[Rich]

Originally Posted by just another ref

Cam, for the record, what is your perception of the quality of the officiating as a whole in your league, and do you know what the officials' qualifications are?

One thing is certain, many officials avoid all rec leagues, regardless of the money, which usually is less than what is paid at the high school level. This is true of all rec leagues, but adult rec leagues are indeed famous for being populated by guys who still think they can play when some never could. A seeming innocent question such as yours, can easily escalate into a "No, I didn't," "Yes, you did," festival, which is something most officials try hard to avoid.

Having said all this, the law of supply and demand often kicks in. The "job interview" might contain questions like: Have you ever reffed before? Do you have a whistle? What time can you be here? Or even, "Hey, when your game is over, one of you guys wanna call the next one?"

THEN, sometimes when one "real official" shows up and finds out who his partner will be that day, let's just say it can be disheartening.

So, to summarize, if you got hit with an elbow, and you got tagged for the foul, and it was a horrible call, suffice to say, it could be worse.

I wouldn't work an adult rec league if the league begged and offered 3X their normal rate. Not only do I have to deal with the players, I have to deal with partners who I wouldn't hire to work middle school games try to handle a bunch of whiny adults. I'll stay home, thanks.

I work HS varsity games (and I'll fill in at the JV level once in a great while if I'm asked to by a school that's treated me well in the past) and that's it. I know I'm not the only one who does this -- many of my regular partners do, too.