Dissappointed official
 

I have had the best season of my short seven season career. This is my third year doing Varsity games. Post season games start on Monday 2/12. we have a voting among the association. I'm not sure why becuase we don't follow the results. I was voted in many catagories with 8 and 9's with 10 being the best and my assignor only chooses to assign me one post season game. I even recieved great votes from the coaches. I am dissapointed tremedously. I never turned down any assignments not matter where or what they were. I was jerked around from location to location last minute many times. I was always praising and giving confidence to all my partner for trying their hardest and giving all they had. I went to 3 camps this year to learn as much as I could. I felt more confidence in myself. All he had to say was you earned it, but you didn't prove yourself. Yet he was never out there evaluating me, not once in seven years. I am ready to shelf this association. This association is true good ole boy network. One of my partner two weeks ago never did a game till this year and he had a Varsity level boys game he was one of my partners. I had to wait my way and work hard for my opportunity. This is a downer. I am ready to hang my sneakers... Do all association work the same way??

Do all associations work the same way as what? You only gave us your perception of your experience. I'm not going to jump to conclusions about your association based on that.

No association is perfect nor is any system. It sounds as if you are improving and advancing, even if it isn't as fast as you want. You got a playoff game this year. Congratulations.

If you love officiating, I don't think you should hang up your sneakers just because you did not get as many playoff games as you had hoped. But that is just me. You'll have to figure out that one for yourself.

Ask yourself why you got into officiating. Then ask yourself if you are getting out of it what you wanted to get out of it.

When all else fails, learn the serenity prayer.

Why are you complaining? At least you got a post season game.

BTW, the Serenity Prayer works well.

Peace

You've only got 7 years behind you and you worried about only 1 post season game???

I had the opportunity to hear from one of our top officials recently when the topic of state tourneys was being discussed. This is a guy that goes to the top tourney in any year he is eligible. I found out that he worked 17 years before making his first (lower level) tourney. He's now at around 30 years. Imagine if he bailed after 7.

It's quite pitiful that so many young officials expect to shoot to the top in just a very few years when many of the ones there now worked for a very long time just to get there.

Keep working on your game and your time will come. It has nothing to do with "good ole boys". It's called experience and all the things that come with it.

As a younger official I'm gonna have to take issue with some of the things that Camron said here. I think it is very good for officiating that young officials put the time and the effort required to get to the top and if they make it, they deserve to be there. I am fortunate to be in an area where there are plenty of opportunities for younger officials, but there are many others who aren't that fortunate and they are stuck in groups where it takes 5 years to just get a varsity game, and another 15 to have a shot at playoffs. Young officials are the future of officiating and the future caretakers of the game and the avocation, by refusing to give them games that they deserve, or by telling them to pay their dues, while inferior officials work the big games constantly only leads them to quit.

I don't know how it was in the past, but now I know a lot of young people dedicated to officiating who are students of the game, constantly attend camps, know the rules inside and out, are in great shape and learn from some of the top officials around, and do so 365 days a year, working many games to get better. Many of the older officials have stopped going to camps and have grown deficient in 3 person. The young guys pay their dues and should be so rewarded with games that they deserve, so it is baloney to say they haven't paid their dues just because they haven't toiled in the lower leagues for 15 years.

In regards to the OP, I don't think you should quit after 7 years or blame politics. If there's another venue in your area to pursue officiating (another association), try it, even if it means a longer drive. The playoffs are a different animal from the regular season, and experience plays more of a role in these games and how to manage them. If you earned your way onto the playoff list this year, be honored, learn from your game this year, and continue to work hard and you will move up. Give the assignor the benefit of the doubt in terms of him having your best interests at heart, it is always better to be a little late and ready than too early and in over your head.

Hold on now.

I'm not saying ALL younger officials should have to wait. There are some that should and do move up quicker. However, there are a lot more that think they should that just simply aren't as good (yet). I know. I used to think I should have been getting better games over other poeple. Only after I worked a few more years have I learned that I didn't know what I didn't know.

In our area, it does take an average 5+ years to get to the first varsity assignment. It can be and has been done faster and can take longer (and never for some). There ARE a handful of 20-25 year-olds working varsity and SOME even the top varsity games. But, even if the rest THINK they're just as good, they're simply not. (of course, that applies to all ages, but it's more prevalent with younger officials).

