The Official Forum  

Go Back   The Official Forum > Football

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Old Tue Oct 05, 2004, 05:50am
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Glendale, AZ
Posts: 1,023
Just curious as to what guys' opinions are on this....

Do you prefer being part of a crew and working with the same guys every week or having different assignments with different officials all the time?

Are most people on here part of a crew, given that a lot of you are more experienced than us rookies?

I would think there are benefits to both. I'd think you'd get more cohesion if you work with the same guys all the time, but by the same token, if I'm part of a crew, I have to be able to commit to going wherever everybody else can go, and my schedule may not allow that.

Just wondering what people's thoughts are on whether you like or find it more workable to be part of a crew or to "freelance," not so much whether it's best for the competition itself.
__________________
"And I'm not just some fan, I've refereed football and basketball in addition to all the baseball I've umpired. I've never made a call that horrible in my life in any sport."---Greatest. Official. Ever.
Reply With Quote
  #2 (permalink)  
Old Tue Oct 05, 2004, 06:49am
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Randolph, NJ
Posts: 1,936
Send a message via Yahoo to waltjp
I prefer the crew concept. I think it's easier to grow as a unit and work on any deficiencies the crew may have. Also, the comfort level you get when working with the same crew can help when self-evaluating the performance of the crew.
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Old Tue Oct 05, 2004, 12:00pm
DJ DJ is offline
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 244
Smile Does not matter!

It really should not make any difference as long as you have a good pre game and follow the coverage as recommended by the officials manual for your level of play. It is nice to work with the same people but I also enjoy working with a variety of officials because it allows us to create discussion before, during and after the game and exchange ideas. The good officials can adapt to a variety of situations and conditions and somehow seem to always make a positive contribution to the game. The more experiences you have whether they be good or bad the better you will become as an official at a handling the tough situations unless you keep making the same mistakes over and over!! If you get a chance to work with other officials make the most of the opportunity.
__________________
"Will not leave you hanging!"
Reply With Quote
  #4 (permalink)  
Old Tue Oct 05, 2004, 12:15pm
Do not give a damn!!
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: On the border
Posts: 30,463
Wink Crews are better.

I think working on the same crew is a lot easier. I do not need to keep talking about the same issues over and over again during the season. I can talk about more situations and plays in pregame instead of dealing with the same topics every week. I am sure there are disadvantages, but most levels keep the same crew together throughout the season. They might change one or two people, but the core stays together. I just think crews just work better than putting individuals that might not share philosophy or judgment.

Peace
__________________
Let us get into "Good Trouble."
-----------------------------------------------------------
Charles Michael “Mick” Chambers (1947-2010)
Reply With Quote
  #5 (permalink)  
Old Tue Oct 05, 2004, 12:51pm
DJ DJ is offline
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 244
Smile Leadership

If you have good system of education and leadership within your state, conference or association your officials will be more consistant with their responsiblities (ie. coverage, mechanics) and this makes the transition of working with other officials much easier than if people on crews do it their own way. If officials like to "do it their own way" and not by the manual, it makes for inconsistancy and poor communication with those that are not "on your crew" and then we hear, "last week they did it this way." Standards for proper procedure benefit everyone and let you move from crew to crew with ease. A good system of education and communication from those in leadership positions are the key to consistancy in officiating.
__________________
"Will not leave you hanging!"
Reply With Quote
  #6 (permalink)  
Old Tue Oct 05, 2004, 01:01pm
DJ DJ is offline
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 244
Smile Nice!

Hey Rut, nice tune for Fox Valley web!
__________________
"Will not leave you hanging!"
Reply With Quote
  #7 (permalink)  
Old Tue Oct 05, 2004, 01:13pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 108
Do you know what an "old shoe person" is? It is a person that no matter his wealth likes one pair of shoes. He may have many pairs but only wears one pair until they wear out. I am an old shoe person and therefore I like crews. I work with assorted officials in non varsity games and a substitute on varsity games, but I feel more comfortable with my crew.
Reply With Quote
  #8 (permalink)  
Old Tue Oct 05, 2004, 01:13pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Texas
Posts: 762
I have never been on a set crew. We work with different officials each week and I like that. It gives me the oppurtunity to absorb knowledge from many officials. Each official has experienced something that others have not so that information is shared with others. The thing with the crew system you can tell that they have gelled and know each others abilities, but they miss out on the extra knowledge that other members have. They also build habits that are different from the next crew.
Reply With Quote
  #9 (permalink)  
Old Tue Oct 05, 2004, 01:17pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 489
Smile Both can be good for different levels.

In our local association work in crews for the high school varsity. This year we are fortunate to have enough officials to provide a 7 man crew for high school varsity. The league agree to this because it gives better coverage (more teams are passing alot more and using every part of the field) and allows more guys to get varsity experience. In addition, the state play-offs use 7 officials so we don't have to relearn a whole new set of mechanics.

We also take this a step further and try to keep each official at the same position on the same crew during the varsity season.

Its amazing how much confidence in yourself and each other you develop over the course of the season working in the same crew and same position.

However, our state has also implemented an officials exchange program so we can have the experience of working with different crews around the state. Last year I got to travel to the neighboring county and work a game with a different crew. Its amazing what this weekend did for my officiating experience.

Now, for JV and Pop Warner, our association does things a bit differently. We try to maintain set 5 man crews for JV but sometimes we will work different positions.

