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  #1 (permalink)  
Old Tue Feb 23, 2016, 10:23pm
Do not give a damn!!
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by twocentsworth View Post
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.

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  #2 (permalink)  
Old Wed Feb 24, 2016, 01:56am
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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.
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Old Wed Feb 24, 2016, 11:15am
Dad Dad is offline
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Originally Posted by packersowner View Post
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.
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Old Wed Feb 24, 2016, 11:36am
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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.
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Old Wed Feb 24, 2016, 11:47am
Dad Dad is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kansas Ref View Post
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.
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Old Wed Feb 24, 2016, 12:06pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dad View Post
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.
*The issue at hand here (viz. in this thread) is not a disgruntled ref saying "he can't get any better as a ref". That is a whole nother issue when we start talking about whether or not ref feels as though s/he has reached the epitome of their reffing skills. However, the critical question pertaining to this post / thread is: a disgruntled ref holding the opinion that: "I know that my reffing skills are at least equivalent to Ref B (who got a tourney assignment) because I have reffed with Ref B before or observed Ref B in games". And, all things being equal--save for Ref B being a good ole boy--, Ref B got the assignment, so why did I not get selected?

And, we all here know and understand that lots of refs are excellent at calling games, never turning back games, doing a fine job etc. Another factor could be gender. I had a ref tell me that his assignor said he had to select a female ref for certain tournament assignment just to check off the 'gender equality' box. And this particular ref was good and the other selected ref was a two year experienced person.
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Old Wed Feb 24, 2016, 01:54pm
Dad Dad is offline
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Originally Posted by Kansas Ref View Post
*The issue at hand here (viz. in this thread) is not a disgruntled ref saying "he can't get any better as a ref". That is a whole nother issue when we start talking about whether or not ref feels as though s/he has reached the epitome of their reffing skills. However, the critical question pertaining to this post / thread is: a disgruntled ref holding the opinion that: "I know that my reffing skills are at least equivalent to Ref B (who got a tourney assignment) because I have reffed with Ref B before or observed Ref B in games". And, all things being equal--save for Ref B being a good ole boy--, Ref B got the assignment, so why did I not get selected?
I just find these two very similar. Just because I think, and even if it's true, I'm better than another official getting playoff games doesn't mean I'm the best fit. Said another way, being able to call a game well just doesn't mean matter much with how many good calling officials there are.

Why don't assigners want to give you games?

Why do coaches/ADs prefer someone else over you? Is it because you have no idea how the system works and only want 5A+ games? Maybe you're not getting any 1A-4A votes -- here that matters.

Why do fellow officials not want to work with you? There's a strong correlation with officials wanting to work with you and voting for you come playoff time.

Are you disgruntled and annoying to people around you? Probably.

Are you charismatic? Are you fat? do you wear glasses? Are you short? Do you look athletic? Do people like you? Don't think these things matter? They do. Maybe you think you pass all these tests, but in reality you don't. Maybe your running looks really awkward. Maybe you're just awkward in general and don't know it.

I could say a million other questions that go into who gets games and who doesn't. Note, this is completely useless and the reason most said people have a hard time moving up.

Who cares? Work on your own game. It'll pay off. Not getting where you want to go? You're probably not working hard enough. Work hard or shh.

Last edited by Dad; Wed Feb 24, 2016 at 01:57pm.
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Old Thu Feb 25, 2016, 02:28am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kansas Ref View Post
However, the critical question pertaining to this post / thread is: a disgruntled ref holding the opinion that: "I know that my reffing skills are at least equivalent to Ref B (who got a tourney assignment) because I have reffed with Ref B before or observed Ref B in games". And, all things being equal--save for Ref B being a good ole boy--, Ref B got the assignment, so why did I not get selected?
That person, making the judgement of themselves vs. others, is often simply wrong.

There have been many studies done that consistently show many people over estimate their abilities relative to their peers. In fact, one such study I remember reading some years ago found that 80% thought they were better than average in their group. So, at least 30% of the people overrate themselves. That doesn't account for some small number that thinks they're below average despite actually being above the average. And that doesn't provide any information on those were actually above average but put themselves higher within that half of the group than they should be.

I would venture to guess that the numbers might be even higher for referees.

Sometimes the cold hard truth is that the other person is just better.

So, what can a person do? Realize that there are things that can be improved....keep working and getting better. If a person does that, eventually, the games will come. If they don't come, then the person isn't fixing the right things, or they buried themselves so deep in a hole that they can't escape their reputation.
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Last edited by Camron Rust; Thu Feb 25, 2016 at 11:39am.
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Old Wed Feb 24, 2016, 01:37pm
Courageous When Prudent
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kansas Ref View Post
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 ....
Natural curiosity and human emotion can be overcome. When one puts them to the side and focuses on making one's self better, good things eventually follow in this line of work.
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Last edited by Raymond; Wed Feb 24, 2016 at 01:43pm.
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