Quote:
Originally posted by JoeD1
Granted, that is probably rushing things a bit, but waiting 3yrs for a JV game also seems extreme. Seems to me that you could be hamstringing some good officials by holding them back.
I guess my question is, for you people who live those areas, whats the rationale for waiting so long and do you agree?
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I am in my second year. I know who was in first, second and third year last year, and I worked with many of them. I've also worked with quite a few "Varsity" officials -- I've worked a lot!! What it looks like to me is that the reason it takes so long for people to move up around here is that there is a LOT of competition for the higher levels. Once a person gets to that level, they stay for a while, and the number of folks who work Varsity games is quite large. So there is no rush to move people up.
On the other hand, people who work hard and learn fast can move up if they have any of the following assets: being female, having political connections, or getting really good really fast.
There is one woman (me!) in our second year class who will probably be doing some JV before the end of the year. I will probably get a few varsity games next year, and a full varsity schedule the year after. This is not because I am great but because I am good enough and female. There is a guy in our class who just seems to have the natural knack and has quite a bit of JV this year and will probably do varsity nest year. He is really very good, and can compete with the best veterans. Probably no one else will be assigned JV from our class until next year or the year after.
I don't have a problem with the early end of this arrangement. I do have a problem with the way people stay at the varsity level regardless how many skills have "slipped". I've worked with and observed a number of veterans who don't know the rules, or can't keep up with the ball, or have very sloppy mechanics, or other problems that would keep someone in the beginning from rising to that level. (Not you, Mark!)
Frankly, I wouldn't want to do a varsity game, even now. I"m just not ready, and can't imagine feeling ready until I've done another 100 games or so. Those of you who have done varsity in your second or third year, how does it feel?