joenmsusa1

There is a shortage of high school officials, not just in Tennessee but across the country; not only in softball/baseball, but all sports. Biggest challenges to keeping good, young officials? 1) Colleges, from junior college to mid-majors. They all pay much better. Would you rather make $95 to go to Unaka for a boys/girls basketball game or make $200+ to go to Carson-Newman? If you're really good, that Carson-Newman level gig can lead to bigger things. 2) Associations-the long standing operating procedure of it's-who-you-know is coming home to roost. There was little planning for succession and as the "good ole boy" network has aged, there is no one to take their place because the top of the organization was a closed shop. And each association, like it or not, interprets some rules their own way. You see it especially in regional and sectional events in all sports leading to championship games. 3) Assigners-Assigners can make or break new or old officials by giving them work, not giving them work, sending them consistently to bad places, putting them consistently with bad officials or folks that they just don't get along with. And don't think there is not a pecking order (again, who you know). Most however try very hard to be fair and reward the good ones to keep them. ​One side note: if you think assigners are in it for the pure love of the job, think again. There is a pretty penny that can be made assigning officials. If you think they are in it purely for the money, think again. There ain't THAT much money to be made. 4) Why are we paying so much? Consider this...by the time an official steps on the court, depending on sport, they may have as much as $1,000 invested in fees, camps, uniforms, shoes, equipment, etc. So for two basketball games, I'm gonna get, say, $100 bucks. I have to drive 40 miles one-way, an 80-mile round-trip. Standard deduction is a little more than $40 bucks. Will need to get something to eat on the road, so let's call that $10 bucks, even for a heart attack in a sack. As an independent contractor, I'll need to withhold 35% of the remaining $50 for taxes at the end of the year. Don't forget I have to pay for Arbiter and the assigner ($3 a game, I think). That means for the six total hours I have invested, I'm going to net about $29.50, or about $4.92 an hour. And I've got to get 30 assignments to even come close to breaking even on my investment for uniforms and equipment. Yeah, they're paid too much...no financial reason for a new official to run away. ​5) Parents and fans-I am continually amazed at how brazen and uncivil crowds have become over the last twenty years. And the student sections have followed that example. I've been to many contests where the officials put up with much more than I would have wearing stripes or blue. There comes a point where it's just not worth it. Sorry for the verbosity.