If the upcoming official is only equal and not better, they don't deserve to displace someone who is already there. Why should the person who was there first have to give up games? Yes, to move someone up, someone up must come down. Some do need to step down but is it as many as there are young officials that think they should be moving up? No.


A lot of those veterans spent many years learning the game and going to camps just the same. Just because they haven't been to camp in a few years doesn't mean they forgot everything. It really hasn't changed THAT much.

There is also a thing called loyalty. I know it's a tough thing for some young guys to understand. If the older official can still do the job, and have bailed the assingor out of bind after bind, year after year, they deserve to get and a good assignor will keep them the varsity games until they either can no longer do it or want to retire. You don't push people out just to make room for new people. Just like any venue, you've gotta be better than the guy there to knock him out of the spot...not just his peer.


Think about the numbers too. In our association of about 330 people, we cover from 7th grade through varsity and have, at most, ~30 boys 6A varsity games per week out of a total of about 600 games per week. Only about 25% of the games we cover in an average week are varity games (boys AND girls). That means only about the top 75 officials are going to get a varsity schedule on a regular basis with a few others (20-30) getting occassional assignments....and that is ALL varsity games from 1A to 6A, not just the big games. That means 75% get few, if any, varsity games. It's simply math, there are not a lot of the "good" games to go around.

I don't think anyone can devise a way to, on a broad scale, move young officials up fast without pushing older officials out. To make room for the new official, you'd have to push someone out. It would mean the career span of an average varsity official would be no more than about 5 years. So, you'd have to keep that recruiting and training pipeline humming like an assembly line. But, its a lot easier and more effective to use officials through their useful career life rather than ending it prematurely to make for for an impatient newcomer.

Its seem to be the nature of the beast. Last year I got no post season and this year I got 4 games this week. I dont expect to get any regional or state games. I never go into a season expecting post season, so when I get it, it a surprise. Cheer up partner and hang in there.

Well, Rob, I got a Regional last year but you might get whatever Regional game I may have received for next week now that I made that stink in the meeting about Rec League availability. :mad:

Politics is a reality in this avocation
 

I am trying to make the jump to Varsity from JV ball. I took the Class 1 certification test last February. Its customary that it takes 2-3 years before your schedule even starts to contain more than a hit-or-miss Varsity game. I would like to think, and have been told by many referees that I respect that I am one of the top JV level officials in the two Associations to which I belong. The dreaded P word floats around referee locker rooms all the time. I would love to have a full varsity schedule now. I realize that I must pay my dues, so I accept the situation as it is. But sometimes the Politics does bug me, especially when assignors insist that there isn't any. There is a referee that took the Class 1 test with me. He came out of that test with a FULL Varsity schedule. I have worked with him a couple of times in the past, and he is a good official, but by no means one of the top 10 partners I have ever had. There are times it bugs me, until I realize that me grousing about the situation isn't going to help me be a better official or advance my career. So I too think of the serenity prayer.

I doubt it. Plus, you had a valid point. I never get any call from him about rec ball.

I don't know exactly what kind of feedback you're looking for, so let me just share my experience with you. I went 5 years without a single varsity game. Then I got a few varsity games. The next year I got enough varsity games to qualify for tournament work. I was lucky to get one crappy D3 game. The next two years, I got no postseason games. By this time, I was working varsity college ball -- but not high school playoffs. The next year, I got an early round game and was shocked to receive a regional semi-final (Sweet 16) game. It was girls and only D2, but I was happy to have it.

At our end-of-season banquet, our featured speaker happened to be the state high school tournament director. He talked about the job he does in assigning officials and stuff like that. During the talk, he said (and this is a direct quote, because I remember it like yesterday), "If you want to see how a high school game should be officiated, come watch (my name) work a game." In front of my whole association!! Obviously, I was thrilled.

Guess how many postseason games I got the following year. Zero. I was, quite frankly crushed. How did I go from getting pointed out by name, to getting shut out?

How many the year after that? Sqadoosh! At our banquet that year, I received our association's award for outstanding achievement on the court. I felt like puking, to be honest. It was a very nice gesture, but I felt that I did not deserve it if I wasn't even working one round of play-offs. What had I really achieved on the court? I had a really nice regular season. Whoop-dee-doo. To this day, I do not display the award.

