity dual last Saturday night. Gym was packed and the fans were very much into the match.

This dual was a good tough match-up, however I did not have an assistant official with me. It's amazing how much energy that is exorted not only physically, but mentally for a match like this. The focus has to be there.


It's hard to remember everything that went on that night but the match that stands out was when a kid from X seemed to be in control of the match and was leading by 2-3 points. But the next thing you know the Elder kid was on bottom and rocked him back and boom, there was a defensive pin. I hear half the gym cheering and half booing. One of the coaches asked me about the call. I told him what I had and he said 'Ok' and was fine with it. Total Class! Of course he wasn't happy with the pin but understood and was total class!
I have a saying that I like to go by: "I have no problem with competitive disagreement. But there is no place for disrespectful disagreement." No problem with coaches sticking up for there kids. That's what they're there for.



In the end Elder won the dual 40-17. After I got a shower and was getting ready to leave I spoke to some Elder and X fans. Both sets of fans had really nice things to say.

I did ask the X fans not to boo me when they saw me for the upcoming dual against Moeller. They replied, "Well that depends on you." I answered, "Now that's not true. It's up to the wrestlers." They laughed and said see you then.

Isn't this sport GREAT!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Monroe Dual

This past Wednesday I was scheduled to officiate at Monroe high school.

When I got there I found out that there opponents only six wrestlers and since Monroe had ten wrestlers, there would only be four matches.

One of my fellow refs officiated the Jr. High match before and decided to stay and assist for the Varsity. It made for a quick night.

I will say that we heard some hilarious stuff coming from one of the coache's corner. He was totally cracking us up.

I had X vs Elder last night and let me say that was intense. I'll update later on about that one. I'll see X again at Moeller on Wednesday.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Mason Super Duals Youth

Whoa, this Super Duals was hard core! Some darn good wrestling was going on!

This past Sunday the tournament featured 14 teams and let me say the youngsters were putting on a show.

In the first round I had to have an extended conversation with one of the youngsters. At the end of the first period time had clearly run out before he got around his opponent for a takedown. Wasn't even close. Next thing I know the young guy is irate. At first I didn't even understand what he was upset about but then I saw his coaches yelling at him to calm down. So I walked over to him and had a heart to heart conversation of correction, coaching, and positive reinforcement. After the match the coaches came up to me and said 'Thank you, he needed that.' The kids father was matside as well and told me 'Thank you' too. Believe it or not but this is why some of us officiate, to give back to the sports we love.

With that said the final four teams standing in the semi-finals were Lancaster vs Fairfield and Fighting Irish (Indianapolis Cathedral) vs Glen Este. Russell and myself officiated the Irish/Glen Este semi. This was midday Sunday youth wrestling and the atmosphere is electric and the matches intense.

These two teams were evenly matched. Unfortunately there were a few forfeits but in the end it was an awesome dual. I've had some big high school football games, big college football games, big Varsity wrestling matches (like X @ Elder tonight), but this was every bit as exciting. Hey, I have to take it serious because the wrestlers, coaches, and fans all do. This is there Super Bowl.

The match that stands out to me was the battle of the coach's sons. Shortly into the match the Irish kid locks an over and under for a throw right into nearfall and it's 4-0 just like that. Into the second period and we start off neutral. The two wrestlers lock up again over/under and this time the Glen Este kid throws right into nearfall and it's 4-4, just like that. We got a battle going on here.

Now the deciding third period. It's the Irish kid's choice and he chooses down. Period starts and the GE kid is riding tough, but with about 24 seconds left the Irish kid starts to come underneath and tries to split the middle. I stop the match because we have an illegal scissors around the head on GE. So on the restart GE kicks him out and now it's 6-4 as the clock is tick tock tick tocking away. 3, 2, 1, time and that's the way it ends 6-4 Irish. It's pretty loud in there at this point of time. The fans were so into it.

After it's all said and done the Irish pull out the win in a hard fought classic dual. I'm done for the day but they continue wrestling. Glen Este defeats Fairfield in the next round and take third place and the Irish beat Lancaster for the championship. I'm sure they had a nice drive back to Indianapolis.

Once again Mason ran an awesome tournament and got us done super quick. John you are the man! Everyone was great on this day and it was fun to be a part of. I'm outta there and headed home to watch the Cardinals pounce on the Eagles.

Until the next meet...

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Lakota West Duals

One of my favorite events to ref is the Lakota West Varsity Duals. Why you may ask? Good wrestling, good atmosphere, treated well, and good hospitality room. The parents do an awesome job with the food.

We had five officials for four mats and the way the rotation worked out, I was sitting out for the first round of the duals. So I hit the hospitality room had a little breakfast and then watched some intense wrestling in the first round.

Fan day
Before it was my time to go out on the mat I had some conversations with some of the moms. One of the moms shared with me that her son was doing good at college with his wrestling career and what he wanted to do after graduating.

Another mom shared with me what it was like for her son for the previous wrestling season. He is a really good kid and came over and joined our conversation.

