Opinions Sought

[SperlingPE]

I have been officiating HS basketball for 16+ years. I have worked all classes, boys and girls, conference tournaments, and I am regularly assigned games during the district tournaments. I have also been to the state tournament as an alternate. I have worked with officials who have more experience than I at the HS level. The majority of these mroe experienced officials also work some form of college basketball (NAIA, D1, D2, D3, junior college, etc.) These officials are telling me to make the jump to college ball. One of their reasons is that it will improve my game at the HS level. What is the opinion of the officials here who still work both levels?

[IREFU2]

Originally Posted by SperlingPE

I have been officiating HS basketball for 16+ years. I have worked all classes, boys and girls, conference tournaments, and I am regularly assigned games during the district tournaments. I have also been to the state tournament as an alternate. I have worked with officials who have more experience than I at the HS level. The majority of these mroe experienced officials also work some form of college basketball (NAIA, D1, D2, D3, junior college, etc.) These officials are telling me to make the jump to college ball. One of their reasons is that it will improve my game at the HS level. What is the opinion of the officials here who still work both levels?

I am currently a HS Official and I am trying to make that jump too. I have been to D1 camps the last several years and hopefully will go to Nike on next year. I am currenly doing some college scrimmages and trust me, it does help you in HS. I gave me a big boost in confidence as well as a better understand. You will see a major difference if you start moving towards the college level. Just beware that when you start moving in that direction, you will leave others behind and it may cause some to assume that you think you are better then those who choose not to move. Good luck and stay humble.

[ChuckElias]

Originally Posted by IREFU2

I have been to D1 camps the last several years and hopefully will go to Nike on next year.

I've heard that Nike and Adidas are getting out of the camp business. Have you heard differently?

[M&M Guy]

SperlingPE - I absolutely agree with everything Chuck said.

And, he said it so eloquently, too.

[Jimgolf]

I'm just glad to hear that after 16 years, you still think you need to improve and are willing to do what it takes to do so. Great attitude! Good luck.

[REFVA]

I think everyone should always think that they can improve, otherwise you remain stagnet.

Good Attitude.

Good Luck.

[ChuckElias]

Officiating college ball will almost definitely help your officiating at the HS level. I'm very confident of that. But if that's your only reason for moving to the college level, I don't think it's worth it. There are other ways to improve your HS officiating. You can go to camps that are aimed at college officials. They will teach "college-level" techniques and philosophies that you might not hear otherwise. You can find a buddy who does work college ball and go to his/her games and ask LOTS of questions.

Working college ball is a MUCH bigger time commitment and usually involves a lot more travel than HS ball. (My longest drive for a college game is 3.5 hours. My longest drive for a HS game is 40 min.) Additionally, I'm required to be at the game site 1.5 hours before tip-off. So if I have to drive 3 hours to Vermont, that's 6 hours of driving time, plus 1.5 of sitting at the game site, plus 2 hours for game and shower.

Plus you have to attend meetings for college ball which may not be very close to you. My pre-season meeting was a 2-hour drive each way this year, and the meeting itself was 3 hours. So your whole Sunday is shot. And since I couldn't make my "local" meeting this year (due to a scheduling conflict), I had to go to an alternate meeting, which was 3+ hours away. This is all for a D3 schedule, BTW.

If this all fits into your lifestyle, and you feel excitement over "moving up", then absolutely go for it. I'm not trying to discourage you. And it will definitely help your HS game. But if you're only doing it to get to a state final, I don't personally think it's necessarily the best way to go. I would instead invest in some high-quality camps, spend 2 or 3 weeks over the summer to polish my game, and let my supervisors know about it.

On the other hand, if there's a Juco league in your area that doesn't require a lot of travel and time commitment, then that's something that would definitely be worth looking into. There's nothing like that around me, but other areas of the country may do things differently. If so, that's what I would aim for.

Again, I would in no way try to discourage you if it's what you want to do. I just want to give you a picture of how things work around here so that you can have a little more info before making a decision. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[LarryS]

Originally Posted by SperlingPE

I have been officiating HS basketball for 16+ years. I have worked all classes, boys and girls, conference tournaments, and I am regularly assigned games during the district tournaments. I have also been to the state tournament as an alternate. I have worked with officials who have more experience than I at the HS level. The majority of these mroe experienced officials also work some form of college basketball (NAIA, D1, D2, D3, junior college, etc.) These officials are telling me to make the jump to college ball. One of their reasons is that it will improve my game at the HS level. What is the opinion of the officials here who still work both levels?

Remember this is coming from a guy that will never have the opportunity to work at the college level...started doing this too late in life to have any chance past HS varstiy.

I think there is only one reason an official should attempt to make the jump from high school to college officiating...you want to. (I know that is grammatically incorrect )

As others have said, there are ways to improve the quality of your high school work without working college. If you WANT to work college ball, go for it. Either way, good luck.