[JRutledge]

Let me say this first. I know OverandBack a little bit. He is just like a lot of other newer officials he is trying to find his way. He is rather successful in his career (he might not admit to this) and he seems to be struggling based on his words here. What I would suggest to OB and any other newer official is just take a deep breathe. Officiating is not easy, but it is not as bad as we make it either. Part of the problem is the fact that we really do not know what to expect when we start. I think if OB had a mentor, someone he can talk to on a much more regular basis, then he might figure out how to navigate through this thing we call officiating. He is going through what a lot of us go through early on. We just have to decide whether we like this and what we like about this. If I am not mistaken OB got out of basketball because of what happen to him during a Men's league game. One of the things that kept me officiating is I cut back heavily on those kind of games that had no accountabity. In football I only work HS leagues for the most part. The only league that I do work that is not HS/college is a Catholic Grade School League and it is with two officials that have worked State Finals in the past 2 years. That helps eliminate many bad experiences because my partners are solid and we all have similar expectations while working football. In basketball I pretty much only work HS games and college games and I try to avoid any lower level ball that is not associated with a large governing body (like the Illinois Elementary High School Association). OB, you have to be picky at what you do. My suggestion is to just stick to HS games and try to latch onto a crew that is going to work once or twice a week. You do not live in an area where you "have to work" when you do not want to. Those Pop Warner/Bill George type leagues burn out the best officials around. So stay away from them if you are tired of all the crap that goes along with them. Officiating should be fun, not a drudgery.

Peace