Wanted, Reward, Dead Or Alive ...

[ilyazhito]

Baseball games have started as early as 2:30 in my experience. I have had to work a 2:45 private middle school basketball game, and public middle school basketball games in Montgomery County are scheduled to start at 3:15 PM (most usually start around 3:20). However, JV basketball games are at 4 PM (DCIAA) or later, with the varsity game (or games) following at 6:00 or later (MCPS does 5:30/7:15 for the JV/varsity schedule, DC has 4 PM JV/6 PM Girls Varsity/8 PM Boys Varsity. Private schools have Freshman/JV/Varsity with the 1st game starting around 4, or JV/Varsity with the first game at 5/5:30 PM).

Even though most subvarsity officials will never work varsity, I still believe that a valid approach for training would be to treat all officials in training as if they had varsity potential, and then choose the best of those in training to be added to the current varsity staff, with the next tier doing spot varsity assignments as needed. In this way, advancement would become more objective than subjective, because there would be evaluations of officials working, rules exams, practical tests, and other objective criteria to rank officials.

I wouldn't say that varsity officials do not work subvarsity games when available to do so, because their input would be very useful to the newer official that has a subvarsity schedule (I don't know how useful that would be to the veteran subvarsity official (5+ years with no varsity experience)). However, later start times would make sense for working officials, especially if the games are spread over a wide geographic area and travel is required.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by SC Official

Who the hell is starting games at 2:30 PM on a weekday? That's before school lets out in most districts.

I thought same thing myself until I gave it more thought. In the school system in which I used to teach, the bell for end of the high school day rings at 2:05 p.m. Also, student athletes are often allowed to leave their last class early if they have a early afternoon road game.

Middle schools in my district often try to begin games at 3:15 p.m., when the final bell rings at 2:35 p.m.

No 2:30 p.m. starts, but it not very far fetched. Maybe possible, but highly improbable.

On the other hand, a few school systems here in Connecticut are contemplating the new scientific research (something about hormones and circadian rhythms) that says that teenagers don't function at full brain capacity until later in the morning (the high school in my district begins at 7:35 a.m.) no matter how many hours of sleep they get the night before. The research says to start high school later in the morning, thus ending the day later in the afternoon.

Problems for schools contemplating such a changes include transportation issues (high schoolers are normally picked up first, then the same buses pick up middle schoolers, and finally the same buses pick up elementary students), and the problems with interscholastic sports having to start later, with scheduling problems with other schools that have chosen not to start early, and problems with sunset interfering with spring/autumn outdoor sports that are not played under the lights.

[JRutledge]

Not all subvarsity officials are actually only working subvarsity. Many of the middle school games are done by veterans as they do not mind working those games. Many subvarsity only officials are also not going to work any varsity realistically in their career either. But you can schedule games that make it easier for those to work the games regardless of their position at that time. Unless someone has a flex schedule, works a different shift or in things like sales where you have access to change your schedule, many people are not available for a 4:00 game. And that does not include the people that have other issues with sportsmanship or putting up with the demands of officiating.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Not all subvarsity officials are actually only working subvarsity. Many of the middle school games are done by veterans as they do not mind working those games.

That's me, or it will be me soon. I just retired from my "day job" as a chemist. I've decided to make self available for 3:30 p.m. middle school games, and 4:00 p.m. freshman games. Not a full schedule, just between my varsity games, but enough to help my assigner out, and to work with inexperienced officials as an unofficial mentor/evaluator (I'm a retried teacher, it's in my blood).

Can't ignore this aspect, now that I'm on "fixed income", the extra cash will help a little.

I'm going to be one of my assigners favorite officials. I wonder what he'll get me for Christmas?

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by ilyazhito

... we wonder why we lose so many younger officials before they could possibly work varsity games.

Here, in my little corner of Connecticut, we used to have some strict local "years of service" rules regarding moving up the ladder. No matter how good an official was, they had to wait a minimum of seven years to get a full varsity schedule.

One year as an IAABO working "cadet". Three additional years as a subvarsity official. And three additional years as a "split' official, working both subvarsity, and varsity games. After waiting seven years, if one was evaluated as good enough, one would finally get a full varsity schedule in the eighth year.

No more. Our new local system involves observations by trained evaluators, so if one is good enough, one can work varsity games right away.

Now, fewer competent, proficient officials are "dropping out" after waiting for varsity games. It was a good change, a necessary change.

[SC Official]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

I thought same thing myself until I gave it more thought...

I feel no sympathy for schools that can't find officials for ridiculously early start times. They need to realize that no one is making a living officiating basketball.

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Here, in my little corner of Connecticut, we used to have some strict local "years of service" rules regarding moving up the ladder...

In South Carolina you get five "experience points" in your rating for each of your first five years of experience until you reach the full 25 points. And until a couple years ago, it was seven years until you got full experience credit. The current system is such that an official likely won't sniff a varsity game until at least his/her fourth year, and even that might be too optimistic. And all that is assuming the official performs well on the statewide exam. District directors can "accelerate" an official's experience but it's not done that often.