[grantsrc]

One thing I always tell my 7th graders at school is, "We've gotta crawl before we walk, walk before for we jog...." It's great to have goals and aspirations but like anything else, set them small and obtainable. At this stage in your career, I think getting on a HS varsity crew would be appropriate. Give yourself a few years there then look to the small college level, then after a few years at that, then look to say, NCAA D2.

It is a maturation process. I'm not saying this to spoil your Cherrios or anything, but a reason many new officials don't stay with it is because they expect the world their first few years when that isn't realistic. An article by John Bible in Referee Magazine (good resource BTW) about moving up was great advice and something I read periodically to put my goals in perspective. It is his stance that an official should work a minimum of 5 (it could be 10) seasons of HS varsity before even looking to college. He then said that you should work at least 5 years of lower level college ball before applying for a higher level conference. He also said that many times you only get one shot at moving up. If you are unprepared or misapply a rule, that's your shot.

Again, not trying to rain on the parade or anything but trying to put things in perspective. Patience will take you far.