Things to work on

[fonzzy07]

hey guys
what can I work on. I realize you havent seen me work, but my question is what are the picky things that evaluaters look at? The little things that will help me move up.

[tjones1]

Mechanics and put yourself in a position to make a call. It's a game of angles.

[dave30]

game management

[ChuckElias]

It kind of depends on where you are in your officiating career. If you're just starting out, then the thing to work on is mechanics and positioning. Are your signals correct? Is your arm straight up for a foul or violation? Do you count properly and in the proper situations? In the Trail, do you step to the basket on a shot attempt? In the Lead, do you close down to the lane when the ball is on the opposite side of the court? Do you stay within your primary area of responsibility?

If you are already experienced and looking to move to varsity, then a couple other things are important. Play-calling and game management. You have to get plays right. That sounds obvious, but it takes a long time to develop. You have to know the rules and you have to exercise good judgment. You have to get good angles and get the play right. If you get the play right, assignors don't care about your mechanics anymore.

Secondly, you have to be able to manage a game. There's a lot of stuff that goes in this category. Manage the coaches and the benches. Manage the table when things get screwed up (or hopefully, before things get screwed up. Manage the players by talking to them when you can, and taking care of business when they don't listen. Manage your crew in a tight ballgame to make sure everybody's aware of the situation and on the same page. This also takes a long time to develop.

I just said what the other guys already said; I just used a lot more words. Hope it helped a little.

[jkjenning]

End of my second year - eye contact with my partner[s] is a focus for me this summer; it should be a big aid in transitioning to 3-man assignments as making habitual eye contact with my partners will enable me to pick up on rotations, refresh my peripheral vision and generally keep a better feel for the big picture of what is taking place on the court. Of course getting videotaped at a camp [at least one, geared towards HS], accepting any and all feedback, and then studying the tape[s] afterwards will also help me get the most improvement out of this summer.

There is no better way to understand what you need to work on than to subject yourself to the critical review of veteran officials. I cannot imagine advancing as an official without having to endure many criticisms, so rely on veteran officials who have seen you on the court before you focus on some key area. Be willing to fail in front of your peers and they will give you very good, and well-intended, guidance! Impress with improvement and how responsive you can be to guidance from those ahead of you.

[mightyvol]

I think that one of the biggest things as a official that is starting out is that you take care of your area first and foremost. I have been officiating high school and some small college ball the last 13 years. The thing that I definitly needed to work on in my earlier years was making sure that I had off-ball coverage. I cant stress enough the importance of officiating off ball. There are alot of things that happen during the game and they arent always the situations that occur where the ball is. Put faith in your partner and when you convince yourself of that you will become a better official. Easier said than done, but one of the biggest things that I see from youger officials is that they want to officiate the ball and nothing else.

[Snake~eyes]

What stage are you at in officiating? I will list some things that I feel newer guys do. If you feel you are beyond that let me know and I will list some more stuff.

Mechanics:
-Foul call with a straight arm, don't run away too early, freeze for a second.
-Stopping the clock with both hands on OOB
-Reporting at the table, slow down, wait for eye contact with the scorer. Slow down. Speak loudly.
-Strong whistle
-Use your voice, communication with partners
-Stepping down on shots
-Don't look up as L, watch the players
-Don't walk through the players, walk AROUND them
-Deadball officiate
And my number one thing I always nitpick:
-Don't get the ball. If you run behind the bleechers to get the ball and your partner is reporting a foul then who's watching the players? 95% of the time it comes back on its own, and when it doesn't you can just ask a player to get the ball for you, I've never had one refuse.

[jkjenning]

Snake-eyes, "Stopping the clock with both hands on OOB"? does this mean develop a habit of stopping the clock [open-hand raised] and pointing in the direction of possession at the same time? I don't think I've heard 'stopping the clock with both hands' before.

[Snake~eyes]

Originally posted by jkjenning
Snake-eyes, "Stopping the clock with both hands on OOB"? does this mean develop a habit of stopping the clock [open-hand raised] and pointing in the direction of possession at the same time? I don't think I've heard 'stopping the clock with both hands' before.

It means, if you are the trail for exmaple, facing the court and the ball will be awarded to the team going left, you use your left hand to stop the clock and point. If it goes out to the team going right, you use your right hand to stop the clock and point. You have to be able to stop the clock with both hands depending on the direction you are going.

What I see is, officials not stopping the lock. Or officials stopping the clock and going across their body to point. OR officials stopping the clock with one hand and then using the other hand to point.

[crazy voyager]

Originally posted by Snake~eyes

It means, if you are the trail for exmaple, facing the court and the ball will be awarded to the team going left, you use your left hand to stop the clock and point. If it goes out to the team going right, you use your right hand to stop the clock and point. You have to be able to stop the clock with both hands depending on the direction you are going.

What I see is, officials not stopping the lock. Or officials stopping the clock and going across their body to point. OR officials stopping the clock with one hand and then using the other hand to point.

This is a fun fact but I think somebodys missed that update in fiba.

