Sims said it is not hard to stay engaged in a contest.
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2025 3:47 am
“Even a blowout, whatever the sport, I just force myself to concentrate more,” he said. “But of course a close game you want to be extra careful…the regional volleyball tournament was in Juneau and Ketchikan and JD were close every game so you have to make sure you concentrate on every point…as far as softball, we’ve had some blowouts but it is amazing to be out on the new grass field, we’ve been trying to get that turf for 20 years. It was cool to be one of the three to be calling that first game, me, David Means and Mike Crabb to walk out there…it was pretty awesome. It was also sad that Chad (Bentz) could not be there for the dedication as he worked so hard on it.”
Sims and friend Everett Boster used to tone their games by traveling to Florida and calling college fast-pitch softball for 20 years until COVID and did not resume after that. But Sims knows what big league country wise email marketing list talent is like and noted a change that stands out to him in the past decade.
“Especially on the basketball court and the football field many parents seem to think that their kids are going to play in the NFL or the NBA,” Sims said. “So the sportsmanship of fans in general has really gone downhill as far as I’m concerned as an official….Athletes from Southeast go and play at D3 schools and junior colleges, so there’s an avenue, and there are a lot of places that want people to play sports so you don’t have to be a super athlete, which is nice. If you have an athletic ability and you get good grades there are places where you can go and pay at least for a couple of years.”
Sims also noted that more kids are being more sport-specific all year round, again assuming they are professional material.
“When I played in high school and when I first started officiating we had kids that were running track and field, and kids that were playing football, and kids that we’re playing basketball and baseball,” he said. “They were playing two or three sports and you really don’t see that nearly as much anymore as you used to.”
Sims noted that the high expectations placed on athletes has had an effect on officials.
Sims and friend Everett Boster used to tone their games by traveling to Florida and calling college fast-pitch softball for 20 years until COVID and did not resume after that. But Sims knows what big league country wise email marketing list talent is like and noted a change that stands out to him in the past decade.
“Especially on the basketball court and the football field many parents seem to think that their kids are going to play in the NFL or the NBA,” Sims said. “So the sportsmanship of fans in general has really gone downhill as far as I’m concerned as an official….Athletes from Southeast go and play at D3 schools and junior colleges, so there’s an avenue, and there are a lot of places that want people to play sports so you don’t have to be a super athlete, which is nice. If you have an athletic ability and you get good grades there are places where you can go and pay at least for a couple of years.”
Sims also noted that more kids are being more sport-specific all year round, again assuming they are professional material.
“When I played in high school and when I first started officiating we had kids that were running track and field, and kids that were playing football, and kids that we’re playing basketball and baseball,” he said. “They were playing two or three sports and you really don’t see that nearly as much anymore as you used to.”
Sims noted that the high expectations placed on athletes has had an effect on officials.