HS Postseason Recommendation Protocols

[humanbackstop19]

I curious to know how umpires are selected to work high school postseason through different states.  In Iowa, there are a few evaluators that work around and watch umpires work.  However, a big part of the selection process comes from coach recommendations.  Are there any other states that rely mostly on coaches, or do any have umpires recommending umpires?  I am not disgruntled (quite the opposite), but curious as I have a committee meeting this coming weekend and would like to share ideas.  Thanks!

[wolfe_man]

In OH, we have coach evals and then peer voting.  In all reality, this means the politics are in full force.  To no one's surprise, it's the same (old) gentlemen who get selected every year.

It does vary from association to association, but from what I hear - it sounds eerily similar all over.

[JSam21]

Missouri, you must work a minimum of 10 varsity games. Each district at each classification has an umpire draft for their tournaments and the teams in that district vote on who they want to umpire. I worked 2 different districts in two different classes last season. 

[Richvee]

In NJ.... ummmmmm. ..... I think it’s a secret. 

[kylehutson]

KS:

Regionals are selected by hosting school's normal assigner (sometimes that's the AD, sometimes it's a league commissioner, sometimes it's an outsourced organization - we don't really have the "associations" that I've gathered most places have).

For state, each team (technically the AD, but practically the coach) submits two recommendations  who they think are most qualified for postseason. They have to have worked one of their games in the last two years. Those with the most votes get distributed among the state tournaments.

[jonathantullos]

In Mississippi I believe it's a combination of peer evals, coach evals, and experience (I'm not 100% honestly). But according to my assignor, since there are so many playoff games played in the early rounds here, it also sometimes comes down to who's available and willing.

I'm not certain but I believe that the state office chooses crews for the state tournament based on evals from the assignors. 

[Aging_Arbiter]

I don't even try and keep track any more.  we have to work 10 or 12 varsity games, and then a "peer rating" (here it comes) groups the crews.  1-4 is Crew #1, 5-8 is crew #2, etc. (Do you see the good ol' boy network working here?)The top crew is usually the one that if moved into states, is the one to go.  I've probably had more training and field time than most in my chapter, that based on training/experience should probably land me on crew 2 or 3.  Never been higher than crew 4 and 2 or 3 district games.  No biggie, not it in for the fame or accolades, so I just move on to the next season.......

 

[lawump]

In South Carolina, we have five classifications (Class A, AA, AAA, AAAA, and AAAAA).  Each classification has three rounds of playoffs.  There is a: (1) District round (each classification has 8 districts statewide; each District has 4 teams; each District has a double-elimination tournament to crown a District champion); (2) an Upper State/Lower State (the four district champions in the "Upper" (northern) part of the state play in a double-elimination tournament to crown an "Upper State Champion"; the "Lower State" does the same thing); (3) Best-of-3 state championship series between the upper and lower state champions.

Our state uses 11 different umpire associations throughout the state to assign games during the regular season.  In the District and Upper/Lower State rounds, the assignor who is the assignor during the regular season for the home school assigns the umpires.  The South Carolina High School League then picks the umpires they want for the state championship series.  I think they use a combination of informal inquiries to coaches and assignors.  

[LMSANS]

On 1/14/2020 at 5:56 PM, Richvee said:

In NJ.... ummmmmm. ..... I think it’s a secret. 

Supposedly, each association submits 25 names to the state and there are evaluators around the state. Then it all gets ignored and some guy picks his cronies...only the best!

[The Man in Blue]

Well, there is this:

