Anyone get worse after the first few years?

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by dsqrddgd909

I'll try to keep this brief.

4th year, mostly assigned JV B/G doubleheaders, some freshmen and Middle school sprinkled in.

I have tried to improve. I'm in better shape, I'm in the rules and case books. I attend our association's training, I go to clinics, I've got a mentor. I go to watch more experienced officials.

I just don't feel I'm getting better. I think my judgement is getting worse.

...

My question is has anybody else experienced this? I hope I'm not one of those guys that has a rookie year over and over again.

What you may not realize is that you ARE getting better. You appear to be starting to understand things that probably went right over your head before. One of the steps to improving is being able to recognize your errors (or just possible errors) and being able to deconstruct them and decide if what you had was right or maybe not...and then decide what you want to change, if anything, to improve.

Sometimes, you can do the right thing the wrong way and the improvement that is needed is in how you do something as opposed to what to do.

Take, for example, your discussion with the coach. Maybe you said too much. Maybe you said it in a way that was confrontational and escalated the tension. Maybe the coach was just going to be a jerk no matter what you said and how you said it. See if you can think of a better way to communicate to that coach so that they trust what you said....or at least respect what you said. But, again, it may have also been the coach but that still doesn't mean you can't review how that exchange went.