Coach calls out "JV official" in tourney game, on the record
 

2/15/14, Western Maine Class B Quarterfinal article excerpt:

Source: Lewiston (Maine) Sun Journal. Link to the article.

For the record, you have to work at least 50 total regular-season varsity games, and 15 that year, to qualify for post-season assignments in Maine.

OK, how is this a JV official then?

Peace

If this is what he says when being quoted for the paper, one can only imagine what he might have said to earn the T.

Nice job, JV official!

I think it was meant as a derogatory term. When asked for a response, the official was heard to say, "Yeah, that's what you get when you put the janitor in the coaching box."

Around these parts, a lot of varsity officials will help out a younger official on JV games. So some fellas working our state tourney worked multiple JV and middle school games.

You won't find any official here who doesn't work a few subvarsity games a year. It's required for playoff eligibility.

As for the OP, that's what happens when you put a JV coach in charge of the varsity team.

"At that point in a tournament game, with that call, you’re a coach and you’ve got to understand the situation a little bit better than that.”

corrected

Time for the coach to learn some new material. He told me I made great call for a junior high official in our preseason 3-person games this year. Sorry coach, but a two handed shove of a player to the floor is probably even a foul in 2nd grade games.

Sorry, coach... a foul is a foul. The rule book doesn't make exceptions for the time, score, or importance of the game.*

*outside of the use of video equipment in state tournament games.

Sounds like he needs to get whacked more often.

Hang on...I just searched this guy's name on the web. For the Maine folks - is this Coach Bessey the same guy who is the head coach of the UMF baseball team? Forget the HS AD, if I'm his college boss I sit him down and tell him to keep his mouth shut.


Amen, Brother. Those comments will stop quick.

I figured that out, which is why I was making that comment in the first place. So that takes away some credibility of the coach if the officials need to work that many games to even be eligible for the playoffs. He probably saw the official at some JV game and assumed like many of them do that he was not ready or working many varsity games.

Peace

I'm not even giving him that much credit. I think he thought he was just being clever and demeaning the refs.

I do not disagree. I have just seen a lot of situations over the years where you work a lower level game and then the coach thinks that is where you normally work. Had it happen many times with a varsity official filling in on a no-show or some kind of scheduling mix up, then when you go to the varsity game that night, the coach tries to point out your "level" during that game. And many times the coach did not realize he was dealing with a very experienced official and sometimes the most experienced official that night.

Either way it is a dig and mean to question the ability of the official.

Peace

It's been said already but his behavior, or lack thereof, is a result of him being allowed to act the way he does with little/no repercussions.

I didn't realize...
 

I wasn't aware these were the only two criteria. Apparently I've been serving tea to a number of coaches undeservedly. :rolleyes: My apologies to the coach who yelled across the floor to me (from the box): "Even the art teacher knows that wasn't a charge!" Which was a great line, for the record, and only cost him one point.

I have been told by a few different people to stop doing JV games as soon as possible because Varsity coaches will keep seeing me as a JV official.

This probably varies by area, but I could see it having that impact.

Not 100% sure on this JMF as I don't work up there, but it definitely sounds like it is.

Agree with Adam...this would be a regional thing. In some areas, V officials often work JV games too.

Here, the top V officials usually only work JV games if it is in a double header with the V game and only if there are not enough officials to cover all the games in a given night with 2 officials per game.

Depends. If you are already established in your area, you can pretty much work whatever and not get any blowback. But if you are still trying to establish yourself as a "varsity" official, then avoiding JV games is probably best, if possible.


There is a college supervisor who puts in his contracts that his officials have to stop working HS games.

Now I doubt anyone would push it, and de facto he can do so simply by not scheduling anyone who does work HS games, but I don't think he can legally bar an independent contractor from working other games.

He can't. But he can terminate their contract; doesn't even have to go through the ruse of not scheduling them for any games.

That's bs, unless this guy is giving you 50+ college games a season.

There's a college football conference in my area that has done the same thing. No more Friday football for those guys.

You have the choice not to work for him. He's a D1 supervisor, doesn't take very many game to replace a HS paycheck.

I'm pretty sure I read an article about that in Referee magazine last year.

I give that advice to younger officials who are becoming established as varsity officials and have a "full" varsity schedule. Better to take a night off then to fill up with JV and freshman games (and then have to find subs when you're offered a varsity date in its place).

I'd do that for a comma check. Not to keep working the same small college football I'm currently working.

To borrow from my BV assignor in situations like this when people disagree with a policy: "You don't have to give up your HS games. You also don't have to work any college games, either."

There's a HS assignor in my area who tells officials if they give back one of his games for a JUCO/NCAA game he'll pull their schedule. Now that's nuts.

And yet he's well within his right to do that.

Me, I think that's counterproductive. As an assignor, I'd want officials to be able to work at higher levels and gain that experience and use it to make the games he works for me better and the people he works with better, too.

This is how it works here. If you get a call for a college game, the HS assignor will replace you, and you get to keep the rest of your HS games.

Now, if you had the college game for weeks and then get a HS assignment but turn it back, he's not going to be too happy that you didn't block out that date. Do that enough times and he may just stop giving you games.

That's one of the things that led to the mess we have down here now. The commissioner didn't like college officials if they didn't make HS their priority.

It makes a LITTLE more sense in football, as 90% of the HS games are Fridays and 90% of the college games are Saturdays, and he likely doesn't want tired and sleepy officials on the field.

Basketball, with scheduling any old day and multiple games a week, it seems to make less sense to me.

Sounds like an assignor in this area who got peeved when my son turned in a G-JV pre-season scrimmage in favor of a D-League game!!!!
That assignor no longer needs to worry about any future conflicts..

Sounds like a JV coach from his actions? Maybe Middle school!:):):eek:

Now that was good!! :D