That's what I meant by worthwhile flight is the schedule and proximity of a decent airport (not always a given). Sometimes it is easier just to drive....but maybe not 500 miles!

By the way I flew through Dallas the other day. It felt like coming home for a few hours...even if it was north Texas. ;)

Lots of politically correct answers on here and I have to say that I agree with all of you. Very good answers.

The original post asked what we think makes an official better than others. In my opinion a better official is not noticed during the game. Too many D1 officials get overly dramatic with their signals and mechanics. They want to be noticed. Not doing that in high school makes you "better" in my opinion. Nobody is there to watch us.

A better official has great mechanics. You know what they have when they blow the whistle and you know where the ball is going to be and/or how many free throws will be coming. Great mechanics with confidence. That makes you better.

A better official is in shape and can get in position. That doesn't mean younger. Older guys can be in great shape in get in position too. If you aren't in proper position, you can't possibly see the whole play and get the call right.

A better official doesn't call any "game stoppers". Did that player shuffle their feet a tad when there was nobody within 8 feet of them? Maybe. But don't call that. That's a "game stopper" and kills the flow of the game. That goes hand in hand with how you call a game. To say that calling a boys game is NOT different than calling a girls game is not right. Boys can play through a little more than girls can. Calling a great game with little to no game stoppers makes you better.

A better official doesn't whine about other people and their assignments and just goes out and does the best job they can. That's what I do. I pick things to work on all the time and take care of myself while working to make sure that my crew is on the same page.

Those qualities are what makes an official "better" in my mind. I have no doubt that some politics go into it as well. It's hard to make changes and take out some of the good ole boys when they just aren't as good anymore to put in some new blood. In my area, we have been trying to get some of the old guard out for new blood as the old guard just couldn't do the job anymore. It's finally happening and I think the results have been great. I consider myself the new blood and I just received another state tourney. I must be doing something right.

I also think how far you go in post-season is relative based on where you're located. If I had stayed in Oregon, I am fairly certain I would have made it to a state tourney by now. I will never make it to state in Texas. I say that based on the number of officials who make it from the areas I've lived in as well as the fact that this is a much larger state and there are just way more people who are more deserving in my association. I'm not upset by that - it just doesn't always tell the whole story of whether you're "better" than someone who lives in a different area.

This can be a major factor. There are so many variables going into who gets playoff games, but in some areas there's just not a lot you can do. If you can figure out the correct path you'll have a shot, but it's rarely ever going to be just because you're a good official.

However, in the end, if you're not getting the games you want there could be a lot of stuff holding you back. Getting good playoff games, or probably any at all, has a lot to do with who votes for you and how you're viewed.

Are you a good partner? If partners remember you and want to work with you again then you're probably fine here. Officiating isn't about you, but the crew. The assigner wants to know, or should, that his go to officials can work well on any crew.

What do coaches/ADs/etc think? There are some officials who are insanely fit and great play callers but they are just awkward when it comes to communication/relations. There are some great officials who are hot heads and it holds them back. Or they just think they're a gift to man kind and shouldn't have to communicate with anyone on a humane level.

TLDR: Assigners want to trust whoever their putting on the game. From what I've seen, they usually have a large pool of officials that can call a good game. Calling a good game is only one piece of officiating, though depending where you are it could be a small or large one.

I got an invite last week to go work a regional tournament about 350 miles away. And driving is not even an option. There are no roads going in there. So a $500+ plane ticket will get me there. One other official from our association is going as well, and I think there will be a total of 8 officials. 3-man crews. 3 day tourney. Working 3 games per day. Not a bad check when it's all said and done.

1) Calling plays correctly
2) Mechanics
3) Calling plays correctly
4) Managing the game properly
5) Calling plays correctly
6) Calling plays correctly

Let's be honest...if you can't get plays right, absolutely NOTHING else matters.

I rarely agree with you, but I do here.

Getting plays right makes game management and all the other stuff easier.

I was having a chat with a fellow officiating geek last weekend and we were talking about some stuff. And I said, "Playcalling is underrated." And to me, it is.

I do not totally disagree, but there are plays we make that are considered subjective by the participants. If we call a T on someone, it is subjective. We do not always give those out because we missed a call, but what a coach or player thinks. We can get all the calls right that does not mean we will not have to deal with some BS. And even more, the video tape might be the be the only way those participating knows we got it right. It does not work all the time at the time and we all know this.

Peace

I've always tried to just control what I can control, and whatever happens from that happens.

I can control:
My rules knowledge
My judgement and understanding of philosophies of playcalls
My weight
My mechanics
My court appearance, demeanor, and attitude
My promptness in accepting assignments
Limiting my turnbacks, keeping my schedule up-to-date, and if I have to turn back an assignment, I do so with as much advance notice as possible.

Pretty much everything else with respect to playoff assignments/state tournaments/etc is out of my hands... so I'm not going to worry about it. If I get playoff games, great. If not, so be it... I'll watch them on TV and see if I can pick out things that those officials are doing that I need to add into my game.

I agree. Too many officials (and typically ones that are not as strong/good as others...) cause more of their own problems vs problems that normally present themselves during the game. The BS that you speak of is oftentimes CAUSED by the official.

I've worked w/ several officials this season that cause friction between themselves and others (coaches, players, partners, etc.) simply by the way the act/talk/behave. It boggles my mind...and these are guys that have worked state final games!

I, along with my crew, strive to be the calmest person in the arena. That's the goal anyway...

(I'll probably need to be "calm" in a few minutes as anything other than face/face verbal communication tends not to be very effective...I'm sure plenty of others will come along shortly and misinterpret my comments above.)

I agree for the most part.

Peace

There are post-season games where I think to myself, how in the hell did that guy get that game?m And I can say that there are nights where others are probably thinking the same thing about me.

This is the assigners job. Why even worry about it? I've never worried about it and it paid off.

Unless I'm critiquing officials, because they asked for it, I'll just look for what things they do really well. Then decide if I want to steal it or not.

I'm going to attribute my success to not giving a s*** about anyone else and only worrying about how I can get better. Even if it's minuscule.

It is natural human emotion and curiosity to question why you did not get selected to ref any district level or state play off games--especially when you thought you've done all that was required during the regular season and/or season prior to qualify for such assignments (i.e., punctuality, getting calls correct, resolving conflictual issues, managing the game well, and decline no turnbacks. Thus, you may be at a severe loss for a rational explanation--especially when / if you discover that some other ref who [in your judgment] seems inferior or is lacking in certain above-cited qualities. This is why tentative explanations such as: "good ole boy network" persist in the domain of officials, causing some refs to feel as though regardless of how good they are they will never be selected for such assignments.

I disagree and don\'t think taking this line of thinking has much success. If someone bitches to me about it I tell them to get better. If they think they are already great and can\'t get better then I found the problem!

Good ole boy networks make a lot of sense. Getting playoff games isn\'t as simple as, "I make good calls, blah blah blah!" Lots of officials are good at calling a game.