Observation: Impediments to Moving Up

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Rich

With the exception of one coach who complained about everyone, I had two complaints about officials the entire 2014-15 season. 38 programs. Let that sink in.

It's HS basketball.

People need to realize this is HS basketball, not a smaller scale version of D1 basketball. I take my assigning seriously, but I'm serving the HS game.

OK, but what does that have anything to do with what we are talking about? It is likely that HS basketball in your area does not care about those things. But they care about all kinds of off the court things here.

HS basketball is not void of worrying about things like how an official looks or if they can keep up or if the officials are used to working bigger schools (Usually city and suburban schools) compared to smaller schools (Usually rural and smaller and less ethnic areas).

And I can tell you the top guy that went to the University of Wisconsin (Madison) came from the suburbs of Chicago (Lisle, IL) and the assignor to his conference very much considered who worked that conference based off of all the things we talked about. If he didn't, he would not have a job, considering that the league was a private school league of Catholic schools and often played teams from the city in non-conference shootouts where teams from the suburban area played city teams. The demographic of the officials right or wrong mattered to those schools and those situations.

Peace

[johnny d]

Originally Posted by Rich

With the exception of one coach who complained about everyone, I had two complaints about officials the entire 2014-15 season. 38 programs. Let that sink in.

It's HS basketball.

People need to realize this is HS basketball, not a smaller scale version of D1 basketball. I take my assigning seriously, but I'm serving the HS game.

Two complaints the entire season. Assignors around here get more than that every night there are games.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by johnny d

Two complaints the entire season. Assignors around here get more than that every night there are games.

I have heard assignors actually talk about the things they hear from schools and those situations often have nothing to do with play calling.

Peace

[Rich]

Originally Posted by johnny d

Two complaints the entire season. Assignors around here get more than that every night there are games.

Some assigners act as though their jobs are always hanging by a thread. If that's the case, why have the job?

I am a firm believer that a coach needs to pick his spots. The one coach that complained every game? The coach that NEVER complains and calls me almost sheepishly -- who do you think I listened to more closely?

Basketball is only a small part of what I do for our group of schools, after all.

When I get a complaint in any sport, I ask for the film, by the way. Without me seeing what they're complaining about on film, how do I know if they have a point or not?

[rogero1]

As an assignor, what percentage of games do you work in your leagues?

I have an assignor who schedules himself to whatever he can take when he is not working a higher level game. Is this typical or a rarity?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rich]

Originally Posted by rogero1

As an assignor, what percentage of games do you work in your leagues?

I have an assignor who schedules himself to whatever he can take when he is not working a higher level game. Is this typical or a rarity?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This year I'm working 6 games, mainly to watch newer officials.

Next year I'm working zero.

If I'm asked to find crews for non-conference games I'll occasionally work if I'm open. But I pick those carefully....

I'm getting paid well to assign the league. I don't need to work it as well.

[biggravy]

Thanks for an interesting, timely topic. Especially since it comes from a fellow Kansas official. I'm 38 and have never had facial hair. After the end of last year's season I grew a beard for the first time. Found out I love it. Had no comments through baseball. I was wondering about basketball since nearly everyone I call with (HS V only no college) is clean shaven. At our area meeting I already had one comment and a few weird looks. Besides the beard I've lost 40 pounds since January and worked on my game. I'm in the best shape of my life. I want to keep getting better and maybe do college some day. Seems silly that facial hair will hold me back but it sounds like a very real possibility.

[jpgc99]

Originally Posted by biggravy

Thanks for an interesting, timely topic. Especially since it comes from a fellow Kansas official. I'm 38 and have never had facial hair. After the end of last year's season I grew a beard for the first time. Found out I love it. Had no comments through baseball. I was wondering about basketball since nearly everyone I call with (HS V only no college) is clean shaven. At our area meeting I already had one comment and a few weird looks. Besides the beard I've lost 40 pounds since January and worked on my game. I'm in the best shape of my life. I want to keep getting better and maybe do college some day. Seems silly that facial hair will hold me back but it sounds like a very real possibility.

The beard will hold you back from the college game. At the high school level, the 40 lbs weight loss offsets the beard.

I'm half joking about the high school part... As you can see from the thread, it varies by region and by assignor. From my experience, these things all play some role but the extent it will impact you varies by a lot of other factors. For most high school assignors these are more important than your facial hair: Dependability, availability, communication, play calling and rules knowledge. "Looking the part" often gives people the impression you can do the above things well. It might not be true, but that "eye test" is often a reality. If you're overweight, wearing a beard, have long hair, etc you might not pass the eye test and then the other criteria doesn't even matter because you've already been crossed off the list. Of course this is totally dependent on the number of games to be assigned and the number of available officials. Supply and demand plays a major role here.

[BatteryPowered]

In my association I can think of just three officials who have facial hair. All were established and calling mostly varsity when I joined...I have worked with two of them this year. That tells me I "caught them" in the pecking order of assignments.