I do the two hand stop, but I read through the manual. And saw it says clearly that the referee shall stop the clock and point direction with the same hand

The question I would like to ask is, why? the two hand i simpler

[tjones1]

I think Snake was talking about Fed mechanics.

[jkjenning]

I understood Snake-eyes to be saying I should be ambidextrous (sp?). In other words, if the possession direction is heading to my left then stop the clock with my left hand... if the direction is to my right I should stop the clock with my right hand. In either case, the clock stoppage and directional indication is to be done with one hand: whislte & stop-clock, signal direction with one hand or the other.

On a related point, I have been told to count the five seconds on a BC inbound so that when I begin the 10 second count heading upcourt I am counting with the arm on the bench side. The idea is to make sure the coaches notice the count is taking place.

[Raymond]

Originally posted by jkjenning
On a related point, I have been told to count the five seconds on a BC inbound so that when I begin the 10 second count heading upcourt I am counting with the arm on the bench side. The idea is to make sure the coaches notice the count is taking place.

Heard that once before but I disgarded it. Who cares what the coaches think, use the arm closest to the evaluator.

Seriously, my board's best (IMO) trainer/evaluator is more concerned about the 5-second throw-in count being done with the arm opposite the in-bounder, as not to accidentically hit or distract the thrower during your count, even though ideally you will not be close enough for that to happen.

[fonzzy07]

Originally posted by Snake~eyes
What stage are you at in officiating? I will list some things that I feel newer guys do. If you feel you are beyond that let me know and I will list some more stuff.

Mechanics:
-Foul call with a straight arm, don't run away too early, freeze for a second.
-Stopping the clock with both hands on OOB
-Reporting at the table, slow down, wait for eye contact with the scorer. Slow down. Speak loudly.
-Strong whistle
-Use your voice, communication with partners
-Stepping down on shots
-Don't look up as L, watch the players
-Don't walk through the players, walk AROUND them
-Deadball officiate
And my number one thing I always nitpick:
-Don't get the ball. If you run behind the bleechers to get the ball and your partner is reporting a foul then who's watching the players? 95% of the time it comes back on its own, and when it doesn't you can just ask a player to get the ball for you, I've never had one refuse.

Yes I do all of these things but stepping down on shots. What do you mean by that. It did take a while to get out of the habit of watching the ball as the L but I am over that. What else would you recomend, the next step if you will.

[Snake~eyes]

Originally posted by fonzzy07
Yes I do all of these things but stepping down on shots. What do you mean by that. It did take a while to get out of the habit of watching the ball as the L but I am over that. What else would you recomend, the next step if you will.

When a shot goes up, many newer officials at the trail start backing out or what I like to call bailing out. You should take a step or two down to observe rebounding action.

A little more advanced stuff

Mechanically speaking:
-Start using your left hand to call fouls. This can be extremely difficult and some people just can't do it. It is a very small thing but it will be noticed by observers if you are always using your outside hand to call a foul.
-Right now your mechanics are probably crisp, but now you want to try and get them smooth. See if you can watch some good HS officials. Usually only the really good officials who are also young have smooth mechanics. They have really slowed down their game.
-Stand up straight, a slight lean isn't bad but if you are leaning you better be moving in that direction.
-Get yourself taped, how does your presence look on the court. How do you hold your arms/hands when you stand still. Do you look athletic? Do you run athletically? Do you look like you know what you're doing? Do you look like you belong out there?
-Facial Expressions
-I see a lot of oversize shirts. If you are in good shape then get a shirt that fits snug (if you're not in good shape start working out). You don't want something baggy and this will make you look stronger. Find a way to keep your shirt tucked in.

Game Management/Awareness
-Be aware of the foul count, know when you call a foul that you'll be shooting 1-1 before you look or have to ask.
-Be aware of the clock, make sure that it starts and stops properly.
-Know how much time is on the clock. If the clock dies suddenly in your game, will you know how much time to put on?
-Don't allow players to get away with something, when they do something (profanity/trashtalk ect) address it immediately.
-Handle the coaches. Don't avoid a technical foul but try and take care of situations without one.
-AP arrow. Know what way you'll go if we have a jump.
-Be aware of when a team is trying to foul or they are going for a steal.

Dead Ball officiating
-Get the foul shooter on fouls, whether you or your partner called the foul.
-Watch the players
-Get the ball. No I'm not going to contradict myself. If the ball is in a players hand get the ball from him/her. And get setup while your partner reports.

Misc
-Patient whistle, don't anticipate.
-Handchecks - SBRQ
-Recover from a bad call
-Communication with partner
-Step up your game when you need to (working with a weak partner for example).




It is important you don't overwelm yourself. Take a few things that you need to work on, write them down on paper and look them over before the game. Once you get this and that down move on to the next thing. If my memory is correct you are only in HS, you have PLENTY of time to get better and improve so don't rush things. I'm sure just about everyone on this board wish they started when you did.

[Edited by Snake~eyes on Mar 15th, 2006 at 01:59 AM]