Stay or Go? need vet help

[BigGref]

I just wanted to throw out a slight kunundrum that has me thinking a lot and just may be made easier with some input from others.

I joined a Varsity crew after my freshman year in college, I really enjoyed officiating and took it up very well. A guy on the crew asked me to join, so undoubtebly I took him up on his offer. I had heard a few rumors that the crew wasn't very strong, but this early in my officiating career (which hopefully will lead to college and then some) I thought this definitely a good tradeoff. I've been with them for 2 years now and feel that I am the only one who really cares about growing as an official, our referee is a horrible communicator, and our crew hasn't got a playoff in 4 years (when 95-97% of crews make the playoffs).

So now others guys in my association are noticing my talent and telling me straight up to leave the crew. I haven't been approached by anyone because there aren't any openings in their crews, but I would likely join any other crew. So my question is should I just leave now, take the chance of having a year off Varsity experience, or should I stay with this crew until I find another one? IN other words am I losing more if I stay with a bad crew than I would by not officiating at all (V level)? Just want to here from others that may have had similar experiences in the past. Thanks and shoot away!

[keystoneref]

I can't give you an honest opinion on choosing to stay or go, we don't know what the dynamics of your asscoiation are. You are gaining valuable experience by working varsity, even if it is on a bad crew. Take notice of what they do right and what they do not do right, and file that information away for further reference.

Saying that, make your decision NOW. If you are going to stay, then do so and don't have any second thoughts. If you are going to leave, do it now, do not wait, ask the referee out for a drink and inform him you are leaving. Do not do it over the phone and do not do it in a letter or email.

In most situations the older officials have some political clout within the organization, make your change like a professional. Good luck

[grantsrc]

From the sounds of your post you are still pretty young, correct? Under 30? From my standpoint, I am 28, being on a reputable crew can do wonders for your ability and reputation. When you are on a better crew, you get better games, you see better ball, you sharpen your skills, you get looked at more for playoffs, you get observed more, your opportunities to move to the next level are greater, yada yada yada.

In the past four years that I've worked with the crew that I'm currently on, we've had a playoff game each of the last 3 years (playoffs haven't started yet), and last year we got two games, a quarterfinal (biggest class) and a semifinal (second biggest class). The guys on my crew have been officiating collectively for over 70 years and none of them are over 55. Two guys worked DII college for many years and the knowledge and information that they have provided me over the last few years is immeasurable. Also, working with them has gotten me into working small college ball. Without them, there's no telling where I would be now in my officiating career.

With that said, leaving can be a touchy situation. Make sure the guys in your association aren't saying these things for personal reasons, i.e. they don't like the guys on your crew. But look at the crews around you. What kind of games are you guys getting? Small schools? Rural schools? What kind of rapport do they have with coaches? Are they making an effort to improve? Have they helped you improve? What other opportunities are out there?

If something better comes along, I personally say you need to do what's best for you. Don't burn any bridges, but move on. Don't make it personal. These guys have helped you along for the past few seasons, thank them for what they've helped you with and move on. Tough decision but ultimately you have to do what is right for you.

[irefky]

I think I would have a post season dinner with my crew, you call it, be a leader. Heck, pay for it if you can afford it. Challenge your crew to improve next year. Find a camp that all five of you can attend.

Set goals/objectives for each week. Introduce them to this board and others, don't let them fall, be a leader. You are setting the standard, that is fine but make sure they follow.

After that, if next year your goals have not been achieved and your crew just did not respond, leave. Good luck.

I was in a situation in my association last year that my opportunities were not flourishing. We were late for a 1st round play off game due to the veteran official just lacking. I made the decision to move to another association and was place on a good crew. We were assigned a 1st round game for this Friday. These games are assined on a weekly basis. But my mechanics and rule philosophy has changed to make me a better official with this change.

[Edited by irefky on Nov 2nd, 2005 at 08:10 AM]

[Forksref]

I'd say don't leave a crew. Be patient. I think you would lose out if you weren't on a crew. When there are openings, make informal contacts with the other crews to let them know you are available. Make yourself visible as one who is a "go-getter" by attending all the rules meetings, speaking up, asking questions. People notice the guys who are looking to improve. Talk to guys on other crews about officiating, rules, mechanics, situations, etc.

As mentioned in a previous post, getting on a good crew is a great boost. I was a white hat and our crew was working independently because of our location out in the boonies. When I moved to a larger town because of another job I had the opportunity to go on another crew as L. It was the top crew in the region and we ended up doing a state championship game. I learned a lot and now I have my own crew and we are moving up the ranks fast because we are all working at getting better. I recently was on a crew where the white hat really didn't give a rip, similar to yours, and it was frustrating. But, it was better than not working on Friday nights. I was still visible and other crews knew I was interested in getting better and doing things the right way.

