By Jerry Grunska
Beginning officials sometimes harbor grand illusions about getting to the top. Veterans often say that young people are impatient; they expect too much too quickly. But veterans have always decried unrealistic expectations of newcomers. It’s not automatically a bad thing to rise up rapidly, but it is unseemly to go about it the wrong way. That’s where you need to step in, as a leader within your association, to help newer officials navigate a course for success.
The wrong way is to curry favor aggressively before acquiring the necessary expertise to move up comfortably.
No question about it, you have to know the right people. Also, it is a fact of life that more people are pulled up than are pushed up. What that means is that people from upper levels have to recognize your skill and ambition, and then they have to take action to draw you into their sphere.
What can you do about that in a constructive way? Let’s explore some answers. First of all, there are “naturals” in officiating just as there are pure athletic “phenoms” who move rapidly to professional leagues because of their exceptional talent. But shooting stars are rare in athletics, and most people make the grade based on hard work and sheer determination.
So the first requisite is hard work. Only a limited number of sub-varsity officials seem to really hustle. Only a few execute truly sharp signals. A still smaller number exhibit the kind of people skills — a happy combination of exuberance and formality — that cause participants and coaches to admire their performance. They have to stand out somehow, above the desultory and pedestrian performance of peers.
Being better means having the appearance of a professional, knowing the rules thoroughly, showing exceptional agility and giving off an air of confidence — the strong silent type, clearly in control but seeming not to make a concerted show about it.
Another absolute essential is that a new official has to be available. They must be ready, even eager, to take someone’s place on short notice. The willing substitute is every assigner’s favorite. Also, every upper level official will urge new officials work as many games as possible; maximum exposure will assure that they will be noticed by influential individuals.
One more thing about working readily and steadily: A newer official has to possess an inner fire, a concealed but basic drive for success. Ralph Waldo Emerson put it pointedly: “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”
Almost no one moves forward without the aid of an individual or group of veterans to smooth the way, to share hints about working games, to alert facilitating people about the newcomer’s potential and to truly groom that person for the next level of competition. Therefore, to rise steadily someone has to show newer officials the route. Which assigning authority can do them the most good? Someone needs to tell them.
As an association leader, it is your duty to keep an eye out for upcoming officiating talent and help show them the way to reach their goals. It is part of your responsibility, one that will pay great dividends to your group for years to come.
Jerry Grunska, a retired official and educator, is a frequent contributor to NASO. He lives in Evergreen, Colo.
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