Am I reading too much into this?
I'm trying to figure out where I stand in this association, and I think I may like the answers.
Here are the clues that lead me to believe that I am gaining my assignor's trust and may be heading towards girls' playoff assignments (if not this year, then next).
--The assignor gave me the county all-star game at the end of the year--the one that all the officials in the association go watch as their final meeting. He could have picked anyone, but I was one of the three he selected. On the one hand, it's not that big a deal--just one assignment--but on the other, it was a public attaboy.
--When I asked the assignor what I could be working on this year, he didn't have much to suggest. "I think you had a good season," he said. "Do I look athletic out there?" I replied. "It's not so bad," he replied. "Maybe work on running style a little more? But it's not a big deal." He then added that he'd be giving me several games as R this year to see how I handle leadership. That's not too shabby.
--My December slate of games is interesting. They're all girls' games, so I think the assignor has concluded that this is where I'm best used. As he indicated, he's using me at referee (of the six games currently on my slate, I'm tossing for 4 of them). All are JV/Varsity, so there's no more slogging through C-team games (in good part because budget cuts have slashed the C teams from many local school districts, although not all).
What I find especially interesting is that he's using me at very small schools almost exclusively in December. What does this mean? Does he not trust me with bigger girls' games? Is he testing my leadership mettle out with the tiny schools? Or is he saving the big ones for later in the year?
I'm pretty clearly overthinking this. But I'm still optimistic and excited about this season more than any I can remember.
2 Comments:
What does it mean?
Ultimately, it doesn't matter because whatever it means, all YOU can do is go and work those games as hard and as well as you possibly can.
If it means that he doesn't trust you on bigger games, then doing a great job shows him that was wrong in that judgment.
If it means that he's saving big assignments for later in the season, then doing a great job is a reassurance to him.
It took me a lot of years to stop wondering and just do the games I was assigned as well as I could.
P.S. -- I hope it means that he's testing you out for bigger assignments later. :-)
That's all true, friend. And I think one of my positive traits is that nothing changes my effort from one night to the next, regardless of the game. And--no bullshit--I think I'd be just as happy working only the smaller HS games as the bigger ones. (It's not like they pay more or are less satisfying.)
But I do value my work and want to get better, and assignments to better games are really one of the few tangible signs that I'm improving. Plus, who doesn't like to be publicly acknowledged as a good ref (which is, in the end, what a good assignment is for us)?
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