Article: Georgia Coaches Survey

[FredFan7]

Georgia coaches basically want officials observed and held accountable like the NFL or NCAA level. It just can't happen - too many officials.

You want officials with NCAA or NFL accountability? Then get a gig in the NCAA or NFL.

bit.ly/hzeIFg

[zcr57]

High school officiating will never be as high-quality as officiating in the college and professional ranks, but I'll be damned if someone comes out and says that high school officials aren't doing everything they can to get better.

Yes, there are a few people who get into it just so that they can work 8 middle school and pee-wee games make a few extra bucks on the weekend, and those guys are easy to point out. Sadly, the ones who have to suffer are the ones who are going to officiating camps, staying in good physical shape, etc.

The article also references the fact that there is a lot more demand for officials now than there was 10-15 years ago. This is very true. According to some of the vets in my association, 10-15 years ago, we had close to to 70 members. Every week, there would be a maximum of 15 games to cover, so you would have to beg to get a game.

This year, we only had 36 officials, and would have anywhere from 20-30 games to cover every weekend. One Saturday, we had 45 games to cover, ranging from pee-wee up to high school varsity. There were a handful of times this year where we worked sub-varsity games with 3 officials, and there was one time where 2 officials had to work a JV game.

It's becoming harder and harder for our association to recruit and retain new officials, and 2 or 3 experienced vets seem to be retiring every year. It's giving everyone the opportunity to work more games, but sadly, too many guys just don't want to get better.

Rant over.

P.S. $90 for a varsity game is pretty good money compared to what we make here ($55).