6 minute read
‘Still kind of a rookie’
Bill Andreoni refs for the kids and to stay in shape
Story by Brandon LaChance
When Bill Andreoni put on his first referee shirt and blew his first whistle 27 years ago, he knew what the benefits would be. Andreoni wanted to improve the game, knew he would get a workout, and loved that the kids would get a chance to play the game of basketball.
“I got into officiating late. I was 42 years old when I got into it. I’ve only been doing it for 27 years, so I’m still kind of a rookie,” Andreoni said. “I started with basketball and got into football. I quit football after last year’s youth football season. “I started because I was one of those parents who coached their sons in basketball. I was at St. Patrick’s (now Trinity Catholic in LaSalle) as a coach and the athletic director for a couple of years. While I was coaching, I ran into a number of officials, back in the day, who wouldn’t call a foul. They wouldn’t call anything.
“I was frustrated. I said, ‘Guys, you have to start calling that, or someone is going to get hurt out there.’ One guy said, ‘Coach, why don’t you get an officiating license?’ I said, ‘Okay, I think I will.’ That’s how I got into it because back in the day, I thought I could do a better job.”
Andreoni is originally from Spring Valley, graduated from St. Bede in 1971, and moved to LaSalle about 35 years ago, where he and his wife, Colette, raised their two sons Tony, who is now 40 years old, and Michael, who is 39. Between his two sons’ families, Andreoni has five grandchildren.
Even with his full family life, Andreoni still enjoys refereeing. And with the lack of officials coming through the ranks, Andreoni and his partner are getting plenty of court time.
“It’s not all for the kids. It’s for the kids to a point, but I want to stay healthy. I’m 69, and I want to do another season at 70,” said Andreoni. “I can still run up and down the floor with the high school kids. I think to myself about refereeing basketball as a health benefit for me.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED Bill Andreoni, a Spring Valley native who graduated from St. Bede and has lived in LaSalle for the last 35 years, puts his health and staying in shape as a top priority, just underneath his family. Even as a referee, he finds time for his five grandchildren, one of which is Alivia.
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“John ‘Chuck’ Deisbeck has been my partner for the 27 years I’ve been refereeing. We said we were going to do it as long as our bodies allowed. We also said we would tell each other, ‘You’re starting to slip’ or ‘I’m starting to slip.’ Then we’d get out.
“But we got into officiating because we wanted to give them an effort. We want to run up and down the court. You see a lot of officials walking back and forth. We can’t do that. We want to give the kids, the fans, and the coaches effort. That’s why we do what we do.”
Andreoni takes his health seriously, working out any chance he can. He has a treadmill in his basement for winter exercise and uses free weights regularly.
“It’s my priority to stay in shape and not let go,” he said.
He also feels the same about calling fouls, violations, and anything worth blowing a whistle for on the basketball court. The issue is the game, the environment, our society – everything has changed.
“I feel so bad for coaches who really want to coach. There are some that will say, ‘I want to do this for some fun’ and they’ll do it, but they won’t really coach. The rules haven’t changed much, if ever. The ability of the players has gone down,” Andreoni said.
“There are too many kids with their thumbs on video games and phones. The kids don’t seem to be into sports. They go through a routine when it’s a sport season, and that’s it,” he said. “Back in my day, we played offseason. We kept in shape and were athletic. There was never a ballpark in Spring Valley when I was growing up that didn’t have four or five ball gloves on the fence. Someone was always next.
“Those parks are empty now. I drive by and don’t see anyone. It changed in basketball, too. The kids don’t play. I dropped my kids off at the YMCA, and they played basketball for an hour or two. That’s the biggest difference. No one takes the time anymore to work,” he said.
Andreoni said there are individuals who want to be better than average and make sure they put in the work to accomplish the mission. However, if he or she is the only one on the team playing at a higher level, it makes the basketball season difficult.
“I’ve seen it time after time, a very good athlete on a team that’s mediocre at best is frustrated,” Andreoni said. “They don’t know what to do,
“and they quit because they don’t have the kids around them. The kids around them didn’t care to work as hard. “I live by that statement. I see it all ” the time. Kids don’t put in the work anymore, and the level of basketball has gone down. If I were a parent now, raising a child, I’d go around our small community and check out every kid at every grade school and get the kids who are putting in the work together at one high school to be on the same team because it is that bad.” We are all products of our environment. And for grade school and high school student-athletes, the environment is their parents. Andreoni said he has seen changes over the years in the bleachers as well. “The attitude of the kids and the attitude of the parents has changed. There are parents that came from the next generation that have kids in grade school where it’s ‘My little Tommy, my little Sally, they’re the best.’ But they’re not. Those are the ones that have really changed the environment,” he said. “Those are the ones who are screaming and yelling at officials and coaches because their son or daughter isn’t playing or an official called a foul on them.” Although there are some changes he’d like to see, Andreoni understands where it stems from, wanting to be the best. Just like he wants to be the best official on the basketball court or part of the best officiating team. And, how he wants to be the best for his five grandchildren – Livy, Avery, Addie, Urban, and Santino. Andreoni hopes the next wave of officials take the same principles and standards and help carry the game to new heights moving forward. “I would like to see more young people become officials. I have had the pleasure of working with a few younger officials. A couple of them were very good. We have a good group that Jim Knauf takes care of as an assigner in Ottawa. We have a great group, and I hope the younger ones stay,” he said. “I don’t know if they’re tough enough to handle the fans,” he added. “When a fan gets out of line with us, Chuck and I handle it with comedy. We are here to referee a game kids play, not argue with fans in the stands.”
I would like to see more young people become officials. I have had the pleasure of working with a few younger officials. A couple of them were very good. ... I hope the younger ones stay.
Bill Andreoni PHOTO CONTRIBUTED The Andreoni family doesn’t only spend their time in gymnasiums. On the holidays and any day he can, Bill Andreoni is with his grandchildren (left to right), Alivia “Livy,” Avery, Addie, Urban, and Santino.