Believe it or not but we don't think fans are all bad. Some are just passionate and I can appreciate that as long as they don't cross the line.

Speaking of passionate, it was my turn to join in on the fun and officiate one of the duals in the second round. Before stepping onto the mat I warn some of the fans that stalling will be called so don't boo. We share some laughs and it's time for me to get on the mat.

In this round I officiated Lakota West vs. Lebanon. You gotta love it when the kids come out and just go at it. In fact they wrestled so hard that I hardly had any stall calls for the entire dual.

You gotta love those passionate fans. I usually don't pay attention to them but I heard them a couple of times. They later told me they were my cheering section. Lol! Good times!

In the end, West was just to much for Lebanon.

The third round I had Lebanon vs Anderson. They were pretty evenly matched. Unfortunately I had to do something I hate having to do and that was deduct a team point. I ended up talking with the kids dad about it and he'll be fine. Class coaches all day long. Makes my job a lot easier.


The fourth and final round I had Lebanon vs Princeton. Of course the Lebanon coach tells me he's tired of seeing me. He's joking, I hope. Princeton came out on top and it was for seventh place. In this round my mat got done early so I watched the first place match between Mason and Lakota West.

Kind of nice to just sit back and watch. But of course the lovable fans were all of over my peer who happens to be a State Official. So we shared some kind words and disagreed on a call or two. It's all in fun. They are just passionate about there team.

The tournament ran so smooth and efficient that I couldn't believe it got done so fast. I'll see some of these teams again in a few weeks at GMCs. Oh, I'm sure I'll see the fans too.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Fairfield Invitational


It was a cold and snowy night, but hey it's wrestling season inside so who cares.

I originally was supposed to officiate only on Saturday for this weekend at Moeller for their Super Duals. Early December I was asked to officiate on Friday evening for the first night of their Invitational wrestling tournament.

However, a few weeks later the Moeller Super Duals was canceled and I decided to keep the date open so I could get some rest.

So I arrived at the school at 3pm sharp and joined one of my peers as we conducted the hair, nails, and skin checks. Unfortunately some wrestler's nights ended right there. Safety first!

About an hour later some of our fellow officials started to trickle in as there were 4 mats set-up and their were 8 officials assigned for the tournament. Two of the officials came down from our neighboring officials association and they did a nice job and were cool guys too.



Now the host school always does a great job of managing a tournament and this was no exception. I was informed that there were some different teams added this year and so the match-ups were consistently tough. There wasn't a lot of pins going on so it made for a long first night.

There also were some strange things going on in some of the matches. I'll stay away from specifics out of respect for all involved.

I felt good out there and didn't have to receive to much flack from the coaches. Got questioned a couple of times and I don't have a problem with that. Just fighting for the kid and they were respectful.

I had a match scheduled for tonight but it got rescheluded for February. I'm at the Lakota West Duals on Saturday and that should be a good time with a lot of good wrestling. I'll try and post more specific details about wrestling for that event.

Special Thanks to Cindy Running for the pics!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Wrestling back on

I got back at it again on the mat this weekend.

Friday

I was scheduled to officiate a youth wrestling quad match and let me tell you the little guys were going at it. It's unbelievable to watch them use better technique than some of the older guys.

The quad featured Glen Este, Mason, Fairfield, and the host school Moeller. I typically only do a few youth assignments a season and this happen to be one of them. Michael Jaspers was the other official with me and he does a nice job.

There was some really good wrestling going on and Glen Este was laying the hammer down.
There guys do a nice job over there but then again all four of these youth clubs do a fantastic job. But on this night, Glen Este was the top dog.

It was a fun night for me as well because my wife brought our son up to watch. He has seen me officiate the older kids, but this is the first time he has seen the little guys. He loved it and was totally into it. He will turn 2 years old next week.

Saturday

I actually had to go back to Moeller again on the following day and officiate a Moeller junior high quad. Wow! I thought there was some good wrestling the night before but it was another level on this day. This quad was loaded with the host Moeller, Elder, St. Bernadette, and Lowell, Michigan.

From what I was told the wrestlers from Lowell, Michigan go to Davidson high school at the next level and some of the St. Bernadette wrestlers go to St. Edward.

I was joined by Russell (pictured above). Like Mike, Russ does a good job of officiating as well.

All four of the teams had some kids that should make some noise at the Varsity level in a few years.

The match of the day was a Moeller kid vs a St. Bernadette kid. These guys seem to be even on the mat and they were really good wrestlers. The score was tied 3-3 in the third period and near the endline the Bernadette kid got the takedown with about 20 seconds left. He almost gave up a reversal but held on and won 5-3. Tough match between two good kids and class kids to boot.

Not sure who won the quad overall, think it was Moeller. But in the end it was a great day. Duane took care of us with some good food and the coaches from all the teams were class acts. A few made sure they came up to us and shook our hands and told us excellent job.

It's nice when we can all be cordial with each other after a long competitive day!