The Life Of A Sports Official Is Not Easy
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The Life Of A Sports Official Is Not Easy

I'd be in such a different place if I had never become a sports official.

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The Life Of A Sports Official Is Not Easy
KeithJJ

This is a story about the person that woke up one day and decided to become a sports official.

This story is about the person who chose to spend a majority of his life on a ball field, a basketball court, a soccer pitch, a sheet of ice, or a softball field. This is a story about a person that decided over the courts of fourteen years to log nearly a half million miles on a number of vehicles, see different states that he'd never seen before, go to cities he'd never heard of, work with people he'd never met before, and officiate hundreds and thousands of games of various sports that he chose to be a part of.

Let me tell you story about a person that has spent the last fourteen years of his life gone on weekends, in a different city, in another state, in some faraway place on land, doing one sport or another, logging hundreds and thousands of hours, missing sleep, losing out on his kids activities, being away from home, trying to earn money to pay the bills, and putting himself at risk time and time again for the love of the sport, the love of the kids, and for the experience of a lifetime.

This is a story about a person who learned to officiate sports that he'd never played before. This is about a person who learned about a sport like volleyball, a sport he'd never even watched prior to becoming an official and working on the courts. This is about a person who has officiated sports that he had never paid attention to for a majority of the years of his life, but wound up spending hundreds and thousands of hours and tens of thousands of miles traveling to do games for.

This is a story about a sports official. And I'd like it if you'd let me tell you a story. This story is about one person. This is about me.

Fourteen years ago, I made a decision that has impacted my life. It has impacted the lives of my family. And I hope it has in a positive way, impacted the lives of thousands of people I have encountered. I made a decision to become a sports official.

I'd watched my dad umpire my baseball games as a kid. I'd seen him umpire my older brothers baseball games as a kid. Growing up in a small town, and then another small town, I'd seen my dad umpire everyone's baseball games. At one point, he was running the baseball leagues. He was helping to take care of the fields. And he was the father who was always out on the field doing one thing or another. I saw him do it as a kid. I worked with him as an adult. And the last i knew, he was still doing it.

Considering I started playing baseball when I was four years old, and I'm now 49, that means my dad has spent at least 45 years on the baseball field as an official, the softball field as an official, and I know through the years, he officiated basketball, has done volleyball, and I can say this - He's dedicated to what he loves, and loves what he does. And I chose one day, after years of him pushing me and telling me how great it was, to follow in his footsteps.

Fourteen years later, I sit here, writing this story, talking about sports officials, sharing stories about what they do, where they go, who they see, who they meet, games they've worked, fields they've been to, towns they've visited, and details about things that they remember through the years. I'm sitting here writing you story about one person. This is about me.

My first day as an official, I recall screwing up every call you could possibly imagine. Thankfully I worked with my dad on the field. He was able to explain to the coach it was my first game ever. Literally my very first game. And from that point on, I was able to learn by his teaching, and help from the coaches, and help on my own. i attended clinics. I went to ball games. I watched volleyball games. i watched soccer games. I learned to officiate lacrosse, a game I didn't know a thing about. I ended up working on a basketball court. And to this date, I have done thousands of games as an official in six different sports. I have done hockey, softball, baseball, basketball, lacrosse and volleyball.

The life as an official is not an easy one. It requires a lot of time in the car. It requires a lot of money out of your own pocket. It requires you to buy your own uniforms. It requires you on occasion to pay for hotel rooms. I have worked for organizations like NSA who will pay for a hotel room, but who won't pay for your food. They won't give you a dime of travel money. They think they are doing you a favor by scheduling you 15 games on a weekend. But what they don't tell you is that if they cancel the games due to weather? You may have traveled 200 miles round trip. And you don't get paid.

I have worked for an organization like NSA who favors their older officials, who gives the highest level games to people that many times don't deserve them, who play the political game, and if you aren't friends, buddies or best of pals with one or another person, you don't work as much as the next guy. You often find yourself traveling to some field in a city you'd never heard of, buying your own food, paying for your own gas, and lucky to come out making $8 an hour by the time it's all over and done. All the while the organization and their assignors get rich.

And then I've worked for another organization called USSSA They are happy to schedule you 10 games on a Saturday without a break. They are happy to not provide you with hotel rooms or food. They are happy to not pay for your gas. They figure you make $600 a weekend, so you'll foot a $150 hotel bill, and spend $50 on gas, and then drop $75-$80 on food. And by the time it's over? You get out of there with $150 if you're lucky. Averaging about nine bucks an hour. Not worth time or money is it?

The life as an official isn't always that glamourous.

