Women's Hoops Blog

Inane commentary on a game that deserves far better


Wednesday, January 21, 2009

People ask, "Where's the next generation of officials coming from?" Coaches say they want players to become refs, but you know THAT ain't gonna happen unless certain things change.

Intriguingly enough, maybe it's a family business: Brandon Enterline follows dad's steps.
Everybody always asks Brandon how Bryan is doing, but they are also starting to recognize that Brandon is a pretty good referee with his own whistle.

β€œHe has a knack for communicating with the players, the coaches and the other officials, and that's one of the true qualities of a great official,” said Dave Venderly, supervisor of officials for three area college conferences. β€œI'd say he's a rising star and coming up in five or six years, we'll see him on the television a lot on the Division I level.”
What's interesting is that, while they don't mention how little he's making (can range from $25 for a high school game to $200 - travel sometimes included), they do lay out his schedule.
Last summer, Brandon used his vacation time from Fort Wayne Metals to attend the Big Ten and the Big East officiating camps. Now he works four or five high school and college games a week, about 50 games in a season, driving all over the Tri-State area.
Just think, six years of this life, and he might move up to Division I - $500-1200 (for the SEC/Big East type Conference). Sweet, no?