Assignments

[Dan_ref]

Originally Posted by Terrapins Fan

I am in my 8th year. Hard to believe. Last year was my best year for assignments. I had a 60% varsity schedule.

This year so far, 30%. I am left wondering what happened.

I am to the point now that is January is like this I am considering quitting. I always score in the 90's on my tests, rarely ever turn in assignments.

You can't ask why. You won't get an answer. I am just frustrated.

Any advice?

1. Ask why
2. Find another assigner
3. Find a third assigner
4. Focus less on your test scores and more on your game (maybe that should be #1?)

Good luck...btw even the JV players need dedicated refs.

[SMEngmann]

There could be a number of reasons why. What did you do over the offseason to get better? Did other guys who worked JV/V mix go to camps and improve while you didn't? This could very well be a case of you slipping through the cracks, try to find a mentor or at least someone "in the know" who you can talk to and who can help promote you and keep working hard, that's all you can really control.

BTW: how long does it usually take to get a V schedule in your area?

[BayStateRef]

I was in your spot three years ago. I found out two hard truths: because I was always available for the early games -- the freshmen/JV double-headers that start at 3:30, I was assigned those games. It made absolutely no difference to my assignor how good I was or how many camps I went to. He needed reliable officials for the early games and I was that. I also never complained. I just took the assignments -- and I got a lot of them.

That was the other hard truth. My assignor believed he was doing me a favor. He gave me a lot of games -- and thus a lot of money. I wanted varsity games and he did not want to assign me varsity...because he had lots of varsity officials, but not enough sub-varsity officials. And I made a tactical error in working for only one guy. He assigned for a lot of leagues -- when he retired last year, those leagues hired four different assignors to do what he did alone.

We had a falling out three years ago because I pushed hard for varsity assignments. It was the best thing that happened to me. I did exactly what Dan suggested: I found another assignor. And another And a third. And I was able to cobble together a good scheule -- with about 60 percent varsity games. Last year...it was all varsity, with a couple of "off-date" last-minute sub-varsity games for a new assignor...who this year is giving me a couple of varsity games. This year, I have only varsity games.

[ref2coach]

Originally Posted by Dan_ref

2. Find another assigner
3. Find a third assigner

If you are in an area with multiple assigners you are fortunate. In TN the State sanctions the associations and the Assignors. They are geographic regions, I live in the "center" of one of the Assignor service areas. Should I ever run "afoul" of the assignor I would have to drive over an hour to get to the nearest boundary between the assigning areas.

[26 Year Gap]

Most of my games were more than an hour away.