And another season starts tomorrow...
 

Oh, where did the off-season go. It's been a whopping 20 days since my last football playoff game and tomorrow I have a girls' varsity game, where I've decided to drag along a third and take home 2/3 of a paycheck.

I've worked about 7 hours of scrimmages and broke down and ordered my first 2 shirts in years from an outfit I've never used before (Purchase Official Supplies) (bye bye 100% polyester). Three games this week, three games next week. Last season I took off the first month of the season and didn't work a game until mid-December.

Before I know it, I'll have worked about 40 games (plus hopefully a handful of postseason games ) and I'll be moving the baseball gear up to the main closet and moving the basketball clothes to the basement until November.

And so on.

So I guess I'll put the basketball board top of the list for the next 4 months or so.

Hey Rich, how's it going? No WP youth FB last season? I use Purchase Officials Supply for just about everything now since Honigs hosed me during FB. Placed an order with Honigs in Aug and a full month later they come back and charge me extra $20.95 for shipping after the fact for a split order. WIll never do business with them again. Purchase Officials SUpply (not to be confused with POS) is good service and I've liked their products. Good luck this season. Who is your P this year? Still that guy that moved up from IL in about 2004 (can't remember his name).

Roger

Good luck with your season, Rich. The football season just seemed to disappear didn't it?

I ordered a West Vest from Purchase Officials and was happy with the ordering experience.

I worked my first youth football in about 4 years this season. One date, in my new hometown of Columbus. I had a great time, but then again, nobody said a word in 2 full games and they paid us $45 per game each.

I'm transitioning away from that partner (about a dozen games this season and only a handful next season). About 15 of my 40-ish games are 3-person this season, many of those with different people. I wish WI would make the transition (I would gladly work 3-for-2 for 2-3 years to give the schools time to transition to paying for 3 full checks, but only one conference I work assigns three for conference games).

I've never had a problem with Honig's and would've preferred them cause I know the sizing of their shirts, but 2 things kept me from using them. They are charging $31 per shirt and their best shirts are only with the college side-panel. So I'll try someone else this season -- and Purchase charges $29 (and 50% for the second shirt) for their best shirts. And I saw one this weekend and it looked SHARP.

Technically our basketball season starts tonight.

I will not have a game until next Monday. Not only am I still working football, but I do not work this week because it is girl's basketball.

Life is good.

Peace

For the first time since moving here, I did not get licensed in Illinois. I got tired of making the drive. So I don't have to worry anymore about getting reported for not having a patch on my shirts. Although I will miss the dozen or so boys varsity games I worked there every year.

Honestly, I never really understood why people wanted to work two states anyway. I did that in baseball, but at least baseball seasons were not going on at the same time. It seems to be that would be too much of a hassle. I also did not want to go back to working 2 Person just to work a game in a state where the ball was not as good.

Peace

So was their sizing any different than Honig's? How did you get 50% off the second one? I'm looking for something different this year too after many years of poly-cotton.

I know the feeling, my first game in on Saturday...I dont need anything shirts or pants, still good to go from last year!!! Good luck with your season.

I've been getting restless for about the past week. I worked about 16 nights of junior high games in September/October. Last game was on Halloween. Real season starts Wednesday and it's full bore from then on. First varsity game is next Tuesday and I'm pretty sure it will be 3-man, which is my first real game doing so. (I've only done it at camps)

Everyone have a good season.

I'll let you know. I'll be wearing a Honig's micromesh tomorrow night as my ordr isn't due until Wednesday. But $43.50 for 2 shirts is a good deal.

Depends where you're working, I guess. Some of the Madison ball is quite good and some of the Rockford ball is...ragged at best.

But I just didn't want to work down there anymore. No matter how many games we worked, we were never going to get assigned post-season games because we were reciprocal officials.

I do not work Rockford ball, so I cannot really compare. I have had a couple of their teams on the road or in tournaments, but that was nothing to get overly excited about. I would rather go 2 hours in another direction and work a packed gym, then work in another state just to say I worked in another state. Part of the reason I do this is the excitement for post season games. I was always disappointed when I worked baseball in Iowa to work some of the best games in an area, only to not see the process in the state tournament.


This is why I do not blame you. I only want to go to Wisconsin for college games.

Peace

Well, I thought my HS season would start December 2nd but the visiting team is still participating in the football play-offs with 3 more games needed to win state championship. Here are the scores of their games this season. I see a postponement in my future:


Week 1: 47-7

Week 2: 52-0

Week 3: 44-0

Week 4: 48-0

Week 5: 35-0

Week 6: 65-13

Week 7: 42-6 (over 2nd best team in conference)

Week 8: 63-0

Week 9: 48-0

Week 10: 77-0 (over Mike Tomlin's high school)

Eastern Region quarters: 63-6

Eastern Region semifinals: 47-0 (over Plaxico Burress' high school)

Wow, BadNews that's quite a juegernaut team you have there! Looks like U of Fla scores! (Can you believe they play the Citadel this weekend? :eek:)

I'm Glad These Aren't Basketball Scores ...
 

