Mentor/Mentee Program

[sdoebler]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I cannot speak for your area, but in my area, you cannot get a single game until you actually have a license. That means that no assignor is putting you on any game (High School or below) if you do not have passed a test, passed a state background check and watched the rules videos as apart of your application process. Until that is done, you are not working any games. No showing up to a game and not having passed the test.

Secondly, you are not working games if no one knows who you are. At least in the Chicago area or before the IHSA took over the Arbiter system (still some area pockets where the IHSA does not influence this yet), if you were not known to even be hired. The biggest way is to join a Local Officials Association on some level. In basketball, it is almost a requirement that you are a member of an LOA. Even the middle school games are assigned through local associations or an assignor that is a member of those LOA. They send out availability by LOA membership wide emails which if you are not a member you will not likely receive.

There is no requirement of test level to work lower level games for our area. New officials are suppose to take a mechanics class but when games are unfilled we take who is available.

We have a mass shortage of officials. 90% of our lower level (Non-Varsity) games are in the system for self-assign, anyone registered can take them. Our assignors have an ever-changing pool of 400-500 officials, they don't know them all.