[Warrenkicker]

I was in the same situation prior to the season. I knew that the crew I was on was not going to get better no matter what I tried, and I tried it all. Some might say that I immerse myself in it and other things are ignored for a couple of months. So while I do that myself I wouldn't ever ask that of the others I work with but I would ask that they know everything about their position and to try to get better every day. So before this season I had made a decision to at least try to work with other officials for the non-varsity schedule. I wanted to learn from others how things are done because how we were always doing things on Fridays didn't seem wrong but maybe there was a better way. Well in the effort to try to get work with other officials during the week I discovered a couple of openings. One was for 2006 and one was for 2005. I met and talked with the crew chiefs on both crews and discovered that there would be a solution here that would work for everybody. The crew that had the opening in 2005 had an old U who was coming back in 2006 so if they could work a 1-year assignment it would be best for them. So I was able to take both spots. This took me from being on a crew where we were fighting to get 8 games a year to a crew that easily gets 9 games and finally to a crew that gets 10 games.

I wasn't very optomistic about finding a new crew right before the season I wanted to get seen by many other officials and learn from them so that if an opening came up I would be in position to hear about it and be known well enough to be considered for it.

So I wouldn't throw away a season but I would try to increase the ammount of officials you work with and make sure, discretely, that they know you are looking. Continuously putting out the effort and not ever seeing the results can begin to burn you out. I found one of these openings through an email list our association has and the other I found when I was working the chains at an arena football game with other high school officials.

[JRutledge]

This is a very personal choice. If I were you, make the decision based on what you feel is best. It is very hard to read this and to help you make a definitive decision. If I were you I would ask around about what others think of our crew. Test the waters because it is possible that your perception could be skewed. I will say that the bottom line is what you are getting in the playoffs. If you are sitting out and most officials are getting a shot, that would play heavily on my decision. I have been in a similar situation and each year I have had to make a choice. If I were you I would not leave if you do not have another opportunity. If someone approaches and gives you an opportunity that would make the decision much easier and I would back you decision to leave.

If you do leave I do not think it matters if you write a letter or call someone on the phone. Both those choices are very professional and would be acceptable in any other profession.

Peace

[l3will]

Since you joined the crew after your freshman year in college and been with the crew for two years, I guess that makes you a junior or senior in college. Guess you will be having bigger decisions coming up soon about what to do after college.

If you are 100% sure that you will be living in the same area after graduation, then changing crews becomes a reasonable question. If you could find a spot on another crew in the area, then it might be a reasonable move on your part now. Working with better officials definitely improves your skills especially if they are willing to share their experiences.

If it is likely that you won't be in the same area after college, I wouldn't switch unless I had a guaranteed spot on another crew. You are going to be switching to a new crew soon enough.

One thing to think about if you do move to another area after graduation... If the new association likes what they see, they may form a crew around you and make you the white hat. Then you get to train newer officials at the other four spots. Then raid your crew each year to stock other crews, especially if you are good at training officials.

[simpson]

I can't tell you what to do - but here is what I did in a similar situation:

I finished a varsity schedule on a crew that was very weak when one of their members left the area during the season. The next year I worked the full season and realized quickly they were not a very good crew. In the meantime, I worked every non-varsity game I could and got an offer to join a better crew in my 3rd year. Two seasons with them and an opportunity opened to work with one of the 2 best crews in the city. I was flattered to be asked and I took it. That was 4 years ago - I never looked back.

The first crew was upset when I left, but they have had a dozen officials come and go in the 5 years since I left them. The second crew understood completely when I left to the crew I'm on now. Any one of them would have jumped at the opportunity. (White hat worked Big 8 ball and now scouts for Big XII and NFL officials, all of the rest of the crew has years of DII experience. Some of them were working state championships before I was born.)

My advice would be to work with as many different officials as possible at a non-varsity level and you'll get an opportunity to change varsity crews. If you get an offer from a better crew, take it. Just don't be an a** about it and give the crew you're leaving plenty of time to find a replacement.

A good crew will make you better. A good crew will get better games which will also make you better.

[BigGref]

Thank you all for the input, It really helped me with my decision, good luck for the rest of the year!

[grantsrc]

Originally posted by BigGref
Thank you all for the input, It really helped me with my decision, good luck for the rest of the year!

And the decision was? Drum roll please...

[BigGref]

Yesterday I just found out that we got a decent 5A game on our schedule, so that and other input, I will likely just stay with this crew for one more year and just try to work with many other people and hope some crew picks me up who challenges me.

My current crew doesn't challenge me much, they don't ever give me critiscism and I want as much as possible, and whenever I try to dish a little out I get (-) outcomes. I just want to be on a crew that makes me do some real work to get better, not passiveness.