Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee
Damn, I wish that I hadda known that back when I was 21.......and was in my sixth year of doing high school varsity games, in both football and basketball. And I had just became a white hat(Referee) in football too. Worked playoff games in both sports that year too. Geeze, now I find out that I wasn't ready for any of that. Bummer. 
I also know guys that started doing T-ball games when they were 12/13 to make a few bucks, kept up with umpiring because they enjoyed it, and by the time that they hit 21 years old they had 8-9-10 years of experience. I'd like to be there, Nevada, when you tell people like that they're not ready to do a high school game.
We have a hard enough time getting and retaining officials in just about all sports. To arbitrarily tell good, solid officials who are both experienced and capable that we can't use them because they are either too young or too old is just simply asinine. To think that you can also set an imaginary date where an official automatically is unable to officiate further because it's the birthday, and instant and complete physical deterioration has set in, is just as asinine. |
1. So let me get this straight. You are saying that you did
VARSITY high school games when you were 15 and 16 and you claim that you were fully ready and capable of running the show? That's hogswash, and you know it. You had some other officials there
who were adults that carried you. You made a few calls here and there and likely did a serviceable job, but didn't have an ounce of game control. Someone else did that for you. BTW times were vastly different forty years ago!
2. The people who start officiating youth games at 12/13 do gain some valuable experience, however, it is not proper to contend that they have 8,9, or 10 years of experience by the time they hit 21. Those early years of kiddie ball just don't equate the same way as someone who was 25 and started working freshman and jv games with local HS association. There is a big difference in the environment.
3. In fact, the hard time getting and retaining officials is the very reason that most of these people are still out there. If there were greater numbers of officials and stiffer competition for games, this issue would take care of itself, but instead I see many associations pander to the older veterans for fear that they might quit if they aren't still being given the "big game" thus leaving the association short-handed the next season. I've argued that watching these old-timers continue to get the premium assignments year after year is a greater problem. The younger officials become discouraged and call it quits after five or six years of being stuck behind the old guys. IMO that is the biggest cause of the lack of retention of officials. There was a discussion on here not so long ago about female officials up in the Portland area quitting because they felt that they couldn't break through and get playoff games. One poster wrote that many were just on the verge of receiving those assignments when they quit. Clearly a case of dissatisfaction with paying their dues and waiting their turn. How many officials are lost in this manner because the "experienced" official was chosen for the semi-final?
It has been my observation that once an official goes to the top, he never goes back down. Most associations are very good about promoting deserving officials, but are very poor at demoting those who no longer perform as they once did. This creates a blockage at the top. Something must be done to relieve it.