Pecking order

[mutantducky]

Agree with a lot of things said especially about having fun. Most of the V's refs are fine but a few are just punks who were needed and came from other associations simply because of a lack of numbers. It kind of frustrated me when I learned how low our association was regarded and part of the problem is the same refs get recycled even those who have no business doing tough games but there is a big buddy/loyalty system and quality goes down unfortunately. Or the guys they do move up look the part but when it comes to calling the games they just aren't that good. Not sure how the assigners do it but perhaps some lottery system or something random to take away the buddy system. A lot of those guys who are assigning the varsity seem to know each other and will defend refs no matter what even though there are refs because of their age have clearly dropped but they keep getting varsity games. I've been to camps and gotten to do about 15 Varsity games over the past few years but after a while you kind of see where things are and that the association or assigners aren't going to help so you got to be proactive and do it yourself.
I would also advice if it is practical to join more than one association. I know some who got assigned varsity games simply because they were outside even though they might not have been ready. Done fine so far I think.
The travel might be weak but even doing a few games outside would help.
It was great in my first couple of years working with good varsity officials and getting feedback from them. Or guys that were watching and came after the games. Too bad a lot of the new ones refuse to work lower levels and don't bother with anything but their games. Very little feedback now.
Luckily I still have fun games and some quality partners. Working close games with a big crowd is a blast.