Basketball officiating a family matter on the Hi-Line

High school sports are often a family affair with parents coaching their own kids or siblings playing together. But family also has a place in high school basketball refereeing on the Hi-Line. Rudyard-native and high school basketball referee Rob Spicher got his kids, Jordan and Colton, into refereeing from a young age. Rob and other referees had been recruiting to make up for a shortage at that time, so he believed it was a good idea to get his kids involved in officiating.

"We've tried to get a lot of the young kids exposed to officiating so they can understand how much fun it is and how much of a family you gain by being a referee," Rob said. "It's not just us as a family, but the whole officials family that you join when you put on the stripes."

Rob and his two kids often officiate high school basketball games, including this past weekend at the all-star basketball HIT tournament in Havre. Another family that officiated at last weekend's tournament together was Rudyard-native Jody Hanson and his daughter Katelyn. Just like the Spichers, Jody got his daughter into officiating when she was a sophomore in high school and she has enjoyed it ever since.

"One day, my dad just threw a jersey at me and told me to come into town with him," Katelyn said. "As soon as I put a jersey on, I enjoyed it. Mainly because it was something I got to do with my dad. He's a big part of my life and it was just another thing that I could connect with him and bond over."

Over the years, Jordan and Colton have enjoyed both getting to spend more time with their father while also getting to remain involved with basketball with their playing careers over. While she is now a teacher in Great Falls, Jordan is happy that officiating allows her to stay involved.

"It's really fun to get back out on the court and do something that we all love. It's a pretty unique thing to find that," Jordan said. "To stay involved and find ways to stay with basketball, it's been really fun to do that with him and continue to bond over that."

"Since I don't play basketball anymore, refereeing was definitely the next step to go," Colton said about refereeing. "I've seen my dad do it for years and I've seen Jordan do it for a while and I just grew into it."

Rob believes the community of referees in Montana constitutes its own family. But he and Jody have enjoyed getting to officiate and spend more time with their own kin.

"It's pretty cool to do an activity like that with my daughter," Jody said. "It's fun doing games where you have to really concentrate on the game and you're both in tune with each other."

As they have refereed along with their father over the years, Jordan and Colton have learned many things. As the most scrutinized people on the court during a high school basketball game, Colton believes being a referee has helped him with his confidence.

"It takes a certain level of personal confidence," Colton said. "You'll have people who don't agree with what you call so just make sure that you're solid in your positioning and just being confident in your calls."

Jordan believes getting to officiate alongside her father has helped her love the game of basketball more.

"I think the biggest thing is respect for the game because I think there's a lot of people out there that love basketball but would absolutely never put on the stripes and go out there and be vulnerable and make tough calls in front of huge crowds," Jordan said. "You really have to be passionate about it and have thick skin in order to stick with it and be successful and keep that passion."

While the high school basketball season is now over on the Hi-Line, the Spichers and Hansons are sure to come back next season to officiate as family units once again. As they continue to work together, they will continue making memories and help Hi-Line basketball keep running.

"It's great because I've watched them grow up, play all the sports and now they're continuing after college," Rob said about his experience officiating with his family. "(We) just love the sport of basketball and (want to) continue helping the kids grow."