numbers up in assoc.,way up!

[Camron Rust]

Originally posted by CLAY
In my assoc. we do not have enough officials. We always seem to have enough officials to do the varsity level games, we just don't have enough to do freshman j.v. level.

I thought that was odd, since the freshman play on different nights. I now know why we do not have enough officials, it's because the varsity officials do not want to do freshman,or jv. games only varsity. And as in any assoc. the assignor is going to use his best officials for the varsity level games. We call it he "Home boy club"

rant on
The solution for that is to have rule that if you refuse to do a few JV/Fresh games, you don't get varsity games. There are many JV/Fresh officials that would be happy to pick up a couple varsity games.

Last year, I had the opportunity to work with an official who is arguably the best official in the association (several smaller D1 conferences plus some time in the PAC-10). His schedule usually consists solely of big varsity matchups. Well on this this night my original partner called in sick. The assignor called this guy a couple hours before the game and he came. It was probably his first JV game in several years (not because he says no but becuase he's usually assigned bigger games). He worked it like it was a PAC-10 game on ESPN and loved every minute of it. I'm sure if he were assigned a girls 8th grade game, he'd happily take it and make an enjoyable game out of it. People like that make the assignors job easy and are a pleasure to work any game with.

A study I read about a few years ago pretty much cuts right to the core of the issue. 80% of the group surveyed as part of the study felt they were above average in their group. Obviously, at least 30% of them were wrong. Most people are not fair judeges of their own abilities. Most can usually recognize when another person/official is significantly better than them. However, when the differences get less obvious, most people put themselves above the other individual when from a neutral view the opposite is apparent (Sort of sounds like what opposing coaches think about close calls).

I can't count the number of times I've sat next to an offical in the stands who has been critical (quietly) about those on the floor when in fact they were not really any better. In my most recent example, the guy had finished the freshman game and was watching the JV game with me while I was waiting for my game.

I think it is fine, to a degree, to discuss the officials on the floor when it is done so for the purposes of learning/teaching and is done in a decent manner. His intentionk, unfortunately, was not that but was to only knock them down.

rant off

Originally posted by CLAY

A few years ago I get my assignments for the freshman, jv, games both boys and girls. In with the assignments was a form letter stating how long you have been an official and and how the assignor felt you needed to work harder and have more experience before moving up to the varsity level.
After the season started I got a call from the assignor to do a varsity game to fill in when another official called in sick 2 hrs before the game. At that time I only lived 2 miles from the school. I asked him why today I was experienced enough to do a varsity game, when he had just sent me a letter telling me I was to work harder and get more experience before moving to the varsity level. He stated he was in a bind and was unable to get another official there in time. I then paused, silence on the other end. He said to me, you are going to tell me shove this game up my as* aren't you. And I said yes Iam, you are not going to use me to get your butt out of a jam. He said that he deserved that and did not blame me for not doing the game. The next year I was on the varsity schedule.

This is the exact opposite of what I would have done. And, with some assignors, you'd be getting the fresh/JV games forever.

When they call with a game at a higher level, it's an opportunity to establish that you can do it.

You're lucky that your assignor reacted the way he did.