The next year, I worked a prelim game and a regional semi-final. Why? I still have no idea. The last two years, I have worked the state semi-final game (Final Four). Why? I still have no idea.

So what's my point? After I got shut out a few years ago, I decided to stop worrying about the postseason. It was out of my control, anyway, so there was nothing I could do about it. I decided to control what I could control (my training, my rules knowledge, my performance on the court) and not worry about what I couldn't control. In my case, it has worked out -- but again, I have no idea why. Hopefully, you'll stick with it, keep doing an outstanding job, and force somebody to notice. I hope it doesn't take you as long as it took me. Good luck.

If you can referee, then no amount of politics or "good old boy" networks will keep you down forever. Keep working whatever system is in place in your area. Post season games only comprise a very small % of the games that anyone is going to do over the years, anyway. Enjoy the ones that come your way and don't let the lean year(s) affect your next game or season. There is a lot of good basketball to be officiated in the regular season. Those games are important, too.

Why? Because you're a good official! Why didn't you work other years? Because you're not the only good official in your area/state.

Choices
 

RefVA, I've had some similar feelings myself. Here's how I answered my own questions;
1. Some assignors are better than others (just like some refs are better than others)
2. If I have concerns about my current assignor, I can stay where I am and be unhappy...I can stay where I am and try to change things (executive committees, boards, talk to assignor, etc.)...I can move on to another association / chapter

Ultimately, your assignor assigns games based on whatever criteria they use - good, bad, fair, not fair, whatever. And I too saw some things that I thought were questionable. But I'm not an assignor. So, I have to choose #1 or #2 (assuming my choice is to continue to referee). Really good assignors (and by that I don't mean assignors who give me what I want - I haven't had any "top-notch" varsity games or playoffs yet) are a blessing...just like really good bosses...or really good partners. They make things more enjoyable.

I'm glad you have some place to vent and hear the opinions of others and possibly different view points. Ultimately, I think you'll need to decide to stay and let it be what it is...or move on. That's the choice you can control...unlike the choices of the assignor.

** By the way, I just re-read my post and want to make something clear. I don't feel entitled to any top-notch varsity games or playoffs. I just wanted to point out that I'm not at that level yet...but I still have a job-performance opinion of the assignors I do and have worked for. Personally, I'm fortunate to be where I am.

Your feelings are normal. Our chapter is going through a growth phase where the assignors are challanged and making tough decisions about assignments.

Turn your frustration into action. Get in shape, work summer ball, go to a camp, explore other nearby chapters or associations, find a senior menor in your group to talk too.

Don't give up. Take pride in what you've contributed, not frustration with what you didn't get.

I agree with what many have said, control what you can control and don't worry too much about the rest.

Work on being a partner that other people want to work with. Work on being that official that coaches don't mind having on the road or at home. Work on being the type of official who says things and other officials listen.

Between the military making me move and just getting crapped on I have had some serious heartbreak over the years. The one thing I can lean on is how other officials who know me feel about me.

Remember, being good can fix a lot of things.

But as you know in Indiana you don't advance on merit. Just remember it not always what you know it is who you know. That just don’t go for Indiana I am sure most places are the same way. I was left out of the tournament this year after adding 156 new officials for the sectional. This was a huge wake up call for me reminding me that I don’t just have to officiate well I have to play the politics as well.

I did not have a lot of time to address your thread directly, I will do that know. The bottom line is if you lived where I am, you likely would not see a post season game for another few years. In my state the people that give out those games are not part of a local association, but are apart of the state office. These individuals have to sift through a few thousand officials across the state in order to decide who may or may not get a realistic shot. You would be very lucky if you got a State Final in your 17 year (at least on the boy's side). There are so many officials where I live and a rating system that is based on years of data, it is very hard to stand out in a positive way. I do know of places that you could work a state final off the bat and there are officials here that in a 10 year period have worked more than one state final. That would not be at all the case here, because you would have to get in line with officials that were there before you were. Talent is not going to get you automatically past other officials. There are a couple of D1 officials that have not worked a state final because they have not worked enough post season games compared to other officials.

Once again, be happy or blessed that someone even decided you should work any post season. I know in each class they only need just under 200 or so officials to work the entire playoffs (state wide). And this is in a state where everyone makes the playoffs. So there are a lot of games, but not many officials as compared to who might be available.

