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Originally Posted by dan74
I have a zero percentile for varsity games. It's my second year as a certified official, so I don't expect varsity games. Unsure if I'd even accept one at this point. I'd fill in if needed, but I know I need to get better. I have worked some varsity scrimmages (much cleaner play than working frosh level, where you see everything, almost easier in a way).
Truthfully, I'm torn...not much, but just a little. The competitive side of me wants to work varsity as soon as possible, I guess it's an ego thing, but another side of me, a bigger side, is just fine working less than varsity. Although I stick around and watch varsity officials somtimes, when I don't I'm home with my better half and kids by 7 or so.
I think it's important to step back every once in awhile and think about why we're putting on the stripes. I've always been active in sports, either playing or coaching my kids. It may be cliche, but I want to still be around it and I want to give back. Plus, I live in the land of cheese...what the heck else am I going to do during the long, cold winter?
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Around my area, there are what we call "career JV officials," especially in the rural areas. Here all subvarsity games are assigned by the home school, so frequently watching the JV officials can be quite painful, as George from the local garage is the guy who's been doing these JV games for 25 years. No mechanics, no real judgment, but I've noticed that George gets very little grief because he is a known quantity and people know him, even if he's wearing white sneakers and parachute pants.
So to work JV games in some of these schools can typecast you around here, although the closer you get to the "city," the more we have the traditional "wanting to move up and paying dues" official working the JV game.
My partner took a couple of JV games this season to fill in a quiet week. I look at a quiet week as a blessing and turned him down when he asked. No big deal either way. I actually emailed him this morning and told him I'd work if he hadn't found anyone.
It probably sounds to a lot of people I don't enjoy working anymore, when actually that couldn't be farther from the truth. But I enjoy working football more these days and baseball is the sport I work the most and best (and the only one I work at the college level), so I am only a "during the season" guy now. It means I don't go to a lot of camps anymore (I'd rather work a weekend of baseball), but it doesn't mean I don't love being out there.