Getting picked up very young

[bballref3966]

I'm a fairly young official (19 years old), or at least think I am. I often hear stories about how 19- and 20-year-olds get picked up for lower-level college assignments, and it surprises me. Mainly because in my state (South Carolina), you aren't even allowed to be a member of the association until you graduate high school. And that's just what I did–joined the SCBOA after I graduated high school. I've been learning rules, learning from my mentor, and calling some middle school and church league with him for about a year.

So, my question is, how do so many young officials get college assignments when they are younger than the players and (probably) don't even have much if any JV or varsity experience?

Hope that makes sense.

Thanks.