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Officiating two sports concurrently
Hello, I've recently become interested in becoming an official. I played football from 3rd grade through high school and spend all weekend watching football. So needless to say, since I already understand the game real well, I thought I'd like to be a football official. However, I've also learned a lot about volleyball as my daughter just finished her last season so I've been watching volleyball for some years. I decided I'd like to officiate both but then I realized that the seasons run concurrently. Does anyone know if this is doable? I'd just like to get some feedback from some veterans out there. Thanks in advance.
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HAHA That you think watching on the weekend means much. Funny stuff.
Sure you can do both. One will get more than 50% of your attention though.
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It's possible to officiate volleyball and football concurrently, but in my area, you will have conflicts on assignments. As a new official, you will get sub-varsity--i.e. junior high volleyball matches and football games that are typically scheduled on the some days at the same times. Because of the choices that must be made, it will hinder your growth (based on number of experiences) in one of the sports.
The officials that I work with that are multi-sport officials, recommend working only one sport for the first year to get experience before branching out to other sports. |
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Oh, you meant concurrent seasons. When I read "two sports concurrently", I thought it meant, you know, firing the starting pistol for the swimming race, then turning around to officiate the wrestling match, glancing over to the pool to watch for illegal turns, etc.
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"...as cool as the other side of the pillow." - Stuart Scott "You should never be proud of doing the right thing." - Dean Smith |
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Peace
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Let us get into "Good Trouble." ----------------------------------------------------------- Charles Michael “Mick” Chambers (1947-2010) |
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+1 to the 'start with one sport and add the second one in a couple of years' crowd.
I also played football in high school and college. I even played on a semi-pro team for a few years before becoming an official. The first time I actually read the rule book (after registering to officiate for the first time), I very quickly learned that knowing the rules as a player/fan/coach is a VERY different thing then knowing the rules as an official. Don't let that discourage you though.... new officials are always welcome in my book. |
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I disagree with Rut and the others who say being around the sport is of no help when it comes to officiating. There are some benefits (knowledge of the game, seeing how the game is played, noticing in a general sense of what is "normal" in terms of game management and flow, etc.).
In other words, you are way ahead of someone who's never seen a football game. (Believe me, I've seen those types try and officiate. I saw a first-time baseball umpire show up to his first game with a whistle!) With that being said, don't think for a second that your time around the game (whether playing or spectating) is going to give you much of a leg-up when it comes to officiating. When you enter the world of officiating, come in with an open mind and a willingness to learn and work hard. My advice: don't come in believing you know a lot about the game(s), because you're just about to find out how little you really know. Best of luck to you! |
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RadioBlue,
I did not say it would be no help, I said it could be a hindrance when first trying to get over all the myths that players/coaches have when they become an official. Peace
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Let us get into "Good Trouble." ----------------------------------------------------------- Charles Michael “Mick” Chambers (1947-2010) |
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Peace
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Let us get into "Good Trouble." ----------------------------------------------------------- Charles Michael “Mick” Chambers (1947-2010) |
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2 sports in consecutive seasons, perhaps. (Football, then basketball, then baseball)...
Starting football & volleyball at the same time... that would be more difficult from a rules mastery standpoint. A quick example of "knowing the rules as an official" vs "knowing the rules as a player": why does the kicker kick the ball into the ground in the vast majority of onside kick attempts? As a player, I had no idea why we did that... once I started reading the rulebook as an official, I read the free kick rules and had the lightbulb "A-ha, that's why it's done that way" moment. |
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Also mastery of the rules comes with time, not in one or two seasons. As a football official I am still learning to master the rules and this was will be the end of my 16th season. There are things I have yet to see or when I see them I have to think through the rules. Football has the most difficult rules as they change and each level is so different. You also have to know more than rules, you better know the mechanics or your rules knowledge will not be applied properly. Peace
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Let us get into "Good Trouble." ----------------------------------------------------------- Charles Michael “Mick” Chambers (1947-2010) |
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I have always been a rules wonk, but I never *really* learned the rules well until I became a white hat on a Friday night about 8 years ago. The last thing I want is to have to guess or have to make something up, so I spend the entire season and a lot of the offseason with my nose buried in the football books. I spend more time working on football rules than on the rules of all the other sports I work combined (and probably double that). I've always used that as an excuse for not wanting to work college football, but to be honest having to keep the two rules sets straight means I really need to know both of them very well. It's a win-win for me. |
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