How does your Assoc handle this?

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

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.

I completely agree with you. If I wanted to leave the crew I am on now and find 4 other officials to form a crew, no one has any say in that. All that might happen is that we would likely not get the best of the best games based on everyone's experience, playoff history or even availability, but no one is going to tell us anywhere we cannot do it. And in many cases crews have 6-8 officials on a crew that might rotate from time to time or that are being mentored to move to other levels and join other crews. I think for HS ball this is the most appropriate and unless someone is going to pay some pensions and health benefits, I do not think any association (in theory) should be telling people who they can work for when they spend a Friday or Saturday night or afternoon away from their families. Football crews are often very close groups of people that form lifetime friendships and sometimes become enemies (kind of a strong word) based on how they handle these decisions. I certainly would not want to be working games with people I do not like or respect because someone said it is required.

Peace