White Hats

[Forksref]

Originally posted by Tom.OH
Forksref, I also worked R in my first varsity game however it was in my 5th year.In Ohio you cannot work a varsity game until your 3nd year. My daughter was still in high school and was a cheerleader so I chose to stay off a varsity crew until she graduated.
Here is my game story. I got a call Friday asking if I had a game that night. The old AD retired and never ordered officials for the game. New AD was looking for contracts and not having any he called the league. The league assigner new nothing about a game.I told them I'd work it, I was #4, he called me about 2:00 and said we have 5 officials and would I be the R. I told him it was my first game but I would. Got to the game and was nervous inside but calm on the outside. After the third play I was fine.
They say you will always remember your first game and I will for a very different reason. Our game was being taped by a Cincinnati TV station for their Friday highlight show. There was a helicopter in the air and I thought they were getting overhead shots. We soon realized it was a Police copter and the area behind the visitors stands were crawling with police and K-9 units. The public address asked for the home side to move over and let the visitors move on their side. There was an escaped fellon in the woods behind the stands. The police caught him by halftime. Oh yes, the game went well home team won 41-0

Tom,

Sounds like an interesting start! Did you flag the felon??
Unsportsmanlike (to flee the cops).

I started sub-varsity FB and varsity BB in Toledo.

My first game as WH varsity I remember well because I had an inadvertent whistle on the opening kickoff but my whistle was so weak no one heard it so we played on! We gained a lot of confidence that game because the AD said we did a good job. We got done with the game in the 3rd quarter because they had a 45-pt rule where you stop the game if the margin reaches that number. We thought, "Hey, this is easy money!" Never happened again. They changed the rule to running clock at 30-pts, which is better.

[Warrenkicker]

It was my second year doing varsity and fourth year overall when I started white hatting vasity. I did my first WH game in my first year of officiating because even then I was more comfortable than other, more veteran officials were. We were a lower level crew and I was just the one who was most comfortable being WH. I loved it. I was WH on that crew for 6 years. Now I am LJ but may be moving back to WH within the next couple of years. I will work any position if that means I can work the game, even U if the pay is right.

[WhistlesAndStripes]

Originally posted by Warrenkicker
I will work any position if that means I can work the game, even U if the pay is right.

Thanks for all the input and advice. I'm bustin my aarse to get more familiar with the book so that I'll feel comfortable doing it.

Speaking of "even U if the pay is right," do your crews get paid defferently based on the position you work? If so, how differently? Where I'm at, the WH gets $10 more per game, but everyone else makes the same.

[Forksref]

Everyone here gets the same pay, even though I do all the arrangements and lead the crew. But, I do it for the love of the game, plus I get to choose the food/beverages!

[The Roamin' Umpire]

Up here (Albany, NY area) the R gets $4 more than the rest.

[Warrenkicker]

Every game around here at almost all levels get the same pay. The only ones that I know of are kids games on Saturday. They get a crew chief for each field and he is responsible for getting the other officials. So he gets a little more for each game but I'm not sure how much.

As for "I will even work U if the pay is right," I hope you took that as a joke. Working U is in my top 5 choices of positions to work (another joke again). Between my skills and the skills of the other officials I have worked with I don't work much U. Of the 27 games, at all levels, I worked last year I only worked 1 at U and it may have been as many as four years since I had worked one prior to that. I do a lot of R and when I'm not doing that I work on the wings.

[irefky]

I worked my first V last year. It was a memorable one. I posted it last year on the other board, some of you may remember.

Nervous as heck, the schools' last homecoming before going into consolidation. Big event before the game in this old ghost town that was once a booming coal mining town. The officials were lined up for the National Anthem, I heard laughter in the air, I look to my left, and two dogs were on the field doing the nasty! What made it so dang funny was that the boy dog was well less than half the size of the female dog. So the little fella would jump and thrust in one big motion. It was funny, like to never got those dogs off the field.

I am scheduled to WH two games this season. I would hope you have a good U in your game. This person will really help you during administration. WH as many sub v games as possible for the experience. I want to WH but also want to work the other positions for the chance to move up in our sport. I have worked all positions but the U, I really need to do it but worry about injuries from those lineman in HS. They don't care to take you out!