Peace

Like others have said, it is out of your control so don't worry about it. Personally I just look at tournament games as frosting on the cake. I get more satisfaction from getting put on a good 4A matchup by an assignor that knows my abilities well than to get a 1A game from the state that only knows my ratings from coaches. I've been in for about 7 seasons and have my first tournament games this season on the girl's side. I was hoping to get a couple from the boy's, but it didn't happen. I'll just keep working hard and hopefully it will happen next season.

All, All I can say to you is thank you for your encouraging words and comment. I should be honored for the one post season game. I have truly worked hard in many ways. Not only on the rules of the games, but my mental and physical aspect of the game. I am going to be 50 in just a couple short months, from a selfish way I wanted to execel quicker and enjoy the officiating while I can still do it.

Tomegun, last year you and I spoke about this where I felt I was too old to want and do this. You proved me wrong, due to encouragement from officials like yourself and others on this web. I guess I really wanted this becuase I was able to taste it. I hope and pray that I will be able to do this again next year. Thanks to you all.

I believe this whole heartedly. If you can referee, you will get yours, it just depends on what level you get it. For me I might see my first college playoff game before I see my first HS one. I do believe there is a little bit of politics involved, but I also believe that if there is a man there older than me and just as good and maybe not even as good, that he deserves to stay there, because like someone stated earlier he has probably pulled the assigner out of some tough spots before and has always been there to help and I totally understand that. I believe that I am fighting more against guys who are just coming up compared to trying to knock the old veterean out. It's like Dick Bavetta in the NBA. He can stay there as long as he wants with almost no worries of getting kicked out for an up and comer. The people who have to be worried about the up and comer are the guys that are in there rookie to 5th or 6th year.

Sometimes people get the shaft and that in itself is upsetting, but 9 times out of 10 the good referees get there games. Good luck and keep working hard.

It just takes time....
 

I can only share my personal experiences. In my area, it takes between 4-7 years to get a full varsity schedule. I know folks who have done it faster, but that is the average.

One of the things that I have come to understand is that you can only go out and call the games that you are assigned. Take the games, do the best job you can for any game and let your work speak for itself.

Assigning is hard, because you want to have the best officials out there for the game you are assigning. You want to have officials that you trust to do a good job. In order for me to get a full schedule, someone else has to give up those games.

Continue to work hard and the tournament games will come. As you become the part of the "trusted" set of officials, bigger and better games will come your way.

Well, all I can say is it must be something about Virginia. The association I work in is run by the principles. We the officals have no say so in anything. Our commissioner is picked by the principles. So, well you all know about that...... Our commissioner says he evaluates officals, but works a full schedule. From what I understand he has worked more than any offical in our association, except for the crew he has which they work every game with each other. Last year there was some rumblings about how the officals were picked for the regions. A lot of top officals sat at home b/c the coaches picked who they wanted in the regions. So the top tier officals that wacked coaches for rule infractions sat at home while the gamer officals worked. Funny thing about this is that several of the officals that didnt get region games worked the state final games.
So this year the rumblings have come to a head. About 30 percent of the officals are quitting this year. Our by-laws were changed to state that any offical that is caught talking about the association or to any principle or AD will be suspended.
So all I can say is good luck.... At least you have an association that is run by the officals and not by the principles that has the commissioner in their back pocket

Have you considered starting another assn.? If there are as many disgruntled officials as you state, then get together and give it a shot. Chances are you won't get assignments from those schools, but what about other private/non-conference schools or even rec leagues? If the current regime is acting as you say they are, chances are there might be a few coaches who would welcome a switch and encourage their AD's/Principals to try a different Assn.

It may take a few years, but you could end up with your own assn. with legit assignments.

Since you brought this up, here is some perspective as it relates to where I live.

There is probably between 5000-6000 officials state wide where I live.

For Class AA Boy's Basketball there are 64 Regional sites. Each site has at least 3 officials for all 3 to 4 games. There are some nights where two games are being played at the same time and the IHSA uses another crew for those nights. So that might add only about 10-12 extra officials overall based on availability. So at the very least there are 192 officials (possibly a little over 200 might be realistically needed). The State Finals has 12 officials working when it is all said and done. The Class AA side is the last of all tournaments and this means that more than 95% of all officials are sitting at home during this time. You can only give so many assignments to so many people. Someone is going to stay home even if you rotated completely different people every single year. Then someone would not be upset they did not get a shot then. Then when someone is working that is not very experienced screws up a situation, then there will be many more problems.

