This Is Lifelong Learning

I have been drawn to officiating since childhood. In November, I wrote about it in a post entitled, "You Are Who You Are." When I failed to make the varsity basketball and baseball teams in high school, I turned to officiating to stay close to the game. I continue to officiate to this day; it is something that I love to do. I am a proud member of the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials (IAABO), Board 105 in Vermont. 

On Sunday, January 23, we had our mandatory mid-season meeting via zoom due to the current surge of the omicron variant. Dan Shepardson (Shep), the interpreter for Vermont and member of the IAABO Executive Board, led us through many instructional videos. He emphasized positioning, pointed out where we should be looking, and offered us suggestions for each. He has an advantage as an educator and leans on his background in teaching. Shep rarely talks at us, offers us plenty of think time, and is generous in terms of waiting to be sure there are no questions. 

Like you would expect of a good teacher. I've known this about Shep since I started officiating in Vermont. And on this Sunday, he went even further. 

Shep is an active official, working high school varsity and collegiate level games. He talked about a call he had in a game a couple of weeks ago. It was a non-call from his perspective, although there was contact between the defender and the shooter as the shooter came down. The call, or in this case, the non-call, was still on his mind. 

The facility had videoed the game, so Shep sent it to Donnie Eppley. Eppley is a Division I Official and the Associate Executive Director of IAABO. Eppley put the video out to all of us officials in a "You Make the Call" format. I had viewed it myself and didn't even realize that Shep was on the floor in that video as one of the referees. I can't even remember how I voted, though Shep got word from Eppley that about 60% of the responses were that a foul call was warranted on a play that Shep had as a non-call. 

I have long admired Dan Shepardson, the human and the official. I know he served in our armed forces, he's been in education for his entire career, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of the rulebook, and was inducted into the Vermont Principals' Association Hall of Fame in 2017. Last year, I got to work a junior varsity game and was entirely intimidated to know I would be on the floor with him. Shep put me right at ease, reminding me that we both had whistles around our necks, and we would work as a team. 

At halftime, and when the game was over, he asked me for feedback on his work on the court. Me! A guy with a fraction of the court time as him. With that experience, I shouldn't have been surprised when he shared with all of the Vermont officials last weekend that he still wasn't sure his call was correct. From my perspective, Shep could be confident in his non-call, and yet, he remains open to the fact that he still has areas he needs to improve on. 

His openness about how he felt about that call continued to resonate with me throughout the week. So much so that I approached him at a game and told him how much I appreciated his vulnerability and honesty about his non-call. He smiled, patted me on the back, and said, "We are all still in search of the perfect game." 

Spoken like a true educator and lifelong learner!