Life can be difficult for referees, but the intramural refs here at Wright State show a love for their job and enjoy the experiences it offers.
Ryan Gruffey, in his first semester as a referee, enjoys this job and the benefits it has.
“You can’t really beat it... You’re not playing, but you’re active and involved in the game and it leads to many being certified.” His favorite experience so far was being a referee for the championship game of co-ed basketball. “It’s rec league, but it’s competitive. It’s just kinda cool to see them actually get there.”
Zach Ratliff, in his third year as a referee and second year as a supervisor, loves the experiences he has been able to have due to this job.
“My favorite memory as a ref is my first year in basketball and the late games I was doing score. I had my supervisor sitting with me and we were narrating the entire game. We had little microphones and commentated on the game. It’s a really relaxed environment. We have a workshop over in Dayton and we can compare ourselves to the bigger universities and we seem to have a pretty good program.”
Hunter Wallace, in his second semester of refereeing, is able to stay connected with sports despite not being able to play anymore due to injury.
“My favorite experience was going to UD and meeting a lot of different universities and seeing what it is like. It opened my eyes and it shows it’s a lot bigger than Wright State.”
