[grunewar]

Gene Steratore was the guest speaker at our Association's End-of- Season Banquet last night. Here were a few of my take-aways:

Officials – “You never win or lose.”
Why do you officiate? “The hook is the challenge. You do it for the game”
“Your reaction time should be identical to the athlete.”
Why do you ref so much? “You push yourself because you need to.”
Always carry yourself with class, “Everyone is a reporter.”
He’s writing a book entitled, “Alone in front of a million people.”
“You have to be your biggest critic.”
“We are the perfect people to hang the game on.”
“Know the rules. Play calling is easy. You have to manage the game. That’s hard.”
“Show your ego on the court only for self-preservation.”

He said sometimes, young officials can learn more in the CAR on the way to the game, than on the court.