NJB Referee Feature
January 13th, 2005

Seth Gerdine just finished up another afternoon of whistles, calls and plenty of exercise and had a fair amount of money to show for it.  Gerdine, 19, is an NJB referee. He already has five years experience of managing and calling games on the court. He is an A-level referee, one of the top grades of officials. Also, he gets the pleasure of refereeing with his twin brother, Frank. “Seth is a great example of our training program,” NJB National Referee Administrator Van Bye said. “He’s worked his way up to one of our top levels. Both he and his brother are going to be good refs.”
About the only thing that stopped Gerdine last Sunday was the record rainfall which flooded a nearby gym, canceling his final two games of the day. He had to settle for three games instead of five.

We caught up with Gerdine afterwards at Chino Hills High School for our version of one-on-one, an interview to get some insights of working as an NJB referee.

How did it go today? The three games ran smoothly, although we had to issue a couple technical fouls. When did you get into refereeing? Five years ago I started with NJB. I just started refereeing CIF (high school level). Why be a referee? It’s good money for someone my age. Here at NJB I get $22 a game and they last around an hour or so. You get to make your own schedule. And it keeps you in the game. That’s better money and beats working in a store like some of my friends.

Did you play ball? Yes, I played all through high school at Diamond Bar and Western Christian. I am looking to continue playing at Mt. San Antonio. What’s the toughest call to make? It has to be the charge or block call. It’s the 50/50 call. Whenever you make it, at least half the people are going to disagree. You just have to know the rules, be in position and trust your judgment.

What’s the best part of being an NJB ref?
NJB trusts your judgment if there is a dispute or a complaint as long as you do your job well. They treat you well. They train you. They have your back.  We have to ask, have you ever cleared a gym?  No, but it has almost happened. I’ve finished a couple games early. Coaches, fans and parents need to remember we’re out there for the players to learn the game and have fun. Van Bye says probably 200 out of the near 600 referees he manages are high school students. NJB is always looking for new referees. “Starting with NJB is one of the best ways to break into refereeing,” Bye said. “Our difference is we just don’t employ you to ref, but we also give you ongoing training and evaluations to make you better.”  Look for sign-up information in July and August with training classes starting in September and October. By November, you can be on the court and making money.