Fed up with association/assignor...
 

Moved to new area 5 years ago. Joined association (mandatory per assignor). Problem is myself and other officials are frustrated with several factors.

1. No trasparency.
2. No ranking system
3. No mentoring program
4. Assignor controls everything within 100 miles. If you dont attend his camp....no games period.

Ill get assigned a weak varsity girls game on friday night and a double header middle school game sat....When I say...no MS...Im told take em all or nothing.

Im certified, 10 years experience, great coaches ratings and my games are going backwards.....

Assignor is completely unapproachable and is rude and will interupt.

Im mostly just venting, but have given thought to hanging it up in my 30s with 10 years exp.

I see no future, dont know where I stand and cant get a straight answer.

Out of town guys get the big games and in return assignor and his buddies get big games in neighboring towns.

All I would say is, why do you expect those things you listed? Someone is supposed to tell you where you rank?

The only thing is the 100 mile radius part I would have a problem with, but hey, if you want to work go to his camp. Why is that a problem? You cannot put some of your time into your "business?"

Every system is going to be different, but all those things apply to where I am as example except for the one assignor for such a large area.

Peace

Be careful what you wish for. Our "ranking system" in South Carolina is a mess.

As for the other stuff, politics is as much a part of officiating as any other profession. Learn to live with it.

I've experienced one through three and we voted the commissioner out. The political s*** storm is still reverberating 6 years later.

My skills and good fortune allowed me to Rise Above The Fray

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk

Like Jeff said, why do you expect those things? You're an independent contractor.

Unless the association hires the assignor and has certain criteria for the job, the assignor doesn't have any obligation to tell you how he operates or why he does or does not hire a certain person. He may even be hired by the schools and is only responsible to them.

People that complain about transparency are often complaining about their schedule...thinking they're better than the games they're getting. More times than not, they're wrong. Even if everything were 100% transparent, those officials would still get the same schedule and they'd be more disgruntled. The only thing that would change is that the level of whining.

You want to be ranked? Be ready to be unhappy with your rank. 80% of officials think they are in the top half of the organization. A lot of them are wrong.

And not all organizations have the charter to provide mentoring/training. It might be nice but you can ask an official you respect to do that for you. You don't need an organization to get better.

Just control what you can control....get better and better and don't piss people off and eventually the better games will come. If you piss people off, you can only expect to be limited. It sounds like you may have done some of that already (based on what you've said) so you might have a hole to dig yourself out of. Don't expect that to happen overnight. I've seen it happen...assignors don't want to deal with people that are difficult....they want people that make their job easy, both on the court and off the court.

Should take this to heart. Especially the last paragraph.

Perhaps those things are not enough. (And yes, I don't think those things are enough)

Only thing I say is it can be difficult if there is little transparency on a 1:1 level bw official and assignor. Only thing I want is honesty about what it takes to get to next level. However brutal that truth might be.

Otherwise, officiating is very political and that is sad and frustrating but it has been part of it long before me and will be long after I'm done so I try to only focus on myself.

If the assignor suggests certain things then do them. If you still don't see any movement then ask. As "good" as I may think I am if an assignor, or an official that works a level that I aspire to reach, recommends something I take it to heart.

My toughest problem so far has been my weight. I have to lost 20-30 lb's by next season if I have any hope of moving beyond junior college. If I don't progress I have no one to blame but myself. After all this was the one thing I have been instructed to attend to.

Politics at every level
 

In response to your situation, I am sure other officials feel that they may not be getting games that they deserve and feel that the "ol' boys network" is holding them back. Although this may be the case, we as officials also think that we are better than we may be. You can only control your attitude, call selection, being a good partner, not talk poorly about your partners, coaches, assigner or administrators, and give 100% effort every game.

There are other opportunities if you feel that you are hitting a ceiling (attempting men's or women's college basketball), but those avocations also have politics, requires financial investment, includes more travel & scrutiny, and you also have situations you may disagree with how assigners work as well as where you see partners get games that you feel you should've had.

I would find a good mentor that can give you a true evaluation of your call selection, mechanics, communication with partners, players and coaches, your game management and then watch some tape.

Being frustrated and blaming others does not help our officiating brother/sisterhood. There are several article indicating that officials are quitting due to violence, poor fan behavior, and many other reasons (social media & media scrutiny), but I hope for people that do have the skill set continue to referee and give back to the game and players.

I'll get off my soapbox now...

KG

I have never refereed for the game or the players and never will.

+1

I think we would say that because it was the PC thing to do. Then you realize that you do not give a damn about the players or even the "game" as people would like to suggest. You have to find a reason to leave the house and enjoy this avocation or it is not going to be fun and you will eventually stop.

Peace

One assignor for a hundred mile radius? Sounds to me that there aren't too many games to go around. And there's a chance that they already have a good crop of officials for the "higher level" varsity games around there.

BTW, I almost moved to another state and asked about what would happen as an official, seeing as how I'd finally worked my way into varsity. And I was told that I'd basically have to start at the bottom.

So your 10 years of experience may get your foot in the door, but you can't lean on that to say you deserve better. Just like when it comes to a new job. Your prior experience helped you get that job, but getting promoted or getting a raise is all about what you do for them... not what you did for somebody else.

So take all the games you can get. Use them to improve (ten years is not a lot), and prove to that assignor that you can do better. Eventually your time will come.

You literally have.