Local politics blues
 

I will keep this fairly short but I just found out that my local chapter, the smaller one I had joined last season after leaving the larger one, lost the vast majority of their games to the larger chapter.

I don't know what this is going to mean for this season but I'm bummed. I just want to call local games and not deal with all of the political BS. It doesn't feel like I can even hope to avoid it.

I do apoligize this just me venting. I was looking forward to this upcoming season too. :(

The stuff you guys have going on in your state completely baffles me.

In NC, schools are assigned to a local association by the NCHSAA.

I'm glad we don't have to worry about BS like this.

I'm not sure how it works exactly, but I don't think our schools are assigned by CHSAA. Regardless, I only have one local option for high school ball. Middle school ball is assigned by guys who work in the high school association, and they all cooperate.

It's really pretty simple, though, for us.

Same boat here. My association used to have the local private schools and 21 public schools (2 10-team conferences and 1 small school). New commissioner elected in 2010 and old commissioner started new association and got one of the conferences. 2011 we lost the other conference leaving us with the 1 small school plus the private schools. Now we are losing the small school b/c we are not sactioned by the state.

Texas is a joke...
 

I don't know if it is the area I'm in or what, but the football is no better than I've seen in Illinois, Indiana, or California. In fact, the football I worked in CA was much better than the stuff I worked around Corpus Chrisit. And this stuff with TASO and UIL trying to figue out who has the bigger penis is rediculous. I had the least fun officiating in this state that I ever had. Thank God I'm moving back to Indiana, can't wait to start working games there.

Coming from California, Texas has been...interesting as far as football is concerned. I did not call basketball in California so I don't have much to compare to in that sense. What I can say is that officiating was not nearly as politically disfunctional there as it is here.

The TASO v. UIL thing being a big one but in general, it's an ugly animal here in comparison. Coaches having so much influence on the whole process is another big one.

BNR, your situation sounds fairly similar. Are you just staying the course and doing what you can? I do have the option of joining the larger chapter in addition to the one I belong to but I'm not necessarily inclined to do so.

I am even happier that we do not get assignments because of what group we belong to. We get assignments if the assignor/supervisor of a conference likes us and assigns us a game, much like the college model. Associations are only training and education bodies. I would hate to have my games be contingent on what group I am a member of.

Peace

How have you been my friend? I hope all is well. Where in Indiana are you coming back to?

Peace

I'm liking the sound of that system more and more.

I have decided that as long as my association still has local HS contracts that I will not work for the competing organization. So I'll work whatever private school games get assigned to me, but to keep myself active in the VHSL (state-sanctioned public schools) I'm going to join an organization outside my immediate geographical area. They have some outlying schools that are closer to me than to the majority of their membership.

West Lafayette, Eric Harmon will be my assignor for basketball and if he feels I'm capable I think he may use me for his local underclass football games. I think his crew is pretty spread throughout the state.

Coaches have WAY to much pull in Texas. First game last season coach starts dropping F-Bombs on my sideline. Knowing how much pull they have I tell him it isn't appropriate and he plays stupid, "What did I say". He does it a second time and I tell him "that is enough, next one gets a flag" and he calls my white hat over and refuses to let me be part of the conversation. My white hat then asks me if I'll move to the other side of the field and I tell him no, and ask him "who's team are you on?" It happens a third time and I flag the coach and he looses it, my white hat ask if I'll go to the other side now and I say "sure, but you need a new flank for the rest of the season."

In this sitch, not only did the coach have too much power, but my white hat decided to expand his power. He appologized to me after the game, and I worked the rest of the season, but I knew I wasn't going to remain on that crew if I had stayed in TX. The rest of the guys were OK, umpire needed some work from a rule book perspective. Heck, my white hat did too, I can't tell you how many times he came to me for rule clarifications during a game.

jrut you either dont work in the catholic league or you have never tried, because you wont get games in that league unless you belong to the coa. i do agree that for the most part our system seems better, but i think it is naive of you to say or believe that politics still isnt involved.

I never said in this thread there were no politics at all in basketball or in this area. But I also think people use this as a built in excuse for other personal failings or not doing what people could do to help their standing or schedules. I was the president of an association for 3 years and we had a couple of assignors that were members and they gave games to all kinds of officials. Being a member of that association (the oldest in the country BTW) had no benefit of you being a member to get games from those conferences that the assignors worked under.

I am also a COA member and have been for a long time in both football and basketball. Being a COA member is not the end all be all of working that league in basketball. There might be people that are paid members but not active members. I know of a few that have never attended a meeting and they get games. Also this is one league out of 20 or so and working that league is a hassle for many unless you live in Chicago city limits. You are not going to work 25-30 games in any league at the varsity level for sure (well unless you are a WFA member. LOL!!!). I work that league and have had some of the better games in that league and I only see about 4 or 5 at most a year. And I have worked games in every school in that league over the years except Gordon Tech (had them on the road a couple of times) and it took years to accomplish that feat. And my schedule in that league reflects more what I do in other places and my standing as an official. The assignor is not stupid; he wants guys that his school is going to see in several tournaments or in the post season, things he does not control.

Peace