from Bill Oelkers, how S.a.m.s.has grown

Hi I was just talking to someone after the basketball games Thursday night at the St. Paul stake center  how pleased I am at the sportsmanship and spirit that existed in the basketball games, the games were competitive,the guys played hard, the referees were very competent for volunteers, and the players respected their decisions,  and win or lose everyone had fun and were friends afterwords. I want to thank you for that and all the volunteers who make this work, keep it up.
      It has not always been like that I stumbled across this email from Bill Oelkers, who passed away a few years ago but was a Hugh church sports supporter.
   I thought That you might be interested in reading it.

I would like to say AMEN to Gary’s soapbox speech on complaints on reffing.

I began my involvement in church sports in the summer of 1965. I played in the Minnesota Stake deacon’s softball league. As I recall this was a highlight of year. I was not a great ball player and never would have had the chance to play any where else. I still have many close friends from that group of young men, they have had eternal effect on my life.

I continued on in church sports and have experienced the ups and downs. I served as a regional athletic director for several years in the 1970’s. This was when the church began the program of self officiating. If you think things are challenging now, you should have been around then. I will say, however, that the amount of trouble with volunteer refs was not much different than when we had paid refs. 

I recall one time when my dad and two other brethren were called into to President Paul Wilson’s office and told to clean up their act on the basketball court or they would be asked not to participate. This was very interesting, as all three sat on the High Council at the time and were very close friends. They were all competitive athletes that got caught up in the moments. They did in fact clean up their act and all played Basketball well into their 50’s. My dad actually refereed a game 5 months before he died. He was very ill with cancer at the time, but felt it was his responsibility to support a church program he dearly loved.

I went through the drought of church sports in Minnesota that occurred in the 1980’s and 1990’s. There was no support from the leadership for church sports. There was not an individual like Gary Campion or Lisa Howard to be the driving force in organizing a very complicated program. No one individual was willing to take on the hassle.

As a father with five children, I was forced to bring my children elsewhere for athletic experiences. This was an expensive undertaking. We spent thousands of dollars and donated hundreds of hours in sponsoring and supporting our kid’s teams. It was sometimes challenging to find a program that reflected the values I felt important. No matter who sponsored the league, I spent countless hours working with and supporting coaches and staff to help make certain that my children were being taught correct principles and values. The officiating in these leagues are not perfect. I saw teams lose because of a bad call and saw teams win because of a bad call. I have been on both sides of that experience. 

We watched winning teams and sat through long difficult seasons of endless defeats. In recollection, all were great times for our kids. They have mostly good memories. They do not remember bad calls that refs made. They remember goals and touchdowns scored, home runs hit and rebounds made. They treasure friendships developed and lessons learned. They were blessed with good coaches who taught great life lessons and experienced bad coaches and learned great life lessons. 

I do recall one bad call made. My 18 year old son Dana was refereeing a basketball game I was coaching. He made a terrible call. (He denies this to this day) I was a little too caught up in the moment and a spent way to much time complaining. (Hard to believe) Dana calmly gave me a warning, which irritated me even more. I complained some more and Dana tossed me out of the game. (He actually asked me to leave the building) What a great lesson my young son taught me that day. 

Again, we should be grateful that we have a place to play some ball on a Thursday evening. We should be grateful we have a place where our children and grandchildren can go and be safe. We should be grateful it does not cost anything. 

There are several Men’s basketball leagues to play in that have paid refs. There are several boy’s or girl’s basketball leagues available to play in that have paid refs. As Gary said, if you want to play in that kind of a league, go ahead and pay the price of admission. You then may have some right to complain about the officiating. 

I give my whole hearted thanks to my friend Gary Campion for the time and effort he puts into the SAMS leagues. I am also grateful that the Stake Presidents are supporting this effort. As I said, I lived through the drought of church sports in Minnesota. I thank these men of vision for their support. I look forward to watching my grandchildren play basketball in the Stake Center gyms. I would hope that the actions of a few would not rob that chance from them.

William B. Oelkers   

 HI all
    well another week of basketball and it sounds like all went pretty well,  okokok
 I am making an announcement

AS THE LARGE BARGE IN CHARGE i AM USING THE POWER INHERENT IN MY POSITION TO DECLARE A MORATORIUM ON REFEREE COMPLAINTS,  NO MORE COMPLAINTS ABOUT REFEREES!!!!!!!!!!!

I know it is only a few of you,  but these guys are volunteers, they are inexperienced, and they are doing their best, but they are what they are and we should be grateful they have volunteered to help us and serve you by officiating your games.
  Consider them to have a one day "calling"  thus they work for the church and remember our covenant "no evil speaking of the lords anointed"   ok ok it is  a  little stretch to consider them the Lords anointed, but if we treat them that way, Basketball can be an enjoyable experience for both the players and the referees.

    If  you can't handle our league with our referees, join the NBA or the YMCA,  It is not a  "right" to play LDS basketball it is a privilege, be thankful. I know I am.  There are  a few teams who missed the meeting who would be  very excited to take your teams place in the schedule.
I know how things go, the games are emotional and right after a close play if the call or no call goes against you, it is normal to have a brief, reaction, but than let it go, there is nothing you can do to change it and hanging on to it will effect your play negatively.
   ok I am off my soap box.
 thanks for everyone who volunteers  and for the players who swallow their pride and accept the officials for what they are.
thanks
Gary
(S.A.M.S.)

PS  If winning the league is so important that you feel you have to make life miserable for our re fs just call me and I will send you a  50 cent  championship ribbon.  Than you can settle down and have fun.
thanks again