No big dogs

[Rita C]

Tonight I reffed a JV game with two referees who are NOT super focussed on doing state games or advancing. Just content to do the best they personally can do.

What a difference. More fun.

Rita

[zebraman]

Originally Posted by Rita C

Tonight I reffed a JV game with two referees who are NOT super focussed on doing state games or advancing. Just content to do the best they personally can do.

What a difference. More fun.

Rita

I have reffed with several people who are focused on advancing and working state tournament AND they have a blast too. Those two things do not need to be mutually exclusive of each other.

[Rita C]

Originally Posted by zebraman

I have reffed with several people who are focused on advancing and working state tournament AND they have a blast too. Those two things do not need to be mutually exclusive of each other.

Tsk. Tsk.

I said it was more fun. I didn't say the others weren't fun.

Rita

[Adam]

I thought for a second you were talking about "seeing eye dogs."

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Rita C

Tsk. Tsk.

I said it was more fun. I didn't say the others weren't fun.

Rita

I seriously hope (more for you sake) that you are not judging one day as the norm. It might be that these particular individuals were more fun to work with compared to what you have been dealing with previously.

Also the people that tend to be the most fun to work with are the people that want to advance, want to work post season. Why? These officials are usually trained more by attending more camps and they do a lot of little things to make sure the game moves smoothly. As compared to the working with the weekend warrior that is more concerned with their check than doing a good job.

Peace

[BoomerSooner]

I also find that the other officials that I work with that are motivated toward climbing the ladder to higher levels, etc. are more confident and thus will be more likely to joke around at appropriate times. Pre-gamming with them is much more efficient because we aren't covering obscure little things and therefore have time to debate weird things that we have encountered. Also many of the more experienced/motivated officials are a bit older than I am, and know that I've got a 4 year old, my wife and I are expecting our 2nd, and I am finishing up my degree, therefore they give me the kid in need of some charity treatment by buying dinner when we go out after games and the such. Actually have had a couple of guys give me equipment that they've only used once or twice and just didn't like the feel. They had it dry-cleaned and everything first.

[tomegun]

I guess the thinking behind this thread got shot down pretty quick.

[mplagrow]

Originally Posted by Rita C

Tonight I reffed a JV game with two referees who are NOT super focussed on doing state games or advancing. Just content to do the best they personally can do.

What a difference. More fun.

Rita

Rita, I for one understand the sentiment in your original post, and I share your perspective. I'm sorry that your two sentences had to be so overanalyzed and picked apart, but sometimes that's all people on this forum have time to do. Rock on!

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by mplagrow

Rita, I for one understand the sentiment in your original post, and I share your perspective. I'm sorry that your two sentences had to be so overanalyzed and picked apart, but sometimes that's all people on this forum have time to do. Rock on!

If you come to this site and you post a thought, you have to be able to accept that people will have a take on your threads. If you do not want that to happen then do not go anywhere on the internet and post your thoughts. Also no one was overanalyzing her thoughts. I know I just find it curious that someone that has not achieved much yet is complaining about something that makes most officials successful. And then she had the nerve to complain as if that is the reason younger officials quit. I have NEVER, NEVER, NEVER been that sensitive about a veteran telling me something I did not want to hear. It was almost like she was blaming everyone that is a veteran for her problems. Sorry, that is not our problem if you cannot tell a veteran to shut the hell up and stop being a jerk.

Peace

[tomegun]

Does anyone besides me realize that the tag "big dog" is ridiculous? What does someone have to be or do to be a "big dog."

Rita, this just isn't something where you are going to have a lot of what you want. The only relation to a dog I can think of is when people say that a trained dog is happier. An experienced official is happier IMO. Knowing what you are doing makes it easier to do it. Sometimes it pains me to say anything to younger officials because they aren't as receptive as they should be IMO. It is a waste of breath and meanwhile the game suffers because a smaller and smaller percentage of officials are actually working hard to get better. That is just my opinion.

[Adam]

I took it that she had a relaxed game that, towards the end of a rather difficult season, helped her remember why she does this. I think, even for those of us who are always trying to get better (and I'd say Rita is in this group based on her previous posts), it's nice every now and then to have a game where you get to just get in, enjoy yourself while getting it done, and get out.

I had a ms game like that a few weeks ago. My partner gets a decent varsity/JV schedule, and we called a good game. It was just relaxing.

I look at it like my regular job in this respect. It's nice to have a day every now and again where everything goes smooth, the boss isn't hovering over your desk, and the coworkers are all on the same page without a whole lot of "how do we fix this" type of discussion.

[tomegun]

Snaq, I don't want this to sound too harsh, but I want to put is as plain as possible.

You want to have more relaxing games? Get better. That is the cure to heal many things as officials. I'm in the same boat for the level I want to achieve so I'm not excluding myself.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by tomegun

Snaq, I don't want this to sound too harsh, but I want to put is as plain as possible.

You want to have more relaxing games? Get better. That is the cure to heal many things as officials. I'm in the same boat for the level I want to achieve so I'm not excluding myself.

Tom, you don't have to worry about me. I'm a military cook, a basketball official, and I vote for the wrong political party according to my family. I've got thick skin.
You're right. The most relaxing game I had was an easy game to do, so my skill level was more than adequate for the occasion. That's what made it relaxing.
Here's the thing. I don't want more of these games, per se. It was not the sort of game that is going to make me better as an official. It was nice to have, but I don't really want a lot of them.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

I look at it like my regular job in this respect.

I look at this as a business not a job. If it is your business then you might take a different take on what happens to you.

Peace

[Adam]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I look at this as a business not a job. If it is your business then you might take a different take on what happens to you.

This is a good point, Jeff. It's a different mindset between the two.