It is that time of year again when we send out our availabilities for the 2010 collegiate season--and every official is faced with the decision of making their commitments. Now that some of our universities are sending their availabilities out sooner than ever, it further complicates the issue...
Most officials in Texas wait for the Big 12 to send out their availability and then hope they get as many of those matches as possible since they pay so much more--and I don't blame them. However, this leads to some serious dilemas for the officials involved because noone receives all the availabilities they send in for the Big 12. What to do about making commitments this early???
Here are some steps I have taken to help alleviate the suffering and guidelines that I recommend in this area:
1. Send in your Big 12 availability and hope for the best but remember that other coordinators take a dim view of your committing to them and then cancelling to do a Big 12 match. Trust me, we know when you do it!
2. TCU and Baylor availabilities have already gone out but the rest are still in waiting. Most coordinators are waiting for the Big 12 to make their assignments before sending out availabilities. I have personally encouraged Cheryl Jones to make her final commitments as soon as possible so the rest of us can trust the validity of our commitments.
3. Personally, I think it would help if the Big 12 would send their's out at least by September 1st each year and then make commitments to officials by September 15th. This would enable the rest of the universities to send theirs out by September 15th and have them returned to us after officials knew which Big 12 matches they would be working. The bottom line is that the Big 12 is the engine that drives the bus so we need to find ways to work with the bus...
4. With all of that said, let me encourage officials NOT to double book in hopes of getting at least one. In the long run this will backfire on you... I coordinate over 90 ITA matches and I have to trust the integrity of the official making a commitment to work. If I can't trust your integrity, then you won't be getting an availability.
5. We need to remember that assignments are somewhat of a random/lottery type thing. We send in the availability and hope we get the assignments--also knowing that we won't get all we sign up for.
I would say just do your best, maintain your integrity, and trust the coordinators to do the best they can.
Here are some guidelines I would suggest for our COORDINATORS:
1. Quit trying to send yours out earlier than everyone else. Its hard to ask officials to commit to a specific day 6 months in advance...
2. Make your commitments as soon as possible following the sending of your availabilities. This will help the officials know where they will be working.
3. Work together to send out your availabilities all on the same day. This way the officials would know what was being offered and where and could make a more intelligent decision.
4. Encourage Cheryl Jones of the Big 12 to give a firm commitment date for her assignments and then work within that framework. Cheryl does a great job but the rest of us totally depend on her for our time schedule.
This is a volatile and pressing issue and these are just a few comments and guidelines. We would love to hear your feelings on this issue...
9 comments:
One good thing is that most of the TCU dual matches will be over before Big 12 Conference matches begin so the chances of conflicts are minimal. I always work around the officials Big 12 schedules and tweat the TCU assignments if conflicts do arise. Plus, not all ITA certified officials work Big 12 matches which also minimizes conflicts.
Very good post Randy. So many of us are totally frustrated with this.
One other request for coordinators:
If an official submits an availability sheet to you and you do not assign him/her any matches (regardless of the reason), please find a way to let them know. We have your dates on our calendars as possible matches. If we know you are not going to use us, we can take those matches off our schedule and those dates are now available to another school.
Some coordinators have decided to not send out their entire schedule with all assignments. I understand the politics of this decision and that's fine. If you assign an official only one match, then we know we did not get any of the others and we can move on. But if we hear nothing from you, how long do we wait and how many other possible matches do we pass on while waiting?
This works well for Myron and I'm sure glad it does but it doesn't work for SMU, UTA, and UNT. The majority of our matches are right during the big middle of the Big 12 matches. It should be an interesting year...
I make it a policy to send my assignments as soon as I can after receiving my availabilities. I always assign at least one match (and usually many more) to those who receive an availability.
It seems that some officials can not,or choose not, to accept assignments prior to the BIG 12$$,
others prefer to wait until they have seen it all.Some have a favorite place to work.Many will only travel "X" times per year.Some need to plan well in advance.To others the quality of tennis or the working conditions matter most.
Some coordinators are very early and organized,others lassez faire in approach.
In some cases the coordinators want the best possible officials, others want to save $$, or take care of politics.
Clearly all coordinators have an obligation to communicate openly and promptly and make their policies clear
Each of us has our own directions from the Coaches we work for and geography to consider as well.
Clearly each official must choose
after weighing their personal circumstance and preference.
Do you want the most $$ ?,the best working conditions?,the least travel?,the best tennis? and decide.
God bless America
Haymuncher
Personally I would like to see the Big 12 assignements confirmed and then everyone else send their's out. It would ease the pain and suffering for our officials and would be no skin off of our noses. We can easily make our assignments after September.
I realize this is going to stir up a hornet's nest, but why should the Big 12 get to be first?
Is it because they pay more? Or are there other unspoken/political reasons?
Not everyone gets to work Big 12 matches. Not everyone gets to work all of the D1 schools either. If a coach and their coordinator can get their schedule and budgets ready to go, why should they then wait for some artificially chosen date to send out their availabilities? If coaches and coordinators feel like they end up with the "leftover" officials because others make their assignments earlier, then maybe they are the ones who need to change what they do!
Why should everyone move themselves to the lowest common denominator?
the scheduling of signups has gotten way out front from a logical needed standpoint. the logical start point in my opinion should be october 1st. 1-month to reply; then 1-month to confirm any assingments, this puts us at decemeber 1st. this is a full 6-weeks before the 1st match in mid-january. an october 1 start would allow everybody to get the complete schedule of matches at once and then make a better choice of applying for spots.\ some schools are still working on finishing their schedules right now today. october 1 would solve that problem. as it is now, assignors will have to post later scheduled matches and go through the same process all over. october 1 would solve that problem.
i have always worked with officials in accommodating assignments they receive for the big 12. this allows them to reply to matches for me and the big 12. the ones who didn't get a specific big 12 date are obviously available for something else on that date. i just try to fill a released spot with that person. this is much different than officials who signup with 4 assignors and then leave 3 hanging after the first confirmed assignment is received.
Earlier this week someone posted a question about why the Big 12 should be first in putting out their schedule. They raised the issue of money vs. politics. I had the same question.
Nobody has responded either way. Wonder why?
Guess it must be politics.
How sad for our profession.......
re: the BIG 12.
The BIG 12 actually has the most matches of any assignor to assign, approx. 90 matches. The pay is better than any other. Now, all things being about equal, who wouldn't want to be paid more for basically doing the same thing?? That's a no-brainer!! Like someone said before, if the BIG 12 slots were assigned first, the slots for the remaining schedules would be much easier to fill in. I would say the issue would be about the money, not politics.
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