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Show rynur p i' ' rK"w 1 p "( " " I "T ""I ' ' "r"! 1 nrT'f'" n"n 'I" " " Page 7 Times Newspaper Wednesday, marm , w t -r inn i I f . ' ' I Dave Nelson hangs up his stripes Continued from front page of providing an often thankless service to an end as he reffed his final game. "I just felt it was time," he said of his decision to end his officiating officiat-ing career. "I only have one child left at home (Timpanogos basketball basket-ball starter Mac Nelson) and I've missed so much of my other kids' high school careers that Yd like more time to watch games rather than ref them." Another factor in Nelson decision deci-sion was his health. In Dec. of 1994, he underwent a liver transplant trans-plant and one year later repeated that operation. Then, in May of 2000, he was diagnosed with cancer can-cer and had surgery and chemotherapy chemo-therapy to combat that. "It's been over a year and the tests are all negative, so that looks pretty good," he said of the cancer battle. But still, the operations and such have taken their toll and the rigors of refereeing were becoming harder and harder to take. "It's a physical challenge," he said. "You have to be in good shape to do all that running up and down the court." "He laughs about coming off the court and walking out of the gyms with ice packs on his legs and limping," Nelson's wife, Zeffie, said Through the years, he has also seen many changes in rules, and changes in the way the game is played, and it has been a constant challenge to keep up with those changes. One thing that hasn't changed is the need to have an extra thick skin. "People get pretty intense about these games," he said with a chuckle. "You have to have a pretty thick skin." Being the wife of a referee also takes a special kind of temperament tempera-ment and through the years, Zeffie has developed what she needs to '5 - if - : V . Mountain View's Chelsie McWhorter sets to field a ground ball as the Bruins opened the softball season with a pair of shutouts against Payson (3-0) and Springville (15-0) on Monday. be able to handle the verbal abuse hurled at her husband. "The way Tve handled it has changed through the years," she recalled. "At. first, I'd get so offended of-fended and Td get mad and turn around and tell people to stop. But that just made it worse, so I started bringing a book to read, then I stopped coming all together. For the last few years, I've just learned to take it." For Nelson, each game, each call, is a challenge and he is wise enough to know that nobody is perfect and that mistakes will happen. "Yeah, I look back and remember remem-ber a few calls that I missed that had an impact on a game," he said. "But I just try to do my best and I got a lot more right than I missed. "The most satisfying thing is when, after a game, the losing coach will tell you you did a good job it doesn't happen very often." of-ten." Nelson began his refereeing career ca-reer in 1976 when he needed some extra money to help supplement his income as the newly hired baseball coach at what was then known as Utah Technical College at Provo (Now UVSC). "We hadn't been married long and we had a baby and we needed the extra money," Zeffie said, laughing as she recalled those early years. "He used to get $7 for a high school sophomore game and $14 for a J.V. game and those checks were like gold. I used to wait at the door and, after I gave him a kiss, ask for that check immediately." im-mediately." Many things have changed since those first years. For one thing the pay scale has improved dramatically and for another, Nelson has progressed up the ladder lad-der of officiating, qualifying to ref at a junior college and finally at the Division I college level. "I've reffed high school girls and boys and junior college and university uni-versity level men and women," he said. "Their all different and all have their own challenges." When asked, he said that high school mayfeethe hardest class. "The level oT play isn't quite as high, so you have to be careful about that," he said. "And everything every-thing is just more intense. It's re- , 7 f GMMtfF) UWEMIIBI N, (Ififl fMBGlffl3ffl mwsxmam When you combine a UCCU long-term mortgage with a UCCU construction hen you'll receive a 3M discount on your construction loan interest rate plus a Vi discount on your long-term mortgage origination fee. I a Community Credit Union Positively Ifou Bed Option! UCCU ten kelp futanco your nsidsntial building lot. Wo can financo up to 75 of tho mho of your lotl PROVO OREM SPANISH F0RX AMERICAN FOkX 223-7625 www.uccu.com GNCUA ally life and death in high school." Some of his fondest memories are from his 12 years working the Division I college level. "I remember my first game doing do-ing the guys in D-I was down at El Paso with the Bear (University of Texas-El Paso coach, Don Haskins)," Nelson recalled. "That was quite an experience." Haskins, a legend in collegiate coaching circles was known for his ability to "work the refs" and for his slow down style of play in the days before the advent of the shot clock. Another of Nelson's most memorable moments in reffing also involved Haskins. "Three years ago, I remember remem-ber going to Fresno and Jerry Tarkanian (former UNLV coach, now with Fresno State) had just won his 700th game and Haskins had passed the 700 mark a while ago, so they had special ceremonies and ESPN was there doing a report re-port on these two coaches who both had 700 wins. It was really re-ally something." Shortly after that, Nelson quit doing college games and has been doing only high school for the last couple of years. He considered leaving officiating all together at that time, but decided to stay with the high schools until this year. As Nelson he left Dee Events Center in Ogden after officiating his last game, he looked back on 26 years of working, sweating, taking abuse and accepting thanks, and realized one thing. "I'll miss it a lot. I felt cravings as I drove home Saturday Sat-urday night. I've met some great people and made a lot of friends well coaches might dispute that but it's been fun "he said. "You know, the thing I'd like people moat to realize is that I'm just a normal person. People think of you as a referee, but I'm just a regular person who goes shopping and has a family, just like everyone else." I- . ' 0 C ill i w- VAvrt" vt ? vv. I: . ;U L "X, V - Orem Jags include (front - left to right) Gentry Croft, Grayson West, Marcus Draper, Jordan Cooper. Middle row: Tanner Young, Bret Lopez, Travis Cheesman, Mark Garrett, Christian Stewart, Mark Morgan, Mitch Foster, Coach Jerry Foster. Back row: Coach Steve Young and Coach Craig Cooper. Coo-per. Absent from the picture are Jordan Gustin, Goose Kallunki and Coach Jeff Gustin. Orem Jags go undefeated in baseball tournament The Orem Jags, an eleven-year-old competitive baseball team, went undefeated 6-0 in capturing the Rocky Mountain School of Baseball President's Day Tournament Tourna-ment Championship in St. George. According to Coach Steve Young, "These boys really played their hearts out Teams from Phoenix and St. George really have an advantage with their warmer climates." The Jags began pool play Friday Fri-day with a 13-4 win over the Alta Hawks and a 12-3 win over the St. George Cobras. Cont inuing on Saturday they defeated Cheyenne 15-2 and the Arizona Gilamonsters 4-3. On Monday they started with a bye and then defeated the Dixie Cougars 10-1. The championship game against the Arizona Scorpions was a close one with the Jags on top 10-9. The Jags are coached by Jeff Gustin and Steve Young. Players; are Jordan Gustin, Tanner Young, Mark Garrett, Jordan Cooper, Mitch Foster, Bret Lopez, Mark Morgan, Christian Stewart, Travis Cheesman, Gentry Croft, Grayson West, Marcus Draper and Goose Kallunki. p) X Michayla Nielsen pitched Mountain View to a season-opening season-opening 3-0 win over Payson on Monday. MP C COLEHJUI JACKETS Receive a FREE WATER BOTTLE and FREEZE INSERT with the purchase of a Letter Jacket! We're Utah County's 1 Letter Jacket Supplier So Don't Settle For Less.. .Get The Best! EMBROIDERY 3GREEN PRINTING GRAPHIC DESIGN ILLUSTRATION 224-4919 1750 S. State, Orem, UT "1 RCOPY j |