By Brock Bergeson
An intramural basketball game is a daunting task for any individual who wants to experience the position of a referee.
Ricky Bower, a former BYU basketball player, has since become a referee for intramural basketball games at BYU.
?The perspective on the game is completely different,? Bower said about his job.
While playing basketball for BYU, Bower had a good friend, who was a referee for Division I basketball. This friend got him interested in becoming a referee and possibly getting involved in a career of becoming a professional official.
?I thought about reffing college basketball to see what the game was like from their point of view,? Bower said. ?You don?t very often find a person who plays and then referees.?
Emily Andrews, who is in charge of all the referees at the BYU intramural office, said she loves the opportunity to improve the capability of student referees on a regular basis. To improve the quality of referees that come into the program, Andrews said she looks for certain characteristics and qualities.
?Involvement in sports that people have participated in along with the background of the individual, personality and how a person would accept criticism in the first place what we look for,? Andrews said.
Both Andrews and Bower said they thought the intramural level was by far the hardest level to officiate for.
?Intramurals is the hardest level to referee because everyone thinks they are the coach or the captain of the team,? Andrews said.
Bower has seen the same type of intensity and difficulty while officiating games at BYU.
?I think BYU intramurals are taken more seriously and competitively than anywhere else in the country,? Bower said.
Andrews started refereeing games at BYU back in 1996 as a student. She has since graduated from BYU and now officiates games on both the high school and junior college levels. Andrews said the experience of being able to watch Bower improve his officiating skills has been an enjoyable experience for her.
?Ricky does a good job, and he understands the game from a players standpoint,? Andrews said. ?He is developing himself from a referees standpoint. His attitude should work well for him wherever he goes with refereeing.?
Bower is just starting his possible future career as a referee, but said he already thinks that becoming a referee will be a great chance to stay involved with the game that he loves so much.
?Reffing would be that much more enjoyable when you climb to a higher level compared to high school or somewhere lower,? Bower said. ?There are definite benefits and definitely a great part-time job.?