How to and how hard to push for games

[packersowner]

My advice, ask your assignor directly this question. A couple of years ago, my schedule seemed like a step back from previous years. I was upset. I sent an e-mail saying, "I feel like I have done something wrong." His response, "No, you are doing everything right, it was honest mistake and I forgot about you when I was scheduling." Over the course of the year, most of my JV Girls games turned into VG games, my JV Boys games went to VB games. Where he could, he improved my schedule.

It might be a little different scenario, but I think if you simply ask, "What do I need to do to be seen as an official that you will assign X Y Z games too." You will probably get a legitimate reason and response back.

[JRutledge]

Nothing wrong with asking where you stand, but be prepared for the answer.

Then do not argue or debate the answer. If you are said to not be as strong as other officials, that is not going to be changed by that conversation.

You also have to accept that we are what they think we are. If they do not think we are strong, assignors are not always going to tell you in detail unless they feel they can help. Because honestly, if your assignments are very good, that says something about what they think of you. If they are average or not the top games, then you are clearly not the top guy if you were available when they gave them out.

Peace

[Nevadaref]

It can't hurt to ask. If you don't like your current schedule, then it is worth the trouble to inquire. Otherwise, nothing is going to change.

As was noted above, you may not like the answer. So be prepared to accept it. You can then decide if you wish to continue working for that assignor or put your time elsewhere.

[Multiple Sports]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Nothing wrong with asking where you stand, but be prepared for the answer.

Then do not argue or debate the answer. If you are said to not be as strong as other officials, that is not going to be changed by that conversation.

You also have to accept that we are what they think we are. If they do not think we are strong, assignors are not always going to tell you in detail unless they feel they can help. Because honestly, if your assignments are very good, that says something about what they think of you. If they are average or not the top games, then you are clearly not the top guy if you were available when they gave them out.

Peace

Hartsy -

I currently assign about 7,500 hs and youth softball and baseball games during the summer. Rut is 1000% correct about being prepared for the answer. Arguing will not do you any favors.

You said you work with 5 different assigners. Here is a question for you. Whom do you take first ???? IMO too many officials at the high school level will answer this question by saying I take first whoever gets me first. Again, IMO that is the wrong answer. Be honest and let all your assigners know where they stand. Every assigner wants HIS guys...by you taking whoever gets that date first, you become a secondary to most of your assigners. I'm not saying put all your eggs in one basket but try to be honest with them.

The guys who work college basketball on here will tell you that that is what they do. My good friend BNR and I work in two leagues together and both of those guys know where each of us stand. This honesty will reward you in the long run. If you take an assigner 5th out of 5 that is OK as well...just realize regardless of your ability you can't take a guy last and expect to work his post season.

Hope this helps......

[Hartsy]

Summary response from one assignor: My crew rating is in the bottom half of the crews he uses. He uses the ratings as the basis for the number and (likely) significance of the games. The ratings are from COACHES only. Says being seen at camps by coaches is best way to get ratings up. There was nothing mentioned other than this.

I guess this means that I need to get better, or make it look like I am getting better. After 14 seasons, I know I can improve, but I am probably near my potential.

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by Hartsy

Summary response from one assignor: My crew rating is in the bottom half of the crews he uses.

Maybe you need a different crew.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

Maybe you need a different crew.

Until I joined the Forum, I had never heard of this "crew" concept, it just doesn't happen here in Connecticut (I worked with over thirty different partners this past season). I could see advantages and disadvantages with this concept, but never considered that a crew could drag a talented individual official down the toilet.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Hartsy

Summary response from one assignor: My crew rating is in the bottom half of the crews he uses. He uses the ratings as the basis for the number and (likely) significance of the games. The ratings are from COACHES only. Says being seen at camps by coaches is best way to get ratings up. There was nothing mentioned other than this.

I guess this means that I need to get better, or make it look like I am getting better. After 14 seasons, I know I can improve, but I am probably near my potential.

I assign for 24 schools. I don't even look at coach ratings, even though there are available to me. I find them unreliable as a measure of quality.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Rich

... coach ratings ... I find them unreliable as a measure of quality.

Coaches ratings (we don't do coaches ratings) are not used by our assigner for regular season, and conference/league post season, assignment purposes, instead he uses peer ratings, and input from an observation team.

