When someone decides to become a high school basketball referee they don’t do it because they are going to get rich. Of course they will make a little extra money to supplement their income, but for the majority of officials it’s about giving back to the sport they used to play and they still love.

Their jobs are also not easy and they are almost always underappreciated. One thing that I have noticed picking up over the past few years is the amount of student-athletes complaining about calls pretty much any time it doesn’t go their way — and that has certainly made a ref’s job more difficult.

How much do they let players complain before they give out a warning or technical foul?

And what do referees consider a complaint? Does it have to be vocal? Or can it simply be a player raising his or her hands in disgust?

I’m sure it all comes down to each referee’s judgment, and I certainly don’t envy their position.

Now, I’m not talking about a specific player or even a certain team when I bring this up. I have seen it at pretty much every game I’ve covered this year and over the past few years in both Maine and New York.

Some people I have talked to quickly point to the NBA as a reason why some kids feel like complaining about every foul call is OK, and I’m sure it has something to do with it.

But it’s not just that.

America has turned into a country of sports fans who almost always feel their team is being ripped off by officials. Whether it’s an NFL game or a high school game, you will hear someone yelling about the refs.

I’m no different.

When it comes to the teams that I cheer for I will find myself complaining about the officiating pretty much every game.

I’ve even done it at high school games when I would go watch one of my best friends from Pennsylvania coaching my alma mater’s varsity boys basketball team. I would yell at refs … and I can remember at least a few times where I complained about calls that in hindsight were correct.

So I understand the urge to yell at officials when something doesn’t go your team’s way, but I also feel that high school programs — and I’m talking about all sports — need to work on getting their players to resist that urge.

I have no problem with coaches disagreeing with officials and making their feelings known. I really don’t have a problem with fans being vocal at games — although they shouldn’t feel they have a right to scream for two straight hours at a high school official that is getting paid peanuts.

Players need to understand that refs are like anyone else. When someone directly shows them up by throwing their hands up in the air or saying something back after a foul is called, they will remember that later on. You’re not helping yourself or your team by complaining about a foul — no matter how bad of a call you might think it was.

So next time you feel you had all ball when you tried to block a shot or you had your feet set when trying to take a charge — and the ref saw it another way — keep your composure, hustle back and get ready to help your team on the next play.

Let your coaches worry about the officiating — and, most importantly, let the refs do their job.

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