Getting picked up very young

[Kansas Ref]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

We've got a lot of pretty good junior varsity officials that get tired waiting to get a full high school varsity schedule and move over to low division college, or junior college, basketball without ever working a regular high school varsity schedule. These young guys take advantage of our local board's high school training opportunities, and then go to a lot of college camps in the off season, and are ready, and willing, to travel (in our New England winters) to assignments once the season starts.

This type of movement is a lot more common now that it was twenty, or thirty, years ago when the only guys that moved up to college were the better high school varsity officials.

*Very astute point Billy Macs. And that post proved my initial point: the days of working one's way up by the traditional route will burn up a LOT of your useful and optimal reffing time. No need to labor incessantly at the lower ranks and be content with watching varsity officials who are past their prime get games over you when you do not even get a chance especially after paying dues etc..for years. Now, granted you may have to travel further out in the district to get those games--but hey my Mother never said it was going to be easy

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Kansas Ref

Very astute point Billy Mac.

Thanks Dad.

(Astute is good? Right?)

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Kansas Ref

*Very astute point Billy Macs. And that post proved my initial point: the days of working one's way up by the traditional route will burn up a LOT of your useful and optimal reffing time. No need to labor incessantly at the lower ranks and be content with watching varsity officials who are past their prime get games over you when you do not even get a chance especially after paying dues etc..for years. Now, granted you may have to travel further out in the district to get those games--but hey my Mother never said it was going to be easy

Honestly, I do not think that was ever really the case. I have heard of a lot of people getting college games and the supervisors did not care if you were working anything before. That sounds more like what used to say, but never was the case.

Just look at the careers of some of the top buys that have been working D1 for 20 or 30 years and many of them did not even work a HS varsity game before they worked a college game. I can think of a couple of people that made that clear in Referee Magazine when they talked about their college or pro careers.

Peace