I tell ya, I've been there and done that and its a very tuff job. I studied the rule books constantly and the rules are mind boggling. I played high school football and been around football my entire life and thought i knew the game pretty good, then i became an official and realized I was'nt as smart on the game as I thought I was.

If you get rid of what you have available, and you have none to backfill, what is your solution ? (since you have obviously indicated you have no desire to officiate)

 

To say that you "don't run out there and pretend that I can" officiate, you are implying that those that are out there are "pretending" rather than trying their best to get it correct.

 

I won't go down the "for the kids" road or any other road for that matter, but I do have one question:

 

Have you ever, at any level, officiated any sport ?

 

I will say that there are some who should not be out there. Certainly not all, as you imply my comment intended to say. In every job there are some who are just going through the motions, collecting a check and in all those instances, they should be weeded out. Do you disagree?

 

Yeah, going down roads is sometimes a dangerous thing to do.

 

To answer your question, Yes, I have officiated a sport at any level.

Yes it was but it wasn't a Varsity game and it was a Varsity Referee. The fact that it happened against the Birds is not the point I'm trying to make and it shouldn't make a difference. The penalty that was called was a Judgement call by the Ref and I'm not disputing that. If the Highlands player would of just kept his mouth shut this would be a mute point. They would of ended up scoring and won the game. Period! The thread was started to point out that there is way too many politics involved in who gets to call the Finals each year. So since you chimed in I will ask you the same question. Would you want an Official that blows a easy call(ruling) in a Freshman game with "game on the line" implications calling a State Final? Yes or No???

 

I was simply just inquiring, not trying to put words in your mouth. No harm no foul was meant. I understand that there is a level of human error no matter what. And you are correct in saying that penalty was strictly a judgment call. BUT the enforcing of that rule is not a judgement call. It is clear cut that if you call that penalty it is to be enforced from the new line to gain. Now to answer your question No I would not. I could not care less if it was a freshman 5th quarter or the state championship game. Officials are licensed and expect to know the rules, especially the common ones like how to spot an unsportsmanlike penalty. Now no crew will be perfect and calls will be blown no matter what. Should they? Theoretically no but guess what, it happens and people/fans won't be happy. Now I'm not seeing anything being done to change that but I'm not super close to those situations anymore.

I will say that there are some who should not be out there. Certainly not all, as you imply my comment intended to say. In every job there are some who are just going through the motions, collecting a check and in all those instances, they should be weeded out. Do you disagree?

 

Yeah, going down roads is sometimes a dangerous thing to do.

 

To answer your question, Yes, I have officiated a sport at any level.

 

I don't disagree that some may do this, the majority do not. It is not a hobby you get rich on. Should they be "weeded out" ? I don't know. The bar for general perfomance is fairly low since the entry requirements are minimal. If we set the bar at a higher level, decrease available officials, the market would dictate that the cost per unit will increase.

 

How many schools do you think can afford the increase in financial output based on the market demands ?

 

This is the business case that the system is faced with....I'm not saying it's optimum, I'm saying I understand it.

I don't disagree that some may do this, the majority do not. It is not a hobby you get rich on. Should they be "weeded out" ? I don't know. The bar for general perfomance is fairly low since the entry requirements are minimal. If we set the bar at a higher level, decrease available officials, the market would dictate that the cost per unit will increase.

 

How many schools do you think can afford the increase in financial output based on the market demands ?

 

This is the business case that the system is faced with....I'm not saying it's optimum, I'm saying I understand it.

 

I would agree that the majority do not do this. I disagree with leaving those that do, in place. Allowing poor performers to remain, reflects poorly on the entire pool. It's not the well called games that are remembered and commented on in forums like this, it is the misinterpretations of rules and blown calls that get pointed out and ridiculed. Your approach, keeping low performers in place to the detriment of the profession and the game, sounds much like the game plan that keeps under-performing bureaucrats entrenched in government jobs.

I would agree that the majority do not do this. I disagree with leaving those that do, in place. Allowing poor performers to remain, reflects poorly on the entire pool. It's not the well called games that are remembered and commented on in forums like this, it is the misinterpretations of rules and blown calls that get pointed out and ridiculed. Your approach, keeping low performers in place to the detriment of the profession and the game, sounds much like the game plan that keeps under-performing bureaucrats entrenched in government jobs.

 

Poor performers are not necessarily those that are "going through the motions", that's a different issue.

 

Let's be clear that "Your approach" (is not my approach) it's the nature of the business.

 

What is your solution when, if you reduce the official pool, we do not have enough crews to fill Friday night games ?

Ok then, I'll call it 'the approach you endorse'.

 

Are you of the opinion that those who are incapable of high performance make up the majority of the talent pool for these positions? It seems so, if you believe that requiring a minimum standard of performance would reduce numbers to a level where Friday night football may be in jeopardy. I don't believe that.

 

My solution is, as previously stated, weed out the poor performers. The good officials do not want to work with the incompetent, so having a full contingent of high performers should lead to a better product and a higher level of work satisfaction, thereby keeping the good officials around longer. As new officials come online, adhere to these standards. If necessary, bump their fee by a few bucks as they gain seniority. A small increase could be covered by schools in any number of ways.

In some parts of the state they do not have enough officials good or bad to cover their games on Friday nights. They borrow officials from other associations or get retired officials to work if they can talk them into working. More dropping out than getting into the sport,in a few years it will be critical.

Ok then, I'll call it 'the approach you endorse'.

 

Are you of the opinion that those who are incapable of high performance make up the majority of the talent pool for these positions? It seems so, if you believe that requiring a minimum standard of performance would reduce numbers to a level where Friday night football may be in jeopardy. I don't believe that.

 

My solution is, as previously stated, weed out the poor performers. The good officials do not want to work with the incompetent, so having a full contingent of high performers should lead to a better product and a higher level of work satisfaction, thereby keeping the good officials around longer. As new officials come online, adhere to these standards. If necessary, bump their fee by a few bucks as they gain seniority. A small increase could be covered by schools in any number of ways.

 

It's a numbers issue plain and simple. People do not want to get into officiating, those that are minimally competent are just that, and they are used as needed. Reducing the number of officials compounds the problem, it does nothing to fix the quality issues.

 

Here is the problem. The schools are already cash strapped and these are extra-curricular payments. Officials are not paid by "seniority", they are paid fees per game level.

A poor official or rookie get the same as a college reference doing high school games. Theyou have to use every available official that are eligible for the first round games. The most senior or better officials should get the other playoff rounds each year but this does not always happen.

It's a numbers issue plain and simple. People do not want to get into officiating, those that are minimally competent are just that, and they are used as needed. Reducing the number of officials compounds the problem, it does nothing to fix the quality issues.

 

Here is the problem. The schools are already cash strapped and these are extra-curricular payments. Officials are not paid by "seniority", they are paid fees per game level.

 

If the solution is no solution and to maintain the status quo, then no one should be surprised when we continue to see poorly called games and forums trashing the officials involved.

If the solution is no solution and to maintain the status quo, then no one should be surprised when we continue to see poorly called games and forums trashing the officials involved.

 

I don't think you will get a disagreement from those on here that understand the business dynamics of high school sports

School s really do not care as they are all about the money

I wonder if Joe Frank has figured out the Ruling for spotting a Unsportsmanlike Dead ball foul yet? Not something a 41 year Vet should screw up........ but he did! Thanks for everything you have done for NKY Mr Frank over the past 4 decades. I for one can say I watched one of his very last games he ever called in NKY....went out with a bang for sure!

How many of the state championship games were determined by the officials?

 

We let just about every team into the playoff to compete for a state championship, why not do the same for the officials too?