"Shortage" Yeah Right!!

[Larks]

Anyone out there believe there is this "shortage" of officials? I'm not seeing it. I'm in SW Ohio and am cert to work up to 10th grd. I sent my availability into the big public school assignors including an update when my sitch improved allowing more games.....NOTHING. Not a call...nothing. All I got was "thanks for sending your sched in, things are coming up". (I'm not holding my breath!)

I network with another local assignor for the catholic schools...I find out, I'm #92 of 92 on the depth chart that he assigns. He's called 3 times and all 3 were "can you ref 2 or 3 games, 12 hours from now? He tells me..."I've got games coming, I have 8 tourneys to schedule for in January". (Last I check it's Jan 15th...Nothing!)

I get games from the guys I worked for when I wasnt certified.....all 3rd - 6th grade rec leagues. I feel like I'm progressing but I wont know until someone gives me a shot.

Where is this "Shortage". Who do I need to talk to? What do I need to do to get games?

The guy who gave me games said "There aint no shortage" and "you just gotta pay your dues".

Thats fine but its like the old saying: How do you get a job without experience...how do you get experience without a job.

And they wonder why retention is a problem....allegedly! Its because you cant get games or moveup. Its like the friggin government....You cant have that promotion until Bob retires and he's "scheduled" to retire in 4 years.

Anyone have any insight, esp Ohio guys? Do I bug the assignors so I'm the squeaky wheel or will that do more harm than good?

Larks

Remember the post about Old Refs: Old Refs never die....they just get all the games.

[JRutledge]

There is a shortage of officials for sub-varsity games. There usually is not a shortage of officials for varsity games. The main reason is officials will do a varsity game than rather go to their parents funeral if they had the chance.

But I guess the question is, do you guys in Ohio do 2 Person or 3 Person games? If you are doing 2, it is a lot harder to get in. But if there are 3 Person games, you can always find people, but the quality might be lacking at this point.

In Illinois and especially the Chicagoland area, almost all the conferences have gone to 3 Person Games. But then again, it is harder to find 3 Officials night in night out that have the ability to officiate the games well. But the IHSA has taken great strides and has made training a bigger priority. At leas the officials now have done some 3 Person.

So that might be the problem you have, but I will wait for what your answer is about what kind of games you have.

Peace

[BktBallRef]

Larks, you have to ask your self the same question that the assignors ask.

"I have guys who I know can call and who have worked for me for years. Why would I give games to a guy I've never seen before?"

You can't just expect them to give you games because you send in a schedule. Have they seen you work? If not, you're not going to get many games until they do. Do you know an official who has a real good relationship with one of these assignors? If you have an opportunity to work with him, ask him to put in a good word for you.

It's a shame to say it but in this business, many times it's who you know, not what you know.

Good luck!

[JRutledge]

Originally posted by BktBallRef
Larks, you have to ask your self the same question that the assignors ask.

"I have guys who I know can call and who have worked for me for years. Why would I give games to a guy I've never seen before?"

You can't just expect them to give you games because you send in a schedule. Have they seen you work? If not, you're not going to get many games until they do. Do you know an official who has a real good relationship with one of these assignors? If you have an opportunity to work with him, ask him to put in a good word for you.

It's a shame to say it but in this business, many times it's who you know, not what you know.

Good luck!

You have to go to camps, association meetings, socials, or anything else that let the right people put the name with the face. I know people will call it politics, but if you do not "sell" yourself to some extent, you will never see a court as many times as you like. The term "out of sight, out of mind" comes to my mind. If the assignor has never seen you at anything and only knows you by a piece of paper, it will continue to be hard for you to get games. You have to "sell" yourself like any other business. If the customer sees your ad enough, they might just stop by the store.

Peace

[Brian Watson]

1) Join as many local associations as yu have there in the SW district.

2) Find as many summer leagues as you can.

3) Go to the Buckeye Officials Camp in June. I am not a huge proponent of this camp, but I hear many HS assignors evaluate guys there.

4) Realize what sport you are talking about. There are more Basketball and Football officials here that all other sports combined. There is a dreadful shortage in Volleyball, Track, Lacrosse, Soccer, and Wrestling here in OH. There are more varsity contests than officials for these sports. If you want to ref for the fun, keep working. If you just want to move up as fast as you can, it isn't going to happen. Be patient, your "break" is like love, you never know when it is going to happen, because you never know who is in the stands. I get more games by working with assignors or AD's watching me on road games than anywhere else.

5) Find out which schools do not use assignors. Here in the central district not all schools use assignors, or if the conference forces it on them, they still hire non-conference and reserve down games.



[Edited by Brian Watson on Jan 15th, 2002 at 07:49 AM]

[zebraman]

Larks,

You have no choice but to patient and keep working hard. Take whatever games you can. The more "good words" that get put into the assignor by your partners, the more games you'll get. Like a previous poster said, the lower-level games are the hardest ones to cover so those are the ones you'll get first.

We all started at the bottom. We hung in long enough and improved enough to move up. Your turn will come if you stick with it.

BTW, I never went to any of the socials or any of the other ref "stuff" (although I did go to a weekend camp once) . I found it more gratifying to know that I worked my way to the top of our association based on my ability rather than by rubbing shoulders w/ the "politically astute" each Friday night over pizza and beer.

Z

[Mark Dexter]

Originally posted by zebraman
I found it more gratifying to know that I worked my way to the top of our association based on my ability rather than by rubbing shoulders w/ the "politically astute" each Friday night over pizza and beer.

But, hey, if you can get pizza and beer, why not go?

