Frustrated

[crosscountry55]

I frequently find myself in your position, except it's because of moving (due to military obligations) rather than injury. Regardless, the lip service paid by assignors during the summer versus the schedule you ultimately get....well, it just sucks. No way to sugar coat it. One day I hope that an assignor will just be honest with me when I'm the new guy and say:

"Hey, new guy, you're pretty good but there are board rules and/or hierarchical sensitivities that leave you with a 0% chance of a varsity schedule unless you can provide proof of a collegiate schedule. Any questions? Oh, and I like your shoes."

In any case, I've come to realize I have no control over my schedule outside of the product I put on the court. So I put the best product out there that I can every time, regardless of level. And I have fun doing it. Most epic game I ever worked was a varsity game, but #'s 2, 3, 4 and 5 on my all time list were 8th grade/frosh/JV/5th grade (AAU). Lots more varsity games that I don't remember nearly as well.

It's all about the lens you view your assignment through. If it's fun, keep doing it. When it's not fun anymore, that's ok, but stop doing it.

[JRutledge]

Without seeing you work and compare you to others, really hard to know what is the issue. But it is not uncommon to feel you are better than what others perceive you to be. Also this thing comes with some disappointment on many levels. The best thing I can tell you is to keep working and wait for the entire schedule to come out. Maybe, just maybe that is the worst of the assignments. You also never know until you work the games anyway. Ultimately be patient if it is this year or next.

Peace

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Without seeing you work and compare you to others, really hard to know what is the issue. But it is not uncommon to feel you are better than what others perceive you to be.

There have been studies that show approximately 80% of people in a given area believe they are above average. In some areas, like sports, that number is likely higher. That means at least 30% of the officials are certainly wrong. They're in the wrong half. And it really suggests even more overestimate their abilities because just putting yourself in the right half doesn't mean a person puts themselves at the right point in the right half...they would tend to overestimate that too.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

There have been studies that show approximately 80% of people in a given area believe they are above average.

"Well, that's the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average." (Garrison Keillor)

[Lcubed48]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

"Well, that's the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average." (Garrison Keillor)

Where's that "like" button?

[Altor]

Originally Posted by crosscountry55

So I put the best product out there that I can every time, regardless of level. And I have fun doing it.

That contest is the most important one of the night for those athletes, those coaches, those parents, and those fans. They deserve my best effort.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Altor

That contest is the most important one of the night for those athletes, those coaches, those parents, and those fans. They deserve my best effort.

Not always true, but we often say this on some level. I have had coaches at the lower level in multiple sports not want to treat these levels as the same as the higher levels for multiple reasons. Often times lower level ball is a place where kids will never play beyond that level. There are coaches that know this and even want officials to not enforce certain rules or make accommodations because it is not that "serious." We should give our best effort, but let us not act like every level is treated the same. This to me is about as silly of a statement as when we say, "We do this for the kids" when we are working games.

Peace

[Rich]

Have to admit, it's times like these I'm glad I live where each league has its own assigner. Cause one of the assigners here doesn't really care for me that much and I'd hate for my schedule to be dictated entirely based on his whims.

I've given up the whole "have to work the best games each night" mentality. In about 2009, I worked the "game of the century" as they called it on the local news. A season later, nobody remembers that game, let alone who worked it. It just doesn't matter in the end.

I work good games, average games, awful games. As long as my game starts at 7:30PM, there's a pep band, and the anthem is played, I'm happy. Oh, and 3-person crew.....I don't work 2-person anymore.

[SC Official]

In my state, all varsity games are assigned out of the Columbia SCHSL office based on your rating and rating alone. We're only allowed two nights of varsity per week (almost always doubleheaders, girls then boys). We get all our sub-varsity assignments from our district director. The only way to get "better" varsity assignments is to get better ratings from your peers, do better on the exam, and get full experience points by staying in the league for five years.

I give my best effort, but oh how I wish I wouldn't have to work girls basketball.

[jpgc99]

Originally Posted by SC Official

In my state, all varsity games are assigned out of the Columbia SCHSL office based on your rating and rating alone. We're only allowed two nights of varsity per week (almost always doubleheaders, girls then boys). We get all our sub-varsity assignments from our district director. The only way to get "better" varsity assignments is to get better ratings from your peers, do better on the exam, and get full experience points by staying in the league for five years.

I give my best effort, but oh how I wish I wouldn't have to work girls basketball.

That is the worst system I've ever heard of.

[SC Official]

Originally Posted by jpgc99

That is the worst system I've ever heard of.

It is certainly not ideal from my perspective. However, I as well as many other officials also work with the SC Independent School Association (SCISA), which has its own officials association and its own method of assigning games, more based on merit and actually being a good official than on a number. Sometimes the SCHSL gets mad at us for taking assignments in SCISA and having to block certain dates in Arbiter–I thought we were independent contractors.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by jpgc99

That is the worst system I've ever heard of.

Yup. Can only work 2 nights a week -- that's complete bologna and restraint of trade.

[SC Official]

Originally Posted by crosscountry55

Off-topic, but I am surprised how many independent associations are still out there. Two years after I left Wisconsin to go to college, the old WISAA folded and merged with the WIAA. At the time I was told we were the second-to-last state to still have an independent schools league. I now know that whoever told me that was full of bologna. Seems like more than half of the eastern seaboard states still have independent leagues. The question is.....why? Why did mergers occur everywhere west of the Appalachans, but not so much on the east coast?

I can tell you for certain that GA, SC, NC, and VA all have independent school associations. SCISA has its own officials association, unlike the other three states which, I believe, use the associations that the respective public school leagues use (don't quote me on that).

I don't see a merger happening in South Carolina anytime soon for a couple simple reasons. (1) The smaller public schools do not want to compete against the larger private schools, which they would given the SCHSL setup. (2) The smaller private schools do not want to compete with public schools with exponentially larger student bodies. (3) There's never really been even an allusion to the idea.

Originally Posted by Rich

Yup. Can only work 2 nights a week -- that's complete bologna and restraint of trade.

It is ridiculous, however, for what it's worth, that is only applicable for varsity assignments. There's no limit on the number of sub-varsity we can work; problem is, typically the sub-varsity games are for the officials that aren't rated high enough to get varsity games. Additionally, sub-varsity is 2-man statewide.

The solution to get more varsity games is to work in SCISA. But the SCHSL/SCBOA whines and has tried to discourage officials in the past from blocking dates or declining games for the purpose of working in other leagues. That, in my opinion, is what's truly ridiculous about the system–officials get threatened with losing assignments and rating points for working in other leagues.

As I said earlier, most of our assignments in this state are girls/boys doubleheaders. I get jealous whenever I read about someone on this forum who doesn't have to work girls basketball.

[Altor]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

We should give our best effort, but let us not act like every level is treated the same.

How does a statement that they deserve my best effort become "every level should be treated the same"?

This to me is about as silly of a statement as when we say, "We do this for the kids" when we are working games.

I hate this phrase too. But, I didn't say either of these things.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Not always true, but we often say this on some level. I have had coaches at the lower level in multiple sports not want to treat these levels as the same as the higher levels for multiple reasons. Often times lower level ball is a place where kids will never play beyond that level. There are coaches that know this and even want officials to not enforce certain rules or make accommodations because it is not that "serious." We should give our best effort, but let us not act like every level is treated the same. This to me is about as silly of a statement as when we say, "We do this for the kids" when we are working games.

Peace

I had an adult rec league player (dipped his toe in the NBA, has some HS officiating experience) tell me he doesn't want the best refs working his rec leagues. He just wants guys who will keep the game moving, not somebody who knows and enforces all the rules.