Coaches votes are used for assigning state tournament games. With few exceptions, I've found that coaches do an excellent job of selecting our best officials to work state tournament games. As I said, there are a few exceptions every year, a nondeserving name, or two, that gets on the tournament list, and a deserving name, or two, that doesn't get on tournament list (out of the sixty local guys (and gals) that make the boys/girls tournament list from our local board).

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Multiple Sports

Hartsy -

I currently assign about 7,500 hs and youth softball and baseball games during the summer. Rut is 1000% correct about being prepared for the answer. Arguing will not do you any favors.

You said you work with 5 different assigners. Here is a question for you. Whom do you take first ???? IMO too many officials at the high school level will answer this question by saying I take first whoever gets me first. Again, IMO that is the wrong answer. Be honest and let all your assigners know where they stand. Every assigner wants HIS guys...by you taking whoever gets that date first, you become a secondary to most of your assigners. I'm not saying put all your eggs in one basket but try to be honest with them.

I actually work for more than 5 as we are apart of a consortium in the Chicago area that has about 15 different assignors that are members with Arbiter. We can get games from any of them theoretically.

Now that being said, whomever starts giving games. We get games usually about a year in advance. For example some assignors start giving games around early November for the following season. Most assignors start with the Fridays, which are generally conference games or dates schools know they will have scheduled. The non-conference games are usually coming out later, sometimes out in the summer before the coming season, those trickle out until the season in some cases. So whomever asks for my Fridays, that is where I start. Then they might ask for certain tournaments or shootouts, which might not be assigned by a conference assignor at all.

Originally Posted by Multiple Sports

The guys who work college basketball on here will tell you that that is what they do. My good friend BNR and I work in two leagues together and both of those guys know where each of us stand. This honesty will reward you in the long run. If you take an assigner 5th out of 5 that is OK as well...just realize regardless of your ability you can't take a guy last and expect to work his post season.

Hope this helps......

I also work college and I do not work and those are mostly Saturday dates initially. So I always block off my Saturdays to high school assignors until most of the college games come out. I always have a Saturday or two that is open or an opportunity to work a later game on Saturday after a college game if it is close enough. Also college assignors expect you to work their college game if you are on staff. So that might mean we have to give back a game on a weekday game if assigned.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

We get games usually about a year in advance.

Wow. Since our assigner started using Arbiter several years ago, we are lucky to get assignments two, to three, weeks in advance. We can often see "pending assignments" (light blue on "blocks" page) several weeks out, but they don't get to be "assigned games" until just a few weeks before the actual assignment date. Our assigner takes a lot of time matching up the best officials with the best games, and things change, especially with teams as the season progresses. Teams that are supposed to be good at the beginning of the season often don't pan out, and vice versa.

Back in the olden days of getting our assignments through the United States Postal Service, we would get all of our season assignments at the beginning of the season, with changes (through land line phones) mainly caused by bad weather, illness, and injuries.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Wow. Since our assigner started using Arbiter several years ago, we are lucky to get assignments two, to three, weeks in advance. We can often see "pending assignments" (light blue on "blocks" page) several weeks out, but they don't get to be "assigned games" until just a few weeks before the actual assignment date. Our assigner takes a lot of time matching up the best officials with the best games, and things change, especially with teams as the season progresses. Teams that are supposed to be good at the beginning of the season often don't pan out, and vice versa.

Back in the olden days of getting our assignments through the United States Postal Service, we would get all of our assignments at the beginning of the season, with changes (through land line phones) mainly caused by bad weather.

Conference schedules are pretty much a rotating schedule and they know the conference games pretty much off the bat. The non-conference can change and so does some tournaments, which are only given to certain individuals anyway. And many conferences you know who is going to be good or not so good. And the rivalries never really change.

And even back in the days, the games given in mail were still given a year or more in advance. The contracts would come a few months before the season.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

And the rivalries never really change.

Amen.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Conference schedules are pretty much a rotating schedule and they know the conference games pretty much off the bat. The non-conference can change and so does some tournaments, which are only given to certain individuals anyway. And many conferences you know who is going to be good or not so good. And the rivalries never really change.

And even back in the days, the games given in mail were still given a year or more in advance. The contracts would come a few months before the season.

Peace

We don't even register with our state board (and consequentially, officially with our associations) until July of every year, so it's impossible to assign games prior to that, of which I am glad. With my college games rolling in from August through November, there is no way I can provide availability to my HS assignors until November.