[Ring'Em Up]

I have coached and have seen games from Pikeville to Paducah. i also paid part of my way through school by officiating in western Ky. We have a great group of officials in our region from top to bottom. I have attended the state tournaments since 1971 and the 15th regional officials are among the best there.
I will grant that in all regions there are officials that need to improve, but couldn't we all at our jobs.
The best thing that we can do for officials is to make the position more attractive. If the officials were paid what it is actualy worth to do the games then more people would get involved. More training and better forms of evaluation could be enforced. Games could be assigned based on merit. Young officials could be paired with veterans to learn how to handle tough situations instead of being thrown to the lions. And if they don't make the grade then you can say thanks but no thanks. As it is we have problems because there is too much pressure on the inexperienced.
Another problem is that the schools admin. already choke for having paying 65 dollars a game for officials. Let's break that down. Leave for the game at 4:30. Travel 80 miles round trip, buy the shoes, shirts, pants, whistles, dress professionally just to walk in the gym. study for test, pay the KHSAA a fee, pay for the test, pay the assigning secretary a fee, be called nasty names, hear chants that you should be hung at the nearest tree, stop and eat on your way home, get home at 10:30, lay awake wondering if you were wrong, get up at 4:30 and head for the mines to work all day, grab your clothes and go do it all again.

The paragraph about making the position more attractive, is dead on, and I think that is what the thread was probably actually started for, even tho the first post came across as more of saying "our officials suck."

With the current format and situation, the secretaries have to play the hand they are dealt, as far as numbers and the amount of clinics, ratings, etc. go. I do believe in general, they are trying improve it in most areas as a whole, in all sports. Advertising, word of mouth, recent pay raises, etc. One example, correct me if I am wrong some of you older guys. But hasn't it just started in recent years that secretaries are using summer camps and games to get more looks at each official? Or have they been utilizing that tool for alot longer than I am aware?

It is just so weird that some people would think an individual would go to call a game, with the mindset that they want to be bad and don't care if they are or not. I will be honest. I despise basketball. Watching. Playing. Officiating. Don't matter. I hate it. It is nothing more than a bridge to baseball season to me. But since I have started working games, I have made myself learn the rules better and the game as a whole, than when I was just a casual observer. I do push myself to study and ask others about certain situations that may arise. And I admit, it has sparked my interest in the game more than it was. Just knowing that to be any good at all, you have to enjoy doing it to some extent. No one wants to fail at anything they do, especially at a job where they voluntarily subject themselves to absolute and certain public scrutiny.

Nice post.