At what point do refs get it?
-
BigMcK
- AHL'er
- Posts: 3074
- Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2010 4:23 pm
- Location: Drawing 1 line in the sand, followed by another, and another, and another. TIC TAC TOE
At what point do refs get it?
Referees at the pro level must maintain a certain level of training and skating regime to keep pace with the speed of the game. I would assume they were players at a competitive level at some point. Anyone know when do they realize they would best be served at a career level to give up the dream of playing pro and go into being a pro ref?
-
mikey287
- NHL Fourth Liner
- Posts: 21107
- Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2006 5:40 pm
- Location: Philadelphia, PA - @MichaelFarkasHF
Re: At what point do refs get it?
Some players after college, but usually reffing starts a low level...even volunteer level reffing and you work your way up. Then there are many clinics and things that help you along the way...start at the low, low level...peewee, then maybe bantam or low-level high school, and just keep working. Attend clinics, network, hope to get something with exposure or an invite to an exposure camp - very limited amount of jobs at the NHL level. Hockey IQ, skating ability both a big part of it.
-
shoeshine boy
- ECHL'er
- Posts: 1679
- Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2010 9:44 am
- Location: me, 3 years Super League
Re: At what point do refs get it?
the above is pretty much right on the money. I have a friend who's a ref and he played as a kid and then started reffing in his late teens. he worked his way up through the local USA Hockey ranks. when we got an ECHL team he started out as the mascot while still reffing (linesman technically) high level USA Hockey and ACHA college games. when the local ECHL team needed a fill-in linesman for the night he got his big break. now he lives in Kansas City and is the Royals mascot during the summer and an AHL ref during hockey season.
-
BigMcK
- AHL'er
- Posts: 3074
- Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2010 4:23 pm
- Location: Drawing 1 line in the sand, followed by another, and another, and another. TIC TAC TOE
Re: At what point do refs get it?
Thanks both for the info. I always wondered how the path would go.
-
KennyTheKangaroo
- NHL Healthy Scratch
- Posts: 12249
- Joined: Sat Nov 18, 2006 11:15 pm
- Location: Under the Skycoaster
Re: At what point do refs get it?
that dude has a pretty baller lifestyle.shoeshine boy wrote:the above is pretty much right on the money. I have a friend who's a ref and he played as a kid and then started reffing in his late teens. he worked his way up through the local USA Hockey ranks. when we got an ECHL team he started out as the mascot while still reffing (linesman technically) high level USA Hockey and ACHA college games. when the local ECHL team needed a fill-in linesman for the night he got his big break. now he lives in Kansas City and is the Royals mascot during the summer and an AHL ref during hockey season.