Is it because I got real good very quickly? As much as I would like to think so...probably not the reason.

Are their work schedules and or blocks limiting their assignments? Maybe...it can happen.

Is the assignor holding facial hair against them? Don't know, but it is curious.

As for jewelry, I do not wear my wedding ring. I mentioned it in a conversation with my wife right after I started officiating. She smiled and said "Pull the ego back. Do you really think someone from the stands or a young girl is going to try to pick you up while you are calling a game?"

[Welpe]

I'm watching the USC / UCLA game and one of the officials didn't get the memo that wedding rings weren't allowed.

And of course I thought of this thread.

[j51969]

The big take-away here is getting to whatever the next level is for you. At some point what separates one official from the next is very minor. Court appearance and grooming standards may very well be the difference. Find out what is acceptable in your area. Two officials I work with on a regular basis are advancing in women’s college basketball. To include an invite to Patty’s camp this coming year. Both of them are extremely fit, have zero facial hair, and yes take off wedding rings. Even though it wouldn't be a concern in any of our HS games they do it because that’s what they do in college (muscle memory). IHSA has other ideas here in Illinois. If fitness and physical appearance mattered state finals official wouldn't look like that. But I'm not telling anyone who officiates in IL anything they don't already know. Even something as like how tall you are can matter. Both of them are under 6ft, so there is hope for us all.

P.S. One is African-American and one is Caucasian

[Rich]

Originally Posted by j51969

The big take-away here is getting to whatever the next level is for you. At some point what separates one official from the next is very minor. Court appearance and grooming standards may very well be the difference. Find out what is acceptable in your area. Two officials I work with on a regular basis are advancing in women’s college basketball. To include an invite to Patty’s camp this coming year. Both of them are extremely fit, have zero facial hair, and yes take off wedding rings. Even though it wouldn't be a concern in any of our HS games they do it because that’s what they do in college (muscle memory). IHSA has other ideas here in Illinois. If fitness and physical appearance mattered state finals official wouldn't look like that. But I'm not telling anyone who officiates in IL anything they don't already know. Even something as like how tall you are can matter. Both of them are under 6ft, so there is hope for us all.

P.S. One is African-American and one is Caucasian

Are those state finals officials in position and do they make the correct calls?

[j51969]

Originally Posted by Rich

Are those state finals officials in position and do they make the correct calls?

Not everyone looks at a play or situation the same. But all things being all things; the answer IMO is NO more often than it should be.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by j51969

Not everyone looks at a play or situation the same. But all things being all things; the answer IMO is NO more often than it should be.

I think these are the things one needs to ask at the HS level. Is it fitness that keeps people from being in the correct position or is it a lack of training or ability?

I've gone to games this year where the officials look like they've fallen out of an officiating catalog and could go run a marathon. And I've said to people I'm with -- I can't wait to see this guy work -- he *looks* like an official! And within 30 seconds, I go "Oh, boy" as I watch the person ball-watch, back-pedal, and drop anchor once he gets to his "spot" in the front court. And as the T, that's sometimes in the backcourt.

But even I'm guilty (for a couple of minutes) of judging a book by its cover. But that doesn't last long for me.

[Smitty]

Originally Posted by j51969

The big take-away here is getting to whatever the next level is for you. At some point what separates one official from the next is very minor. Court appearance and grooming standards may very well be the difference. Find out what is acceptable in your area. Two officials I work with on a regular basis are advancing in women’s college basketball. To include an invite to Patty’s camp this coming year. Both of them are extremely fit, have zero facial hair, and yes take off wedding rings. Even though it wouldn't be a concern in any of our HS games they do it because that’s what they do in college (muscle memory). IHSA has other ideas here in Illinois. If fitness and physical appearance mattered state finals official wouldn't look like that. But I'm not telling anyone who officiates in IL anything they don't already know. Even something as like how tall you are can matter. Both of them are under 6ft, so there is hope for us all.

P.S. One is African-American and one is Caucasian

Unless you are an assignor, I don't think you can identify what the criteria is for moving up the ranks. It's usually the people who aren't moving up as fast as they think they deserve that provide guesses as to what it takes to get there - and usually there are a lot of sour grapes in their guesses. I don't pretend to know why certain people move up and others don't. Around here, female officials move up exponentially faster than men. Do I know why or where that's coming from? No. Do they deserve to go to State 4 years after they started officiating over a guy who has been reffing for 15 years and is just as good? That's not up to me. I used to get upset about these things, but I don't anymore. These things are being decided based on factors I was not provided and no one asked my opinion. If I had stayed in Oregon, I would have likely gone to the State Tourney by now. I will never go to the State Tourney in Texas. That's life. All you can do is work hard, go to camps, be seen by as many influential people as possible, listen, get better, and hope you've impressed the right people.