Who did they play in Week 6, the Tennessee Titans?

I finally decided to ref where I live rather than where I work (about an hour away), and I got a call late last night from my assigner asking me to update more information in arbiter so he could assign me games. He'd just realized I hadn't gotten any games yet and figured out why the system was blocking me.

As he noted, I should have called him sooner and asked him what was up.

My first game isn't until 12-2, though, unless they still have room on the preseason scrimmages.

Third game last night.

Girls game. Home team scored 18 points. Had more fouls in the game. Thursday night we had a total of 20 fouls the entire game and walked off the court 65 minutes after we started.

Last year I worked my third game just before Christmas.

I had my first scrimmage today. Actually did both the JV & V. Felt good to be on the floor again, though right now I am feeling a little differently after 10 qtrs with a 2 person crew.

Had my second scrimmage of the season last night - boys varsity. Was great to run up and down the court, and I feel good about things.

I am thankful for these scrimmages, though, as I'm definitely a bit slow to react and found plenty of things to work on in my next two scrimmages before my season starts Dec 1.

Man, I love this time of year!

Was supposed to be a girls' DH scrimmage. Had a JV official with me. Ended up as a boys' DH scrimmage. She did pretty well though. Coaches & players were pretty well demeanored throughout.

Ah, reminds me that I got to call my first technical foul of the year last night on visiting head coach. One of my partners had nailed the home head coach about 5 minutes after play started.

Fun, fun, fun...though V HC apologized later in the game and we had a nice laugh about it.

He's Not The Enemy ...
 

Good post. This is what the technical foul rule is all about. It's just one of many rules in the book. Some coaches just lose their cool every once in a while. It's not easy to coach. I know. I did it for over twenty-five years at the middle school level. Just because the coach said something unsporting, doesn't make him the devil, or our arch-enemy. One of the players traveled, and you called the violation. One of the coaches lost his cool for a minute, and you called the techncial foul. The fact that the coach later apologized reminds us that it's just a game, a game that is suposed to be fun for all.

4 varsity games and not a peep from any of the benches.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Why did it take him so long? :cool:

Just got my schedule tonight from my major assignor. Some pretty good games and I will have an opportunity to work with some folks for the first time. I have another assignor and should get a handful of games from him. And I will fill in a few gaps with some sub-varsity contests.

Acrimmage last night and two more till the season starts.

Great job. ;)

Is this what you meant?

[Verse 3:]
Nuh matta weh dem feel
True dem seh mi humble dem a wonda what's the deal
Sing dem like a gal a wasp and shot dem like a heel
Neva join di Navy but mi pull di musical feel
Have more rhyme like a Orange but nah tek nuh peel
How dem can handle acrimmage walk right out on big field
Mi a eat wid cabbage dem a all a fix meal
Back to weh we get dem just a know how it feel
Dem a bait and dem a fraud but mi real

Guess so. My keyboard is a modified QWERTY. Home row has the 'a' & 's' reversed. Got a good deal on it, too.

after the scrimmage the 3 of us walked off the court and the scores had been cleared but the fouls showed 20 for each team. One of my partners graduated from the home school and one from the visiting school. One guy said "I called 15 on your school and you called 15 on my school, and Paul kept it from looking one sided."

Gueaa ao. My Keybosrd ia s modified QWERTY. Home row hsa the 's' & 'a' reveraed. Got s good desl on it, too.

Gueaa you went to the asme atore!

Tuesday's game was a boys game. 29 fouls, about 70-75 minutes.

I've been happy with the start of the season. I've worked 4 scrimmages and 4 varsity games so far (1 boys, 3 girls). Having 8 times on the court before Thanksgiving must be a record for me. I only have one more now before my annual conference for work that takes 10 days off my season, though.

I had this big time tournament where near where I grew up and it had teams all over the country. Every team has either a D1 recruit or some All-American playing on each team. Well I had a team yesterday where I gave my first T. There was an assistant coach that got up and started yelling about a foul (where there was no or little contact at all) and I happen to be right in front of the bench. This was the first time a coach was trying to justify the behavior of his assistant that I can ever remember. The team was from another state and I actually said to him, "I do not know what they do in your area, but around here, I cannot allow an assistant coach to yell and scream like that and nothing happen." I am not sure it was the best T in the world, but I got tired of going to that coach about things that he should be taking care of. It still weird to be working games at this time. The football season is not over yet. :D

Peace