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I decided to volunteer for my home town LL. But first, I went to a local asso. and took the clinic, so I would know what the heck I was doing. I put my name down as being available in the afternoons, and next thing, I was officiating HS JV.
After two seasons, I decided to try basketball so I could stay in shape over the winters for baseball. It didn't take long before I fell in love with reffing, too.
In both sports, I have attended various camps and clinics to improve my game and sharpen my mechanics. I have a personal desire to be the best that I can be in all aspects of officiating (appearance, rules knowledge, mechanics, game management, etc.)
Now that I have gotten past those first 4 or 5 rookie years, I feel that I officiate a decent game for the kids (and adults sometimes). I take pride in doing a good job, and always learn from my mistakes. I volunteer at the 10-12 year old level (and some charity tourneys), but
getting paid for most games is important to me. As much as I love it, I would not do these several hundred games a year for free.
Officiating is a great way to stay involved with the
game(s), it has flexibility for scheduling around work/family, and provides a valuable service. Being a member of the "brotherhood" is good, but the socializing is secondary for me. Like most things, you have to work very
hard at it to become very good at it. I am always striving to get to that level, and as I improve, I feel a sense of personal gradification. I also like to help new officials coming up.
It's not for everybody, and maybe that's another appealing thing about officiating. You gotta have what it takes.
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