Referee Jim Bergner

December 1, 2009 • KaDee Ellis  
Filed under Uncategorized

“When you do something, you do it the best you can” Jim Bergner said.
Jim Bergner, local Fort Atkinson resident, has been involved in refereeing basketball for 21 years, since 1989.
He has devoted much his life to  refereeing for his passion of the game.
For this reason, he does not plan to retire anytime soon and hopes to continue the job into his 60’s.
Bergner has refereed along side many Fort Atkinson residents, who have the utmost respect for him.
Bergner has a passion for the sport, and has played it from elementary up to college at Convent St. Paul college in Minnesota.
He enjoys the sport of basketball and likes being around young people which is why he decided to be a referee.
The only thing he does not enjoy about refereeing is the late night games.
“When I do late night games for varsity sometimes I don’t make it home until 10 or 11,” Bergner said.
Most people do not realize that they might not know the rules quite as well as Bergner and other referee do.
The rule book each year has a couple new rules or clarifications about the rules that they require referees to review in order to make the right call.
“Jim is always professional and always prepared. He works hard to make the right call,” Hall said.
Jim has never made a dishonest call but has admitted that he, like everyone else, has made a few bad calls in his time.
Jim, like any referee, has faced harsh audiences of parents who get upset about a call that they believe is dishonest.
“You hear it, you just have to tune it out, and you can’t have thin skin,” Bergner said.
In order to make sure that he makes honest and good calls Bergner doesn’t referee at fort that often, and absolutely will not referee a tournament that Fort is included in.
One of Bergner’s favorite parts of refereeing is when he follows the players from 4th grade up to senior year, and watches how they grow as players and individuals.
Seeing them progress in talent is just one of the many reasons Bergner loves what he does.

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