Portland Basketball Officials Association Commissioner Trains New Referees
BEAVERTON, Ore. — PBOA Commissioner Cam Rust knows the some 300 referees he organizes have a tough job. Wearing the black and white stripes of a ref is not easy. And it’s the kind of part-time job that has some ref’s leaving the profession. Cam says all of them will get yelled at at one time or another in their career. He only hopes whomever does the arguing doesn’t get personal.
Rust says they like to take advantage of events like the one that took place on Saturday at Southridge High School in Beaverton. It was a slate of preseason games with real varsity players. The trainee’s got a chance to actually work the games for shifts while veteran officials tailed behind them, making sure they were doing things right and giving pointers.
Cam calls the job of being a high school basketball official a labor of love. But says it’s a great way to make a little bit of money while keeping in shape and putting themselves right in the heart of the action. He says it’s a rewarding feeling when a team of officials work a clean game and know they did their best.
Below is a portion of a conversation Commissioner Rust had from the sidelines at Southridge with KXL’s Brett Reckamp:
