Ronnie Miller was a minor league baseball
player home to visit his girlfriend when
he stepped in for a no-show ref at her
9-year-old brother’s baseball game. He had the right stuff, and tournament
officials bribed him with a steak dinner
to finish out the tournament. Forty-five years later, the 65-year-old is an active
member of the Cleveland Association,
a group of 1,500 refs who call basketball,
baseball and other games across Northeast
Ohio. Here’s what he’s learned from a life in the
stripes.
Everyone always says ‘You have to give us a warning.’ We don’t have to give you anything. But I’ve learned over the years to say out loud —“That’s your warning.” — so they can’t say I didn’t tell them. The younger guys don’t always do that.
When someone tells me the coach is a jerk or something, I try to find something outside of the game that we can talk about.
During timeouts or in between innings, I like to hand out candy to the kids. Then when they come to the next game they’ll say "Hey ref, got any candy?"
A game will never get out of hand if you’re in control as a referee. You have to have confidence in your ability to do what you do. You have to know the game and know the rules. You have to be in shape. You can’t show up with a couple-day-old beard, your shirt and pants wrinkled, and 10 days of sleep in the corner of your eyes and expect credibility. You have to play the part.
When you’re out on the court and there’s 5,000 or 10,000 people in the building, you can’t hear the lady yelling out how terrible you are.
Well-coached teams are well-behaved teams, players and parents.
When I go out in public, people notice me. They’ll shake my hand, and believe it or not, I’ve taken pictures and signed autographs on basketballs. Nobody has ever told me I did a bad job.
COVID knocked out a lot of refs. It would help if we got paid more. But I think a lot of people were looking for an excuse to get out. I don’t think anybody wants to get yelled at, but unfortunately, it’s part of the job. You’re going to make a mistake and some- body is going to yell at you, and if you don’t know how to handle that, you’re not going to stick with it.
The one thing that I feel I’m blessed with is that I go out there and I try to have a good time.
Read more on Northeast Ohio's most competitive youth sports leagues and discover the best tips for maintaining the mental and physical health of today's young athletes.
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