Why this Lutheran High junior is volunteering her time and energy as a basketball referee
PAWNEE — Greenlee Dust likes to be involved in a number of things.
The Lutheran High junior not only partakes in basketball and volleyball but also other extracurricular activities ranging from student council and the National Honor Society to leadership gatherings.
She also squeezes in enough time and energy to be a grade-school basketball referee.
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The Illinois High School Association introduced a provisional officials license program for 15- and 16-year-olds in December 2022 to help address the shortage of officials statewide.
When her mom, Shaela, presented the idea, Dust snapped it up as a chance to give back to the sport that holds dear to her heart. She passed the necessary classwork to officiate youth and freshman games and got her first exposure over the summer at Washington Middle School.
She arrived an hour early, but her nerves melted away after watching the fun and excitement transpiring on the floor.
“I plan to play college ball and I’m very passionate about basketball, and I love to see how I can influence younger people to keep playing,” Dust said. “It’s just so exciting to see the smiles they have on their face or how happy they are just because they’re having fun at that age.
“I feel like sometimes the older you get into a sport, it can be a lot more stressful because there’s the wins and losses that add a lot of pressure. But at that age, they’re there to have fun and they love the game.”
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High school anomaly
Dust initially thought of it as just another job, but quickly discovered it’s more than just a matter of calling fouls. It’s also an opportunity to teach young players the rules and nuances of the game.
“At that age, they don’t necessarily know what they’re doing wrong,” Dust said, “so (you’re also) being there and helping to explain what’s going on or how they can improve on something, too.”
She wholeheartedly embraces the opportunity to have a positive impact on an aspiring player, especially younger girls as a female athlete herself. Neither Dust nor her high school basketball coach, Jon Tribler, recalled ever having a female referee work any of their games this season.
Furthermore, Dust could only attest to seeing just a few other high school provisional referees, male or female, while attending a leadership conference in Peoria over the fall.
“I’ve only reffed girls so far,” Dust said, “and sometimes I feel like it’s better for them to have a female say, ‘Hey, three seconds in the lane. It’s all right, just move in and out,’ or different things like that. Sometimes I think that feedback coming from another female is also very important.”
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Greater student of the game
That experience has translated to her own games as the starting point guard on the Pawnee/Lutheran girls basketball team. She was previously the point guard at Lutheran the past two seasons before the coop with Pawnee this year.
“It’s good because she’s played a lot of games as our point guard, so that basketball IQ that is associated with officiating is a great transfer into running an offense and defense or being a captain of our team,” Tribler said.
Dust undoubtedly has a greater understanding of how a referee may call a game.
“There have been times if there’s going be a night where they’re calling everything and all of the smaller fouls, I know defensively, ‘Hey, just back off tonight,’” Dust said.
Dust first became enamored with basketball in grade school. She particularly relishes the camaraderie and teamwork that the game encourages and beamed about her team’s progress as a unit in their first year as a coop.
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Pawnee, seeded ninth, draws No. 6 host North Mac on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Class 2A regional quarterfinals.
That enthusiasm for basketball may ensure Dust’s future as a referee beyond high school. It certainly doesn’t show any signs of diminishing.
“I love the aspect there are five of you on the court and one of you can have a great night and if you keep feeding them the ball, the energy is going to them,” Dust said. “It’s such a fun environment.”
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: High schooler Greenlee Dust embraces job as referee in Springfield
