Congrats to Camron Rust

[stripes]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

Yup, and it's just the way it is.

One day I would like to ask the following question, though:

Rather than picking the same people for the 6th or more time, wouldn't it be better to identify qualified people who never got to reach out for the brass ring to work?

I mean, this is a very, very subjective business that we're in -- there's no way that someone can be SO good at this that it's a no brainer to take that person 6, 7, 8 or more times and there are people who are well qualified and do a great job on the court that it would hurt the quality of officiating to pick the person that never went.

I guess I sit on the other side of this argument. I hear this quite often in my area and generally from officials who want a chance to work at a level that, IMO, they are not read to work. I have no problem with identifying officials who have never had the chance, are qualified and talented enough to be there and giving them a chance (that's how I broke in), but I think there is a misperception that a group of "qualified officials" exists that is being systematically denied opportunities. I don't believe that happens in my neck of the woods.

I have been fortunate to work at the state tournament several times and have worked several times to the Semifinals and beyond. Last season, due to several circumstances, I worked the 5A (largest classification here) boys semis with two guys who had never worked that far into the tournament before. Our pregame was interesting because one of the guys was so nervous that he could barely get dressed and the other guy was faking indifference to being in the game. Trying to deal with both of them and to get their respective heads into the game (as the R) was a challenge. One was hard enough but two took effort. They are both good guys and good refs, but neither was ready (IMO) to be there. They got a real opportunity to show what they could do on a big stage. Things turned out ok, but both coaches said something to me about who my partners were before the game started. Apparently, they like seeing the same guys when it really counts.

BTW, congrats Camron!