Earning His Stripes

Carlsbad referee's gentle touch wins respect of kids, parents

By Gigi Alford, Community Sports Writer, San Diego Union-Tribune

(March 22, 2006 -- Carlsbad, CA) Bending down to find a basketball in a dog pile of 6 and 7 years olds is a giant zebra with a whistle in his mouth. Well, that's what he must look like to the kids with his black-and-white striped shirt.

At 6'3" with a size 13 shoe, Bill McClelland is the referee parents in the Biddy Basketball League want for their children's games because he's gentle and patient. This was the second year McClelland has officiated the Boys & Girls Clubs of Carlsbad's Saturday coed league, which wrapped up its season earlier this month.

Boys & Girls Club Athletic Director Javier Covarrubias said parents specifically requested that McClelland be invited back after his first year. "He's known in the community," Covarrubias said. "Everybody compliments me on him." Parents admire how McClelland keeps the kids safe and excited about playing during the game.

Carlsbad resident Jeff Clar, whose son Matthew is 7 and plays with the Lakers, said McClelland is committed to helping the kids understand the game of basketball. "His approach to teaching is what we like about him," said Clark, who sits on the board of directors of the Aztec Athletic Foundation. "This league is all about learning fundamentals."

McClelland, a manager full-time at Cost Plus World Market and part-time at Wal Mart, officiated games from 9 am to 4 pm on Saturdays at the original Club location on Roosevelt Street in Carlsbad. He's paid $20 per game. Originally from Queens, New York, McClelland played basketball at a community college and in the famous Ruckers league. In 1980, he moved to Oceanside for a change of scenery.

The youngest of his four children is 4-year-old Jalena, who will be old enough next season to play with the younger Biddy Basketball teams. "She's ready," McClelland said with a mixture of pride and excitement.

He shows the same enthusiasm for the kids on the court. When they make a basket, McClelland throws the players high-fives. The excitement of the kids and the parents who pack the bleachers is contagious, McClelland said. He smiles so often it's a wonder he doesn't drop the whistle held between his teeth.

With the focus on learning the rules of basketball, the league doesn't keep score and McClelland won't call traveling or double-dribbling unless it's excessive. But he will stop play for a mid game lesson or to tell players to tie their shoelaces -- or he'll tie the laces for the kids himself. Second-grader Stephanie Doak, 8, also a Laker, said "Ref" knows when to blow the whistle. In the spirit of good sportsmanship, Doak said, McClelland will often help a struggling team or player by giving them the ball.

A defining moment of last season for McClelland and many parents who witnessed it was a triumphant basket by a player who'd missed almost the entire season because of surgery. In the final game, the coach told McClelland the boy had yet to make a basket. McClelland told the coach not to worry. He'd get the boy a score. Later in the game, McClelland stopped the play, gave the kid the ball and told him to shoot. The boy sank the shot and the crowd erupted.

McClelland, 56, said he enjoys teaching kids from a young age. "It keeps me young and in shape," McClelland said.

Oceanside resident Marianna Madsen, parent of Lakers player Mathias, 7, said McClelland represents the philosophy of the Boys & Girls Club. "He teaches the kids to be happy for each other," Madsen said. "They learn they don't have to be rough." The kids listen to McClelland, Madsen said, because he's the authority, yet he's gentle.

Parents tell McClelland they feel like he is part of the family because the kids talk about him the rest of the day, possibly recounting how "Ref" hoisted a player into the air to grab a ball lodged between the rim and the backboard. That's why it's only natural that after the games are over, he's invited to get pizza with the teams.