top notch officials doing top notch high school games have several things in common:
they referee the defense
they have perfected mechanics
they are aware of all pertinent information: players in foul trouble, foul counts, best players, time, score, calls their partner is making and not making
they know every rule that regularly comes up during a year
they are humble, teachable, and driven to excellence-arete (had to pull out the one greek word I know)

In my opinion there are a lot of referees like that; if you have the knack, well then it just takes a lot of ballgames and hard work and you will get there, and you get there within a couple years

then it just depends on someone taking an interest in you; just like I landed the job I have today, not because I am brilliant, because there was a need at just the right moment and only a few people were applying at that moment; now that I am here, I will work hard to keep it; same with refereeing, you get just the right break (and there are only a few of them out there) and you run with it

I would hope (although I know I am wrong) that none of the "top" refs really think that they are "special" in the sense that they are irreplaceable; there are hundreds of great high school officials around the country who could jump into an open college spot and do great; give them a year or two at that level and all of the sudden people would be talking about how great they are and how they must be the best

Look at all the college refs, do you see things that set each one of them apart and make you say, "now that is a great ref." No, they are all pretty much alike, they all have the same philosophy (get the heck out of the way)and the same mechanics; every basketball game involves the same types of contact and floor movement; you ref for a couple years and you get the feel for how to police those movements, no matter what angle they come from; of course there are those who cannot do it; but there are a lot that can; I have refereed in 3 different areas now and there lots of topflight guys everywhere I go; now put them in college with great partners and great training and quickly you would find that they can handle it and excell at it

Just my opinion; this opinion of course is coming from a guy on the bottom end, down in high school and I am sure that once I get to college I will be sure that there are very few guys who can handle it and I am better than pretty much everyone else, just human nature to think that

Hear!!! Hear!!!

My feeling exactly. I know a few that think they're god's gift to officiating. I guess that comes along with the terriority, or at least for those that have always gotten the breaks in life, it goes to their heads and there ain't no unswelling it either.

Politics are a way of life and they are in basketball - it is as simple as that.

Having said that, I don't know if those who have excelled because of politics would really be considered top officials. So much can go into being recognized as a top-notch official; it is a hard question to ask. However, for me it has nothing to do with how many games you do on TV or how far you go in the playoffs because top-notch officials are passed over all the time. I know one official who is still working in D1 tournaments now and he is average. I know another guy who is in a couple of D1 conferences and he is not very good - he is a good golfer and talks a good game though.

This is why I don't believe making it to D1 is a true indication of how good someone is. There are guys that get hired at the D1 level and they are basically hid on crews for many years. By the time they are given better games, they can stand on their own two feet. I'm not saying this always happens, but I have seen it many times.

Don't wear fishnets with runs in them.

It exists, but to believe that it is the main reason things happen is to kid yourself. People work because they have the ability. Lots of people think they have the ability, but they are kidding themselves. Their opinion of themselves is way too high.

I hear people around here moan and groan about who is working and who isn't and about 99% of the time they are wrong about the people involved. The right people are working the games and the others are sitting in the stands complaining.

How many times do I have to say it? I was not complaining. I was ... uh ... well ... observing. Yeah, observing. :D

Back in college they made us write a paper about politics in the workplace. I thought it was the stupidest, most worthless waste of time I ever paid for the "privlege" of enduring. Until I wrote it.

Every organization has its politics, defined as the unwritten rules that actually determine how people interact successfully and move up and down within the organization. To sit in the dark and scream about "it's all politics" is just plain stupid. If you want to move up in the organization, learn the rules, then follow the rules.

In my, admittedly limited, experience, the rules of moving up in the refereeing world include the need to work hard, be up-to-date, go to camps, be seen consistently doing a good job, work games without regard to "playing politics", taking the games you're given with gratitude, doing things that make you stand out in a positive way, and impressing the "right" people. Oh, and there's this little thing about being able to do the job. IMHO, this is where you need to expend the majority of your effort.

If you really are serious about moving up, you'll make the changes in yourself required to work within the group's rules. If not, if you think you're somehow "above it all", if you think that changing how you do things is somehow "caving in" or "kissing butt" then you'll stay right where you are. And it will be politics that keeps you down. Or rather, it'll be your own bad attitude about or ignorance of the group dynamic that will keep you down. Or should I simplify that to simply say, it'll be you that keeps you down? The group isn't going to adapt to you.

So do yourself a favor. Stop whining about "politics" and find out what changes you really have to make to move up. Then go to work. Stop worrying about how fast or slow others around you move up. Stop worrying about whether you're getting what you think you deserve. Find out what you need to do in order to move to the next step. Then do it; and damn the torpedos!

Well said. I could not agree more.

I agree. BITS' post was about the best on the subject of politics I've ever read. Well done!

AMEN!!!!

Peace

BITS - good paper. I give it at least a B+. ;)

I don't think anyone has mentioned this. Maybe it's what somebody means by "politics", but I think a big asset as a referee (and in life, in general) is the ability to get along with people. Just being a person that other people like being around. If you're just a miserable person that nobody likes working with, it's a lot harder to excel even if you can call plays. That's certainly not all it takes, but it helps.