And he did not like women if you know what I mean. :D

Peace

I can't believe this post got 6 pages of responses! I'm more worried about how I perform on the floor than where I gt dressed. I usually show up dressed, jacket on, and bag over my shoulders. The only thing I will not do is let me shoes touch the ground outside of the gym.

It is not what you think that is going to determine your opportunities. It is going to be what others think of your ability. I can think I am the greatest official that ever lived, if others do not think that it will affect my opportunities. This is about perception as much as it is about ability. Perception is reality most of the time. I am concerned about all those things. That is why I show up an hour before my games. That is why I am always nice to the staff when I arrive to the game. That is why I do not turn back games without a very good reason. This is why I fulfill my officiating commitments. If I show up late to a game, act rude to the staff at a school or behave in any way that is perceived as unprofessional, it will not matter how good an official I am. Just stating the truth.

Peace

I tell you, I still get pumped up when I'm about to take the court for my games. We have to be on court 20 minutes before gametime in WI and we usually follow the teams onto the floor.

There is nothing, NOTHING like having a band playing, teams running on the floor, and walking out with our jackets on and going opposite the table knowing that you're about to work the "game of the night."

Of course, by the time the clock says 6:00 I wish I would've used the bathroom one last time, but I digress....

I think there is a difference between the ideal and reality.

I officiate in the S.F. Bay Area. For any of you who are familiar with this area there are more high schools here than in many states. Most of the schools are underfunded and facilities are poor to say the least.

Dressing areas vary, but there are very few I would take a shower in, let alone leave my gear in. Last night girls varsity game in one of the finer gyms in the northern California. Officials dressing room filthy, toilet plugged and broken. Very disgusting. I know when I used to coach I would greet the officials , make sure they were taken care of, and would let them into the office at halftime and after the game prior to even letting my team into their room.

That courtesy is missing in most schools now.

I prefer to go to a game in street/work clothes which for me is usually a shirt, tie, slacks or a nice polo shirt, but changing facilites are so poor and rarly is there anyone to greet you, have water for halftime etc.

I can count on one hand the schools that actually make some preparation for officials and address their needs. I also prefer to shower at the site, but many of the showers in the coaches locker rooms look like they haven't been cleaned in years.

I am often called in an emergency to pick up a 3:45, or 4:00 freshman game and have to rush from work. With so many schools and games it is sometimes a scramble to get them all covered. If I don't change at work I would not have the time to get to the site and changed and also stretch. The freeways at commute time are terrible here.

Of course if you come to the site and change you are assuming that the teenager coaching the freshman team has a clue about the needs of the officials or even a key to the locker room.

So, through experience I know which schools I can dress at and which I can't. I do agree, I think it looks very proffesional when I come into a gym with a sport coat, slack and tie or even a suit. I wish it were possible all the time. It is not.

I am not the lone wolf in this. Most of the officials in my area come dressed or partially dressed. Would I prefer not to? Of course. Now when officials are actually considered part of the game rather than a fringe and the facilities are at least usuable I may be able to change at the the site a majority of the time. I still won't for those early games.

And, oh, yes, I forgot about changing facilities for our female officials. That's a new discussion in itself.

Well I think you need to speak for your area with that comment. It would be totally unusual for there not to be a locker room that the school did not provide for JH and High School games. But a large part of what this topic is based on a region. I would be shocked if I went to a school and they do not have a room for the officials. It is not always a locker-room. I might be an office. But schools provide some kind of room so the officials can get dressed or have a pregame. And this is in the guidelines from the IHSA. As a matter of fact if a school cannot provide certain accommodations for the officials, schools will not be able to host playoff games. It is taken very seriously here. Maybe that is not the case where you live.

Peace

I have been lurking around the board and finally signed up so I can post and this topic really caught my eye.

Here in South-Central Indiana we do not work through assignors. We are true independent contractors in the fact that we have to contact schools on our own to get games. I am in my first year working games in the school system. I worked last winter at a sportsplex doing rec and aau ball. So I have to and impress the AD's as much as I can to get games in the future.

Many of the schools in my area are very small and the AD not only hires for the highschool but also the junior high and grade school levels. So it does not matter if I am working a JV game or a 6th grade girls game I always show up dressed well and change at the school. Now I am not talking suit and tie, but atleast a nice pair of dockers and a sweater or nice golf shirt. Showing professionalism at all levels I believe has really helped me move up. I started out the year doing only junior high or lower games. I now seem to be getting asked to fill in or work better assignments. As an example I will do 2 BJV and 1GJV game just this week. By the end of the year I will end up doing atleast 5 Varsity games, which I do not think is to bad for a first year ref.

I agree with Rut that showing profesionalism from the time you get out of your vehicle until you get back in it to leave at games end will do nothing but help you move up the ladder at a faster pace. Especially when you are the sole reason for getting games. Not an assignor doing this job for you

I have worked (and still work) in both systems. Even when you have assignors, the ADs and coaches still can determine what the assignor knows about you. So you still have to make a good impression on them if you want move up.

Peace

Rut I guess this show you how little I know about the assignor system. In either case professionalism will get you farther faster.

I still maintain, despite the vehement dissension in the ranks, that this is simply a matter of personal preference. I take a shower and get dressed at home before I leave. In nearly every gym I work, I park by the back door in a designated place, walk in a door and go to the official's room. I might pass 10 people at the most. I try to arrive 30 minutes early, even to younger level games. I change my shoes (spit polished real leather for the court!) check to make sure my shirt is tucked in and neat, put on my whistle and state wrist band, put on a small amount of lotion after shave, make sure I have a handkerchief in my left back pocket, check to see that my jacket is buttoned and neat, and that I'm prepared. Then I stretch. I have a spare pare of pants, undergarments, and knee braces in the bag in case of an emergency. I greet the AD and both coaches and act in a very profesional manner. After the game, I speak to my partners, we review the game if needed, bid farewell to my partners, quickly put on my jacket, leave by the same way and head home. I guess drinking the Slim Fast after the game on the way home might be considered unprofessional? Other than that, how is this unprofessional?

What is the hankercheif for?

refnrev,

If you think that is OK, keep doing what you are doing. Just remember that one person that has some say might think otherwise. So if you feel it is personal preference, please do not come here later and complain that you are not getting the assignments your peers are getting. Do not complain when you are sitting home during the playoffs. Do not get upset when you are not advancing at the same rate of others. Now go out there and use whatever mechanics you see on TV, because it is all about the calls, not the presentation right? If you think it is all about you, then keep doing what you are doing. Also do not worry about sending back those contracts or confirming your assignments. If you feel it is all about the court, then you are doing just fine. ;)

Peace

Penalty flag? :)

What - no hair gel? :p

State wrist band?