[UNIgiantslayers]

I was forwarded an email by a friend trying to help out from an assigner in the area. It was a plea for help, as there are spots unfilled in 127 VARSITY games for this season. Girls games start this week, boys soon after so we are down to crunch time. I truly think this is becoming a crisis in our state. We've already been told that a lot of the 1A games will be 2 man crews (will we get extra pay for this I wonder?).

I think it's a combination of things that are creeping up to finally bite us. Here's my list, anything else you guys are seeing in your states that is contributing to the shortage?

1. The good old boys club- Until the assignor who does the metro area here took over a few years ago, the old assignor only used his crews for the big school games. I have another friend who officiated for 7 years and his last year he was still driving 60-90 min for 1A games 2 times a week. He is a good official, it had nothing to do with his skill (averaged 4.6/5 on his evals over his last 3 years). No wonder nobody wants to stick around with that. Now we're trying to get these guys back.
Along the same lines, you see guys down at the state tournament not using Fed mechanics. For a guy who is trying to get to that point, how can someone not be frustrated to get dinged on evals for this exact thing, and then see it at the highest level of HS ball here?

2. I love the "What we permit, we promote" line. I think ADs, some assignors, and coaches, and especially our state associations have permitted too much BS. A lot of guys are hesitant to whack a coach in a big game because they don't want to lose those games. If a coach or kid has it coming, you should be able to give him his cup of tea and not think twice. While I do think we should be game managers, there is far too much emphasis by the state on coach/AD feedback when it comes to playoff games. Simply put, if coaches don't like you, you're not getting playoff games.

3. Pay- $115 is the standard pay for a varsity G/B double header in our big conference. I know schools are being squeezed, but I can see why a guy would leave. That's the highest in our area. A lot of schools are $90-$100. Is it worth it to get treated like crap all night by coaches and players for that? It seems like a lot of guys are speaking with their schedule/willingness to work games.

I love this gig, and I don't see myself leaving for any of the above reasons. But I can absolutely see why we are having so much trouble finding guys to fill games. At this point, we're just trying to get a warm body in there. I feel bad for the assignors in the area, as I'm sure the schools are putting the screws to them to get these filled, but what can you do if there's nobody to do the games?