Peace

Actually that is being discussed as we speak. That was one of the reasons they changed the by-laws. Some of the officals have been talking to some of the Coaches, AD's and principles about what is going on and the commissioner was told about it and recommended that any offical caught saying anything bad about the association be suspended. Two of the districts are pondering a change and has said that they would switch to an association that is run by the officals. One district even contacted the VHSL when they got wind of the problems with our association and was told that the principles need to get away from being the governing body because of the liability. The person told them that they could be held liable if an official was to be injured during a game or as long as they were on school property because of how our by-laws are written up. But it seems that a certain group of principles are not wanting to relenquish control and recommended that the officials sign a waiver next year.
What it all boils down to is that with the current situation we are in. We are employees instead of independent contractors. Some of the officals are considering hiring a labor attorney. But finding one in this area that is familiar with labor laws is another thing.
As for the region & state picks. Been there done that and could care less about if I get one anymore. I would rather see a young offical that has worked his or hers rear off to the be the best get it. Its priceless the see the look on their face when they make the big show. But the cloud remains. The commissioner and his crew work all the Region finals, nominates himself and his crew so they get to go every three years to the state and as time goes on the average age for our association get older and older each year.

A little more.... I was all worked up the year I thought I had "earned" a playoff spot and didn't get it. That lasted a few weeks and then I made a commitment to myself to make sure from that point on, nothing I did or said on the court would prevent me from moving up. I went to 5 camps that summer and got soooooo much better. I also got hired to work college b4 I ever got moved up in high school. For me, knowing that someone else thought highly of my skills was an encouragement to keep getting better.

Hey you aren't alone. I made the playoffs last year being my first year of eligibility. I got 2 rounds of girls games. This was my first year of mens college ball as well. This year I only got 2 games both in the first round on the girls side and being my 2nd of full mens schedule working for 3 assignors in 5 conferences. No boys playoffs what so ever. I felt if they were going to keep on the girls they would send me at least to the quarters or semi's.

Wow! I can't imagine working for an association that is not run by officials. The schools have zero say as to who works their games. I guess we're lucky.

Is there a reason you're resurrecting a thread that's been dead for nearly two months?

This statement is true. To chine in, I think that if your objective to officiating is to work the playoff's in HS. You might be in it for the wrong reasons, and I think that some of these assigners might be able to see that desperation in you, a bad quality. If you're looking at quiting officiating because you didn't get a playoff game, then you where desperate.

To answer the question does all associations act this this. Hell yes! They are all the same. The assigners son at age 20 something will work playoff games before you, you can bet that. Just like I wonder how much of John Thompson III ability got him the head coaching job as opposed to dear old Dad influence. I'm sure there was a lot of other good candidates.

In any event, if officiating to you is all about working the big games. I feel sorry for you, because that is a long and lonesome road to go down and you will spend a lot of nights unhappy. Maybe you should just hang em up. However, on the other hand, I enjoy officiating and I no longer do it for the biggest games. I do it to stay in shape and see how good I can get and how far I can go with the understanding that it's good if I do and it's good if I don't. Thing about it, and take this as advise. If you're trying to move up into better games, you're going to have to quit working a lot of these lower level games or develop a style that you work hard each time out. IOW's, don't let these AAU assigners set you up with too many games and you are dirt tired towards the end and likewise look stupid or lazy working these games. There could be one of these HS decision makers there and they see you in this state, and that's bad news for your career, believe me. I'm sure it has happen to a lot of us and continues to happen because a lot of officials don't get this. It might be your 6th game but it's the state supervisors brothers first game on that court. So from this point on, you can take no more days off when you officiate because you never know who's watching. You want to work the big games, you got to bring it everytime out the gate. Or you can let the lower level games go so that you can only be seen when it's to your advantage, like at the camps. Notice how the guys that are working the finals, you don't see out working any ole games. There is a reason for that.

All in all, like the one poster said. If you are good, keep getting better and someone will take notice. A wise man once, you can't keep a good man down.

A wise man once also said (and I think it was JR) -- ok so maybe not so wise but wiser than ^^

anyways -- he said dont listen to anything by ^^ and if you take advice from ^^ then that's not very good. (I paraphrased -- JR had a few adult words in there that I am not allowed to use because of my dainty little ears).