And for Pop Warner, we encourage officials to work various positions in 3, 4, and 5 man crews to give us a different perspective and to keep things fresh during the season.
__________________
Mike Simonds
Reply With Quote
  #10 (permalink)  
Old Tue Oct 05, 2004, 01:31pm
Do not give a damn!!
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: On the border
Posts: 30,463
Lightbulb That is not an issue for folks that work on crews.

Quote:
Originally posted by JasonTX
The thing with the crew system you can tell that they have gelled and know each others abilities, but they miss out on the extra knowledge that other members have. They also build habits that are different from the next crew.
You can learn things from other officials without having to work with them. Lower level officials in my area are going to work with a lot of officials. But when the lights come on for real in the varsity game and the games that end up in the paper, I think it is better to work with people you are very familiar with. We just had a meeting last night (Mid season meeting) and I learned a lot from the stories and situations we talked about. I do not think "learning things" having anything to do with working with a regular crew or not working with a regular crew. And just because you are on a crew, that does not mean you cannot work with others. I work with different people all the time and I am on a crew.

Peace
__________________
Let us get into "Good Trouble."
-----------------------------------------------------------
Charles Michael “Mick” Chambers (1947-2010)
Reply With Quote
  #11 (permalink)  
Old Tue Oct 05, 2004, 03:53pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Texas
Posts: 762
Re: That is not an issue for folks that work on crews.

[/B][/QUOTE]

You can learn things from other officials without having to work with them. Lower level officials in my area are going to work with a lot of officials. But when the lights come on for real in the varsity game and the games that end up in the paper, I think it is better to work with people you are very familiar with. We just had a meeting last night (Mid season meeting) and I learned a lot from the stories and situations we talked about. I do not think "learning things" having anything to do with working with a regular crew or not working with a regular crew. And just because you are on a crew, that does not mean you cannot work with others. I work with different people all the time and I am on a crew. Peace [/B][/QUOTE]

I'm just saying that I have seen crews work games and each crew is different in there way of doing things. It seems that have developed their own sort of mechanics. Something that is inconsistent with another crew. I'm not saying it's bad. The advantage I have is if this Friday I work a game with an official that I don't like, no need to worry because next week will be different. Suppose you and someone on your crew that you got stuck on had some differences. You have to deal with that all year.
Reply With Quote
  #12 (permalink)  
Old Tue Oct 05, 2004, 04:25pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Glendale, AZ
Posts: 1,023
Quote:

Its amazing how much confidence in yourself and each other you develop over the course of the season working in the same crew and same position.
Though I've never done it, I would think that would be the case. For experienced guys, I'd think it would be the way to go.

So let me ask a follow-up: at what point in your career should you join up with or try to form a crew? Does it behoove new guys to just do as many games as possible with as many different people as possible to get as much exposure to different things as possible before "settling down" with two or three or four other guys in a crew?

My problem is that I have such an odd life/work schedule that I'd hate to tie what other guys could do to what I'm able to do. At some point, if I can't be there most of the time, it kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?

I think it would be great to be on a crew, from the comfort level standpoint, the camaradarie standpoint, and the ability to provide a better experience to the participants. But I'm not at that point at the moment, I don't think.
__________________
"And I'm not just some fan, I've refereed football and basketball in addition to all the baseball I've umpired. I've never made a call that horrible in my life in any sport."---Greatest. Official. Ever.
Reply With Quote
  #13 (permalink)  
Old Tue Oct 05, 2004, 04:40pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Texas
Posts: 762
[QUOTE]Originally posted by OverAndBack

My problem is that I have such an odd life/work schedule that I'd hate to tie what other guys could do to what I'm able to do. At some point, if I can't be there most of the time, it kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?


Here in my chapter we have roughly 80 members and we provide officials for about 28 schools. This include all their Varsity and subvarsity. The chapter assigns each official to a game. Being in a non-crew chapter makes it easier to take a week or two off. We got some guys who can only work 5 varsity games. Had this been a crew system that would place a burden on the crew as you have mentioned. If you are in an area to where you can choose the system then I suggest the non-crew so that your schedule can be worked around your work.
Reply With Quote
  #14 (permalink)  
Old Tue Oct 05, 2004, 04:44pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 180
I've done both and I prefer crews. There's more comraderie and honest exchanging of ideas on a crew. Currently, I work on crews for all varsity games. For officials that have irregular working schedules, they float from crew to crew as a substitute for those that are injured or out of town.

The subs that join our crew from time to time fill us in on what other crews are doing.
Reply With Quote
  #15 (permalink)  
Old Tue Oct 05, 2004, 05:12pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 622
I've only worked on a crew so I don't know what an assoc. would be like. I created a stir on another board with my thoughts as it's my belief that in an assoc. there would be, to a greater or lesser extent depending on where I was, a "good old boys" network when it came to game assignments and that would definately turn me off. The flip side is that a crew could be seen as the "house" crew for some schools but that's largely not true as the visiting team can veto any crew if they want. Now, before you assoc. guys blast me, this is only my concept and as I said, there is no experience on my part with it.

I would definately like to have the teaching, etc., that would come in an assoc. and I think that a more consistent product would result from that. I'm sure that there is a lot of inconsistency and a set way of doing things if you're never exposed to the training of an assoc. However, we just try and go by the Official's Manual and ask lots of questions of other officials and of course read this newsgroup.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:21am.



Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.3.0 RC1