How does your Assoc handle this?

[Rich]

And I like our system here -- if I want to be a crew chief, I form a crew and try to fill a schedule.

I started with a rookie in 2003, 2004, and 2006 (the 2004 and 2006 rookies replaced other officials). Now these three rookies are on my Friday night crew and I've been able to mentor them and our crew is playoff eligible.

I chose these guys cause they are my friends -- I recruited two of them to the sport as they are outstanding officials in other sports and they were varsity officials (with the occasional mistake, nothing that hurt either team, though) from day 1. Not that I didn't worry from time to time.

It's our crew now. I still fill our schedule and choose to accept/decline games and fill our JV/Freshman schedules. I'd hate for a committee or an association to tell me who I surround myself with or whether I'll be a WH or working some other position. None of my guys WANT to be a white hat, although I've been mentoring an emergency WH, just like they do in the NFL.

So I guess we all have different systems and there are plusses and minuses in all of them. I like mine, though, which is good since I have no intention of moving anytime soon.