What season # is this for you? Retirement Looming?

[BillyMac]

I keep getting older and the players stay the same age, does that seem fair to you?

Forty years for me.

I developed a bone spur and arthritis in my right ankle a few years ago that physical therapy didn't help. A little less than year ago I worked a scrimmage and decided that I just couldn't get up and down the court as well as I would have liked to in a varsity game and turned my entire varsity schedule back to my assignment commissioner, reasoning that it just wasn't fair for the players and for my partners. Too bad, mentally I was at the top of my game, exuding confidence on the court, and getting great ratings from my partners, and from observers.

Coincidentally, at that same time I retired from my day job (fans had been yelling at me for years, "Don't give up your day job"), and became available for mid-afternoon middle school and high school freshman games, games when there is a lack of available officials.

I like these assignments. My assignment commissioner keeps me close to home for these low level games, almost all of my games last season were in contiguous towns (no long drives through rush hour traffic). No need for me to stay after my middle school game to observe the guys in the next game, or get there early to observe the game before mine (one and done, there is no "other" game). I'm almost always home in time for dinner. I get to unofficially mentor young officials. Low level coaches seem to like having a veteran work their games (I know that I did back when I was coaching middle school basketball). And I get the same fee as a junior varsity game, all sub-varsity fees are $63.89.

Eventually I'll have to get completely off the court (I'm now nursing a knee problem that's kept me out of the gym for a few days), and when that happens I'll still belong to my local board, maybe serving on training committees, or maybe just to selling raffle tickets for a door prize to guys as they walk into meetings.