Quote:
Originally Posted by JRutledge
Tommy,
My point is that we all deal with it on some level. I am not totally convinced that everyone is hindered in their career by politics. I think a lot of people do not do the things they are supposed to do and when they do not get opportunities they say it is "politics" when actually it is them being lazy or not doing the right things. I live in a highly political area too. But we have people here that think they deserve to work varsity games just because one guy gives them games in some other conference. Well, the reality is that you are almost never going to work for someone if they have never seen you work. That means you probably have to go to someone's camp to get hired. That might mean you have to go to multiple camps. Take time out of your busy schedule. But if you think some assignor is just going to fire someone else that is reliable and has the respect of his conference for some guy that works in a conference that no one respects, you are crazy. Because in my area when guys say this, I start asking questions of what they do and it becomes obvious for a lot of reasons why they are not getting hired in certain places. And most of those things are self inflicted. I am sure that varies from one area to another. But I think it is often blown out of proportion. I could be wrong, but it sounds like a crutch for many people.
Peace
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Now you are saying something different and something I agree with. IMO, many people want to talk their way into a big game, better assignments, etc. People have been coming up to me this season complaining about their ranking and wanting to go before the board. My suggestion is to prove it on the court and stop talking about it. If you remember, I've talked about having a camp for people from this board and there is always an open invitation for forum members to officiate in some of the tournaments in Vegas.
There have been several times in our meetings this year when someone has made a remark and I turn to someone I know and ask, "Can he work?" Most of the time the answer is no. I think we have a problem, in high school officiating, with people wanting things simply because they have been warming the chair for X amount of years. If you want more, the first step is to become a better official. Politics will still exist once that is taken care of and there really isn't an answer at that point.