I was off the grid this weekend as I drove several hundred miles to attend a really good soccer clinic. We spent twelve hours on the new clarification of offsides and what “involvement” and “deliberate play” should be, another four hours on man management, and several rounds of beer at the bar on odd-ball scenarios. I got a few very good take-aways to work on my game this spring.
I also saw plenty of colleagues and buddies. We talked about our kids, we talked about the same idiotic coach who has one technique on complaining, and we talked about who is advancing and who is getting scouted for bigger things.
I ended up talking with a buddy of mine who is primarily a basketball official who works soccer as a mind cleanser. He is a good ref and he currently works low level Division 1 men’s games, and a lot of D-2 and D-3 plus JUCO games. Those games pay him well enough where it is a very nice second job but he keeps his full time job of being a phys-ed teacher. He is getting scouted to start working at least one major men’s conference where if he has a half time schedule he has full time income.
I congratulated him on the opportunity. He was reluctant to take it as he said he was worried about finding health insurance as he has a history of knee and ankle injuries. Refereeing does not help that. I told him that he can get a policy lined up on the Exchanges if he gives up his full time teaching job with benefits.
“I’m not trusting anything that has that man’s name on it… those policies have to be horrendous, that’s what the Blaze is saying, Dick, you know that, you work in the industry, it is killing you guys….”
“Ummmmmm no, there are better policies on the Exchange than what you get at school….”
“I don’t trust that guy….”
So he’ll job lock himself into a situation that he does not want to be in (full time teaching, part time reffing) out of spite.