Spent the last several days on airplanes so no time to blog. But, I spent a lot of time studying the rules for both HS and College. I've reached that place where I've spent too much time in the books and need to get back on the field.
Okay, here is my bitch this week - scheduling meetings. With all due respect for my association coordinator, the guy needs to understand how the other half lives. Many of the members of the association are school teachers, police officers, construction workers, etc. Essentially 8-5 kind of guys. I am not. I am a 'white collar' worker who is on call 24/7. I have to make arrangements with my boss to not be accessible during football games. I'm lucky to have a boss who is understanding and supports me, but since I am in management, I have a burden to my employer to ensure my area is covered (I am an IT manager).
So, I get this note from my crew chief stating there are no excused absences for meetings and the association has a minimum number of pre-season training hours. Well, this trip was planned and paid for since March. We were only told three weeks ago about the pre-season meeting schedule. How can missing the meeting be held against me? In the 11 years I've been part of the association, we have never met in July. In fact, in 11 years I've never missed a meeting. Further, I attend all the voluntary summer study meetings, worked the All-Star game I previously blogged about, and even worked a semi-pro game in June. I've put in the time and paid my dues. Literally ($75) and figuratively.
Our association complains about not having enough officials. Well, there needs to be some flexibility. It's one thing if I just didn't attend the meeting because I forgot or was lazy. There needs to be credit for my summer meetings or something.
The next meeting is Monday, so I'll see what this means. Maybe I won't get playoffs this year. That would be unfair and disappointing, but not the end of the world.
Are you a white collar working like me? What hoops do you have to go through?
