Question about more unwritten rules...
 

This is kind of geared more towards the college officials. When you are watching high school officials work what things do you see that seperate NFHS and college officials? What things make you cringe?

ex. Non-pleated pants.
velcro shoes :) I've seen it.
certain jackets

Oh, very definitely it has to be non-pleated pants. As an example, take the official that made posts #7 and 9 in this thread:

http://forum.officiating.com/showthr...816#post382816

I definitely cringed at that poor soul. No doubt that he's never gonna make a college official. Yup, he's definitely gonna be one of them lowly high school officials his whole career.

Made me cringe. Cringe, I tell ya.:D

Wow good work. I feel honored and slightly stalked.

Pleated pants are the way to go.

I swear that JR has some sort of relational database running.

Stalked? Nope...just kinda wondering what the point behind your post was. In my experience, what an official wears isn't really the determining factor as to whether that official is competent or not at the level they're working. Their supervisor will usually determine their dress code.

I've yet to see the pants blow a call anyway.:)

I've had pants blow a seam.

Wait, never mind.

Certainly not a determining factor but it can be very important...it can buy you some time with the coaches.

What does that even mean?

Ooooh. Good question.

Isn't it obvious?

Coach: "You blew that call!"
Official: "No, I didn't, my pants did."
Coach: " "
(Official escapes unharmed...)

Ahhh. Well don't I feel like a moron now. Thanks for clearing it up. ;)

Maybe, but throwing his pants under the bus like that is a horrible way to build a partnership.
And those pants will never make the playoffs.

First...let's all agree I worded that very badly :(

The point I was attempting to make is that the appearance of the official...the first impressions made when arriving at the site and on the floor...can earn an official the benefit of the doubt UNTIL the game starts and he/she has to start making calls.

Maybe this example from last weekend will help. I was at a camp and there was a young kid attending. He could run like a deer but he almost looked like a homeless person...looked like he drug his shoes on the camp behind his car, pants and shirt didn't fit well, 2 day growth worth of beard, hair was a mess...you get the picture. Off the floor, while most others wore nice shorts and polo/golf shirts he was in stained t-shirts. Everyone was "whispering" about him...clinicians, campers, coaches and fans. Every game he had problems with the coaches until they realized he was a decent official...young and a little raw, but decent and he had good judgement. If he had looked professional there is a good chance the early part of his games would have been smoother.

This in not to toot my horn but I am a big guy. However, I make a point to always arrive at the site in a jacket (if not wearing a tie) even though it is not requested. My uniform is always freshly cleaned and not wrinkled, always freshly shaven, hair well groomed, etc...180 degrees from the guy above. During the last day of the camp I was pulled to the side by a clinician (happens to be D1 mens official, so let's assume he knows what he is talking about when it comes to officiating). He said he had heard coaches and clinicians mention how looks could be deceiving and commenting positively on my officiating. Eavesdropping he heard one coach say, "Don't let his size fool you. He obviously take a professional approach and I can guarantee you he knows what he is doing, you only have to watch him to see." I took that with a grain of salt until he said he agreed...that it was obvious I knew I needed to make a good impression and had to be able to nail virtually any rules issue. Watching me work, he was amazed that he never saw me out of position to make the calls that needed to be made. I didn't get beat more than other, more fit, officials and that I did excellent work." After hearing that, I am of the opinion that the attention I pay to other things is causing many to decide to let my actions on the floor and my calls do the talking. That kid wasn't getting the luxury...he was behind before he even started.

Did that make sense or did I communicate poorly again?

That makes sense to me.

What often separates the HS from the college refs is no more desire to work that level and the time to devote to travelling long distances to officiate a college game. Oh yeah and ego........maybe a little flair and bravado, maybe better communication with the coaches and players....maybe good PR skills......my opinion is based on having met and spoken to some D1 and D2 officials. I work high school because I don't have the time to devote to college yet. But that may change.