When high school basketball officials work a game, they work plenty of them.

And they've been working them for a long time — while getting worked over by coaches, fans and the general public.

It takes a special breed to perform such a duty. Perhaps a dying breed.

"Quality officials protect the integrity of our games,"said WPIALexecutive secretary Tim O'Malley. "The problem is we have a lot more officials closer to the end of their careers than just at the start of their careers."

Steve Ward and Art Monteleone are in their 36th year as high school officials. Mark Farabee is in his 32nd season. Denny Derringer is on his 17th campaign.

"It sounds corny, but to me, it's a way of giving back to the community,"Derringer said. "But young kids aren't getting into it now. Most of the veteran guys are getting into their 50s and 60s.

"We're not going to be out on the court forever."

Of the 25 officials in the Butler County association, all but a handful have been working games for more than 10 years.

Monteleone figures to work nearly 120 games this season. Farabee does about 100 games per year. At times, they've done a junior high game during the late afternoon and a high school game at night.

"You don't see much of that, though,"Monteleone said. "But we don't get more than one night off a week very often, either."

Jim Julian, commissioner of the West Penn Basketball Officials Association, said some states require officials to work the junior varsity and varsity games at the same site on a given night.

He said other states play girls and boys varsity basketball doubleheaders on a regular basis, with the same officiating crew on both games.

"We have approximately 120 officials in our association, and the numbers are becoming a problem,"Julian said. "In another five years, I don't know if we'll have enough officials to go around."

O'Malley doesn't anticipate Pennsylvania having to double up officials in the near future, but recognizes the possibility.

"The state has been proactive in recruiting new officials," he said. "Testing sites and dates are posted on the (PIAA)website, and brochures are sent to all member schools encouraging young people to enter the field."

The reason for the lack of new officials? People don't want to tolerate the abuse.

"Young guys get discouraged by the abuse they take from coaches and fans,"Ward said. "I know it bothered me a little when I first started.

"Most young officials aren't far removed from being players, when they were cheered by the home crowd and were always the hero. Now they're the adversaries of everybody. It's not a happy atmosphere anymore. As an older official, it's disheartening to see them walk away from it because they can't deal with the negativity.

"Us old guys are getting to the end of mediocre careers. Young blood, young legs need to get involved,"Ward added.

Farabee said coaches have to be given latitude to "work" the officials because coaches' evaluations help determine which officials receive postseason assignments.

"Coaches send in their evaluations, and if you're dishing out technical fouls all the time, it could weigh against you,"Farabee said.

"You can handle an upset coach in different ways. One coach was mad at me over a call, so I walked over to him and said: 'That was the worst call I've made in my entire life.' He didn't know what to say after that."

Monteleone said that more aggressive behavior by parents and fans in the stands has curtailed officiating careers.

"It used to be that people stayed in this business for a long period of time," he said. "To hear the stuff some of the parents say — it's not right."

Comments from the stands don't bother some officials, including Ward and Derringer.

"I don't pay attention to the fans,"Ward said. "But I've always thought any coach should have to officiate a few games before being allowed to get into coaching. They'd be a little easier on us.

"I'll talk to a coach anytime. If he asks me a question, I'll give him an answer. If it's a personal attack on my character or he's saying it's the worst call he's ever seen, he's getting a technical," Ward added.

Monteleone said if a coach swears, "I'll 'T' him up. He can say what he wants otherwise. Coaching can be intense."

Derringer said being abused by coaches and fans is all part of the game.

"It has been for years and it's not going to change,"he said. "You just can't take it personally. You're there to do a job.

"I look at officiating as a means to get away from my regular work, to exercise and stay in the game. It's not a money issue."

High school officials in Western Pennsylvania earn between $55 and $75 per game. They receive no expense money for travel.

Pay rates increase dramatically for Division I college officials, who receive $500 to $1,000 per game, another $150 for meal money and paid travel expenses.

"Time becomes a bigger factor there,"said Julian, who works Division I collegiate games. "If I'm doing a game at Central Connecticut State, for example, my whole weekend is tied up."

Julian tries to keep West Penn officials either on all boys games or all girls games for a given season. Butler County officials work a mixture of games each year.

The difference in speed and athleticism between boys and girls games can throw off an official's timing, Julian said.

"It'd be the same thing working high school games, then suddenly trying to do college,"he said. "The pace is not the same. The game is not the same and it's going to disrupt an official's performance."

Regardless, basketball officials have a tough job. But they're getting better at it.

Roughly 20 evaluators attend high school games in Western Pennsylvania on a given night. Jerry Ferber has been doing so for 15 years.

"Consistent mechanics are lacking in some areas, but positioning for calls and overall officiating demeanor are much better,"Ferber said. "The public won't give credit for that, but if you have a son or daughter out there playing, you can't be objective.

"When you put on that striped shirt, you are going to get it. That's part of the game."

Ward said officials can improve their game if they so desire.

"There are officiating camps available now and evaluators can point out bad habits to you that you didn't realize you were doing," he said. "They point out the good things you do, too.

"As an official, all you can give is your best effort. Someone else in the gym is going to have a better angle than you on every call. Just call what you see."