Ratings Explanation

How the Ratings Percentile is Determined: All ratings in a particular sport that are received during the current school term, plus the two previous school terms, are averaged and then divided by the number of ratings. The result is that an official who works often (and is rated often) will generally receive a better ranking than an official who obtains a high average on just a handful of ratings. These numbers are sorted from top to bottom and divided into 100 groups of equal size. The officials in the highest group are assigned to the 99th percentile, the next group to the 98th, and so on down to 0. Why Your Rating Percentile Suddenly Went Down (Probably): At the start of the new school term, the ratings from three years ago are no longer included when computing your percentile. If you had a lot of good ratings three years ago, or if you simply had a lot of ratings three years ago, your percentile is likely to go down when the new rating is computed. How the Top5/Top 15 Percentile is Determined: All Top 5/Top 15 Lists in a particular sport that have been updated during the last two years (730 days) are used. Officials receive points based on their position in the lists: 15 points for each 1st-place mention, 14 points for each 2nd-place mention, and so on down to 1 point for each 15th-place mention. The total points are sorted from top to bottom and divided into 100 groups of equal size. The officials in the highest group are assigned to the 99th percentile, the next group to the 98th, and so on down to 0. Why Your Top 5/Top 15 Percentile Suddenly Went Down (Probably): Top 5/Top 15 Lists expire exactly two years (730 days) after they were submitted. If you are at or near the top of a list that recently expired, your percentile is likely to go down when the new rating is computed. Alternatively, you may recently have been moved down in the rankings (or completely removed from the rankings) on a Top 5/Top 15 list or lists. Such a change can often result is a fairly dramatic drop in your percentile.

 

... and this ...

 

Power Rating Explanation

About the Power Rating (listed on main page): The Power Rating is calculated on or about the "snapshot date" of September 7 for fall sports, December 7 for winter sports, or April 7 for spring sports. Any information that changes after the snapshot date -- including clinic attendance, change in promotion level, or ratings by schools or officials -- will not be included in the Power Rating. The IHSA administrator uses the Power Rating calculated on the snapshot date to make state series assignments. The Power Rating is viewable for two months after the snapshot date. How the Power Rating is Determined: The power rating is a number from 0 to 35, derived from 7 different criteria, as follows: Promotion level: Certified (C) -- 5 pts., Recognized (R) -- 3 pts., Registered (X) -- 1 pt. Part 1 exam score: 96 -- 5 pts., 92 -- 4 pts., 88 -- 3 pts., 84 -- 2 pts, 80 -- 1 pt. Previous tournament experience for contests by this gender: state final -- 5 pts., super-sectional or football semifinal -- 4 pts., sectional or football quarterfinal -- 3 pts., football second-round game -- 2 pts., regional or other football playoff game -- 1 pt. Contest ratings (percentile rank of all officials): 90% -- 5 pts., 80% -- 4 pts., 70% -- 3 pts., 60% -- 2 pts., 50% -- 1 pt. Top 15 lists (percentile rank of all officials): 90% -- 5 pts., 80% -- 4 pts., 70% -- 3 pts. 60% -- 2 pts., 50% -- 1 pt. Clinic attendance (most recent clinic): this year -- 5 pts., last year -- 3 pts., two years ago -- 1 pt. Varsity games worked (percentage of games a school is allowed to play in the eRice regular season in that sport): 70% -- 5 pts., 60% -- 4 pts., 50% -- 3 pts., 40% -- 2 pts., 30% -- 1 pt. See table below.

 

 

Which means ... hell if I know.

The same older guys and gals go year after year, despite IHSA saying they want new blood.  Working a lot of games is more important than being good.

I’ve seen a guy work post-season in a sport he didn’t work that year.

My rating for Boys’ Volleyball is equal to my rating in Girls’ Volleyball.  We don’t have Boys’ Volleyball around here.

[noumpere]

13 hours ago, The Man in Blue said:

My rating for Boys’ Volleyball is equal to my rating in Girls’ Volleyball.  We don’t have Boys’ Volleyball around here.

So, they're both zero?

 

 

[Richvee]

13 hours ago, LMSANS said:

Supposedly, each association submits 25 names to the state and there are evaluators around the state. Then it all gets ignored and some guy picks his cronies...only the best!

I was pretty sure it was something like that. 

[The Man in Blue]

8 hours ago, noumpere said:

So, they're both zero?

 

 

 

No ... that would actually make sense!  

[zoops]

No known protocol here.  Supposedly there is a coach-vote aspect to it, along with a state administrator who makes the call.  Definitely no formal evaluations or game requirements nor association recommendations as I'm the head of one of the largest in my state.  We've had guys whose first games of the year were at the state tournament (guys that work college games the rest of the spring) or guys who get selected for postseason who don't even register with the state or officiate any longer (good ol' boys club).  I've gotten my share of postseason but it is sad for those trying to work their way up.  

[JaxRolo]

We have a committer that decides... BUT...

Normally it don't matter. We have a couple of board members that decide...

Last year our state crew was 3 umpires... One got injured and one of the Board members put himself in... He decided to do all the Plates during the playoffs...