(Guess that's the college student in me talking.)

[Tim Roden]

Larks, sounds like you live in one of those rare areas of the country that does not have a shortage of officials. I made a move last summer and I got varsity games immediately in Texas. That is not to say if I had of moved to a different chapter in Texas, I would be stuck with JV and JH. I would probably move to 93 on the depth charts in Ohio if I were to move there. There is a shortage but it, like the recession, is not everywhere.

--Don't complain, play the political game.

[ChuckElias]

Originally posted by zebraman
BTW, I never went to any of the socials or any of the other ref "stuff" (although I did go to a weekend camp once) . I found it more gratifying to know that I worked my way to the top of our association based on my ability rather than by rubbing shoulders w/ the "politically astute" each Friday night over pizza and beer.

I'm not trying to pick a fight, but that's really a crappy way to characterize a bunch of guys getting together to talk about their games over the last week. I've done pizza and diet cokes with the guys on Friday nights for several years now. Where else can you talk about the fun, frustration, the good, the bad, and the ugly of your games? To your wife? Not likely, unless she's also an official. I never sucked up to anybody, I was welcomed as a fellow official. Nothing more, nothing less. It's a unique environment, and I feel like I may even be a better official b/c of it.

I enjoy the heck out of Friday nights down at Sam's, and not b/c I'm improving my schedule by showing up there. Perhaps it's different in your area, but maybe you ought to go hang out a couple times and see if you like it for what it is: a chance to talk hoops with people that actually understand your excitement and frustration. Just my 2 cents.

Chuck

[Larks]

Originally posted by JRutledge
do you guys in Ohio do 2 Person or 3 Person games? If you are doing 2, it is a lot harder to get in. But if there are 3 Person games, you can always find people, but the quality might be lacking at this point.

Ohio does 3 person in Varsity and 2 person 10th grade down.

Larks

[zebraman]

Chuck,

Sounds like your group has fun and I have no problem w/ that. My experience was different. I went to our association's pizza and beer gathering once. All they did was badmouth coaches, and criticize other refs (and I mean critize, not evaluate). Maybe it was the beer talking and they need to switch to diet coke.

Z

[Larks]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by JRutledge
[B]

Originally posted by BktBallRef
You have to go to camps, association meetings, socials, or anything else that let the right people put the name with the face.

Yeah, I was planning on going to a camp this summer. But unfortunately, that doesnt help right now.

I have several friends who have tried to walk this path. What I discovered is that they tried to get to even the JV level and even after working games and networking for 5 years, both of them are still grade school and rec league refs. Heck, in 2 years, I feel I've caught up with them and hit that same ceiling.

So is the magic pill bugging the assignors, going to camps, making the meetings and selling the fact I am available to everybody I know that works the level I want to work?

Larks - Veteran In Training

[Brian Watson]

Do not "bug" the assignor. This just ticks them off and then you will never get a call.

[Hawks Coach]

Looking desparate is never a good selling point. It may not happen this winter, but make your connections and do your groundwork in the summer so it can happen sometime. Do something different than those guys who have hit the ceiling based on advice from those who have gotten through that ceiling.

This is the same advice I give to people at work and to the people who work for me in the Navy Reserve that want to become a Navy Chief Petty Officer. Those who bother to listen, usually find it's worth their while! Patience, diligence, consistent professional appearance and conduct, continuous personal improvement, networking, finding a solid mentor, and excellence in job performance all combined will get you there. Leave something out, you are taking your chances - in reffing, in work - everywhere.

I ultimately want to be a HS coach, but I am currently building my skills and my contacts before I will try to make that move. I even have a timetable for making that move, which is when my MS players move on to HS (because I will have more experience and I will have the time to make that commitment during the winter). Meanwhile, I continue to work at improving my knowledge of the game, my practice organization skills, my game management, and my scouting ability. If I can demonstrate that I belong as a head coach at the next level, I certainly now have the contacts to take steps in that direction. I will look to start as an assistant, probably JV, so that I can learn about the next level, having daily practices instead of twice a week, and the issues in dealing with HS versus club athletics. If I have what it takes, I can take over a JV team or move on to varsity.

Good luck - you have the desire, so just take the right steps and you achieve what you want.

[Larks]

Originally posted by Hawks Coach
Looking desparate is never a good selling point. It may not happen this winter, but make your connections and do your groundwork in the summer so it can happen sometime. Do something different than those guys who have hit the ceiling based on advice from those who have gotten through that ceiling.

This is the same advice I give to people at work and to the people who work for me in the Navy Reserve that want to become a Navy Chief Petty Officer. Those who bother to listen, usually find it's worth their while! Patience, diligence, consistent professional appearance and conduct, continuous personal improvement, networking, finding a solid mentor, and excellence in job performance all combined will get you there. Leave something out, you are taking your chances - in reffing, in work - everywhere.

I ultimately want to be a HS coach, but I am currently building my skills and my contacts before I will try to make that move. I even have a timetable for making that move, which is when my MS players move on to HS (because I will have more experience and I will have the time to make that commitment during the winter). Meanwhile, I continue to work at improving my knowledge of the game, my practice organization skills, my game management, and my scouting ability. If I can demonstrate that I belong as a head coach at the next level, I certainly now have the contacts to take steps in that direction. I will look to start as an assistant, probably JV, so that I can learn about the next level, having daily practices instead of twice a week, and the issues in dealing with HS versus club athletics. If I have what it takes, I can take over a JV team or move on to varsity.

Good luck - you have the desire, so just take the right steps and you achieve what you want.

Well said. Thank you.