As opposed to and a stark difference to my "first official game ever" thread, I worked a youth league last Sunday that I absolutely loved. Worked with kids I think between 10-14 years old. Since we are "teachers" in this game, I got to TEACH a lot of kids about basketball (one fav example, for a 3-sec V, a kid sleeps thru my 2 warnings "blue, get out of the key," then calling it after 5-6s, and on the way back upcourt, whispering to that player 'keep moving, k?' and he replies back, 'thanks ref, i'll remember next time' with a smile, np after that). No griefs from the coaches (who actually coached the team) or fans (who actually supported their team).
This 'no stress' environment (maybe) gave me an opportunity to teach a lot of things to myself as well! Working here on kicking the bad habits picked up during the recball league over the summer, had a great partner that did a great pregame with the captains (which I hope to incorporate myself), seeing what fouls are good calls and no-calls, and of course, watching OFF-BALL.
One more great experince I had were the fans. Y'know how these kinds of leagues the bleachers are filled with moms, dads, etc. of kids in the game. So they cheer on a play on our way upcourt and when I make a call downcourt(even obvious), they Boo me...not yelling at me, but you can actually hear the word "Boo!" (something I haven't heard in a long time). Was a great feeling, so I just smiled and continued the game
Anyway, just wanted to share a great experince for a novice coming up.