Friday Night Lights in Danger

[mrclean69]

I am hearing from more and more coaches that their officials have warned them they won't be able to guarantee Friday night officials. We already saw this effect 2A a good bit this year, but it is hitting 3A as well. Games will be pushed to Thursdays and Saturdays. Bottom line is we need more officials to keep the Friday Night Lights tradition alive.  

[Allheartnoquit]

1 hour ago, mrclean69 said:

I am hearing from more and more coaches that their officials have warned them they won't be able to guarantee Friday night officials. We already saw this effect 2A a good bit this year, but it is hitting 3A as well. Games will be pushed to Thursdays and Saturdays. Bottom line is we need more officials to keep the Friday Night Lights tradition alive.  

If 6man would move all their games to tuesday and wednesday instead of making official get them on friday this free's up a lot!

 

Also all 6A needs to be played on saturdays!

 

This is the simple fix but yes always looking for officials 

[TIMRIGGINS]

Wouldn't help East Texas much. Also, why do they need to move their games? They have tradition too. 

[lionpride08]

3 hours ago, Allheartnoquit said:

If 6man would move all their games to tuesday and wednesday instead of making official get them on friday this free's up a lot!

 

Also all 6A needs to be played on saturdays!

 

This is the simple fix but yes always looking for officials 

I know 6a and 5a schools have Jr high games on Mondays Tuesdays and Wednesdays over here

[WestRusk2009]

5 hours ago, Allheartnoquit said:

If 6man would move all their games to tuesday and wednesday instead of making official get them on friday this free's up a lot!

 

Also all 6A needs to be played on saturdays!

 

This is the simple fix but yes always looking for officials 

5A and 6A junior high games are played on Monday and Tuesday. Chapter meetings for officials are on Mondays as well. A good bit of 6 Man played on Thursday. 

The solution is more people need to officiate and not be arm chair coaches and officials.

[wooderson]

No, the solution is for coaches and fans to stop being such Jack wagons. Officiating is a thankless job when you think of all they put up with for such little pay added onto their time and commitment.

[Tex85]

Most schools in the metroplexes have games on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays its just the way it is now. 

[Allheartnoquit]

21 hours ago, WestRusk2009 said:

5A and 6A junior high games are played on Monday and Tuesday. Chapter meetings for officials are on Mondays as well. A good bit of 6 Man played on Thursday. 

The solution is more people need to officiate and not be arm chair coaches and officials.

I understand I am an official.

 

 

Pay is a problem also needs to be more and I bet more sign up

[AledoAlumni]

The UIL should step in and help create a program to get more officials and increase pay to attract competent people. 

[88YoePride]

Officials/ex-officials vs fans/coaches. Big surprise. Whatever you do, don't admit that there may be a reason why fans and coaches see officials the way they do. Officials do they best they can? A lot do, I'm sure. But from what we see every Friday night, there's definitely room for improvement. 

And I agree - Maybe fans who are so upset about the officiating should go do something improving it.

[WestRusk2009]

10 minutes ago, 88YoePride said:

Officials/ex-officials vs fans/coaches. Big surprise. Whatever you do, don't admit that there may be a reason why fans and coaches see officials the way they do. Officials do they best they can? A lot do, I'm sure. But from what we see every Friday night, there's definitely room for improvement. 

And I agree - Maybe fans who are so upset about the officiating should go do something improving it.

You're correct. 5 years ago when I started officiating it was unheard of for a rookie to be used at the varsity level. But now the shortage is so severe you have brand new guys calling varsity games with only scrimmages under their belt. It is a major issue that needs everyone to work together to improve. 

[trueblue82]

I saw 6 games last year. In 5 of them, from my perspective, the officiating improved over what I saw in the 9 games I watched in 2022. Keep in mind my team only won one of those 6 this year, and only lost two of those 9 in 22. That’s a very small sample size, but I do believe that the quality of officiating improved from one season to the next. Will this trend continue? I hope so. It is a thankless job without adequate compensation, which is leading to the shortage. But if you look around this country, there are thousands of people who don’t want to work one job, much less a second one that requires quite a bit of training, study, preparation, and getting off your keester and getting in shape. The shortage is not exclusive to high school athletics officials. It’s in every single sector of our economy. 

[PewittPride]

15 hours ago, Allheartnoquit said:

I understand I am an official.

 

 

Pay is a problem also needs to be more and I bet more sign up

What is the pay for a Friday night game? I bet most people have no idea?

[WestRusk2009]

2 hours ago, PewittPride said:

What is the pay for a Friday night game? I bet most people have no idea?

Typically around 130. 

[88YoePride]

21 hours ago, Allheartnoquit said:

I understand I am an official.

 

 

Pay is a problem also needs to be more and I bet more sign up

What exactly does an applicant need to go through to get certified?

[JBizzle]

A good recruiting plan is to get on smoaky and talk about how thankless a job it is, how little it pays, and how all the fans and coaches are jerks that yell at you non-stop.

[pine curtain]

10 hours ago, WestRusk2009 said:

Typically around 130. 

so officials get there 1 1/2 hours before the game work a 3 hour game not including travel time and they only get $130?

[WestRusk2009]

5 minutes ago, pine curtain said:

so officials get there 1 1/2 hours before the game work a 3 hour game not including travel time and they only get $130?

Correct. We don't do it for a paycheck. We do it for the love of the game and so kids can enjoy what we did in the past.

[pine curtain]

16 minutes ago, WestRusk2009 said:

Correct. We don't do it for a paycheck. We do it for the love of the game and so kids can enjoy what we did in the past.

how does that ole saying go?

 you get what you pay for.....

[Olduy]

12 hours ago, pine curtain said:

so officials get there 1 1/2 hours before the game work a 3 hour game not including travel time and they only get $130?

And attend meetings, seminars and camps. Then do scrimmages for free!

not to mention generally an hour to an hour an a half travel each way!

[Coach Rab]

2 hours ago, Olduy said:

And attend meetings, seminars and camps. Then do scrimmages for free!

not to mention generally an hour to an hour an a half travel each way!

Don’t most schools pay mileage?  I know we do.  And sometimes, the mileage is outrageous 

[Bclove05]

On 2/10/2024 at 9:43 AM, WestRusk2009 said:

Typically around 130. 

What do the sub varsity games pay?

[MattStepp]

https://www.uiltexas.org/athletics/officials-fee-schedule

[Allheartnoquit]

On 2/10/2024 at 1:19 PM, JBizzle said:

A good recruiting plan is to get on smoaky and talk about how thankless a job it is, how little it pays, and how all the fans and coaches are jerks that yell at you non-stop.

I have actually never understand the coaches, fans, and people yelling at ya that is part of the job and if ya can't handle that then ya dont need to be a ref but I have heard hurror stories so I thank God I havnt been on one of those yet but still I will never complain about that aspect it is part of it.

 

I honestly think Pay is the main reason most do not sign up

[Allheartnoquit]

17 hours ago, Bclove05 said:

What do the sub varsity games pay?

65$ sub

55$ Junior Varsity