As a sports official, let me tell you a story. I have been to a dozen states. I have traveled nearly a half million miles on six vehicles. I have been to cities I could not find without a GPS. I have traveled to areas that I probably would not have gone to had I not been an official. I have been in schools I never would have seen. I have seen towns like Colon, Mendon, White Pigeon and Centreville. I have gone to states like Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and Kentucky. I have done baseball games in the middle of a farm field. You remember the movie Field Of Dreams? If you build it, they will come? They've come. For years. And the fans show up. And the parents show up.

And the life as a sports official goes on.

Over the course of fourteen years, I have done thousands of hockey games as an official on the ice. I have done thousands of volleyball games. I have done thousands of soccer games. I have done thousands of softball and baseball games. I have suffered four concussions. I have been to the hospital. I have broken multiple bones in my hands and feet. I have been hit with a ball more times than any other person I know. I have suffered pains and aches and agony on a soccer field. I have nearly died. And the life of a sports official continues.

As of this writing, I am still officiating basketball, soccer, volleyball and hockey. But I am confident in saying that this is most likely my last year as a soccer official. It is certainly the last year I will be doing boys soccer. Girls soccer may follow. I no longer do club/weekend soccer. I gave it up. I quit umpiring softball. I quit officiating lacrosse. I am still on the fence as to whether or not I'll keep going.

From one day to the next, your body feels it. You can't sleep at night without aches and pains. You don't want to travel thousands of miles a year to various sporting events. You want to walk away from it, have a life, be at home, see your kids, and sleep in on weekends. But the question is this - Can you actually quit and walk away?

Most sports officials don't talk openly about what they do. And it is for good reason. Many don't want you to know how many games a week they do. They don't want you to know how many hours they spend out there without their families and without seeing their kids. Most don't want you to know how much money they make. And what most don't want you to know? That once you quit officiating, you lose every "friend" you ever made.

I have had friends upwards of 8-10 years i no longer talk to since I don't officiate with them. And if you ask why, the answer is simple. They were willing to stab me (and others) in the back for another extra game. They were willing to go behind someone's back and lie about them, talk trash about them, and make things up about them. All for another few bucks. And with friends like that? You know it. Who needs enemies? That is the life of a sports official.

One official I know will officiate 20 basketball games on a weekend in a kids tournament. He's all about the money. And every official that knows him will tell you that. But he's not alone. There are dozens of others. They will make $500 on a weekend in cash, and don't care about the kids. They do it for a paycheck. The kids don't matter. Well, I beg to differ. I think they matter. So as a matter of respect and pride, I quit doing what those other guys were doing. I had more respect for the kids and for myself. I also had more concern for my health. That all goes with the life of a sports official.

I know guys who will work seven days a week. They don't talk about it. Because they know people will think it's all about the money. And while many of my sports official partners are in it for the love of the game and the kids, the life of a sports official for many is about one thing. Money. And that's why I started this out with "Let Me Tell You A Story" because that's exactly what it is.

This is the truth. It is the life of a sports official. This is about me. At my peak, I could make $35,000 a year officiating sports. Even as I have dramatically cut back, on a good year, I can make $15,000 to $20,000 in cash officiating sports. It is a very profitable business. And many don't realize that if you want, you can work seven days a week.

At one point? I did. And this is my story. The story of missing out on family events. The story of working anywhere I could for years so I had the ability to pay the bills. Helping my family out. Experiencing life. Seeing great new places. Going to states, cities and ball fields I hadn't seen before. Meeting kids and coaches I wouldn't know otherwise. Suffering broken bones, sleepless nights, concussions and feeling my body wither away as I worked day in and day out. All as the life of a sports official.

The life of a sports official is not an easy one. It is not a simple one. But let me tell you a story. For fourteen years, the life of a sports official has been a great experience. It has been one that I do not regret. I have met people I will remember forever. I have met people that I wish I could forget. But in the end, I take away good memories. I take away good thoughts. I take away a lot of great experiences. And with one feeling as I slowly walk away from what I've loved doing for a lot of years.

No regrets.

The life of a sports official is not something to take for granted. It is not something that just anyone can do. But let me tell you a story. This is mine. This is about me. And I hope I made a difference in someone's life somewhere. And I hope I left good memories on some ball field, on some volleyball court. On some soccer pitch. Or on the ice in a faraway rink that I once skated across as the lights went up and the teams started to play.

One day I will say goodbye. One day I will walk away with grace. I will walk away with my head held high. And I will walk away hopefully on my own power. And as I look back, I will recall with a smile on my face where it all started.

By saying the simple words, "Let Me Tell You A Story"

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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