Hey Fella's,
Well, here is my take on camps. Before I get into this too far, please keep this in mind; Camps are a great thing!
Having attended 3 football camps, Umpire School and 2 basketball camps, not to mention being an instructor at a couple of state clinics here is some very, very humble advice.
1. Bring everthing! And then, bring some more. In the case of football, think of one uniform for each day. Bring shorts and knickers, long and short sleeve shirts. Extra hats and any/all "knick-knacks" that you have. If you are traveling by air, pack at least one uniform with your carry on bag. Just in case your luggage ends up in Topeka.
2. Put a couple extra dollars aside. There is usually a gear company there selling stuff. This by the way is a great time to buy shoes and other hard to fit items. They are right there and you can try everything on.
3. Pay attention to the instructors, and I don't mean solely in what they are saying. Just because a guy is a good official doesn't necessarily mean he is a good instructor. Find and talk to the "Returnees" or "2nd year guys." Listen, watch and then watch some more. Find the instructor that you like and try to stay around them (unless of course you are assigned which can make it a little tougher)
4. Find out how many instructors would be there and how many students are expected. Try to keep the ratio low 15-20 students per one instructor may be a little high. Another example is 275 students and 7 instructors.
5. This one is tough, but I feel it needs to be said. There are camps out there that are Training camps, Exposure camps and Weekend-yell-at-you camps. All three types of camps are highly beneficial and the quicker you decide what kind of a camp you are at, the more beneficial it will be. Camps can contain Instructors and assignors.
Training camps are camps that are designed to train you to be better officials. The instructor to assignor ratio is pretty wide, usually like 8 instructors to 1 assignor (8-1)
Exposure camps are are just that. It is a chance for officials to get in front of assignors. This ratio is usually more even, like 8-6, or 15-8.
Weekend-yell-at-you camps are just that. It usually involves an instructor or two who likes to rip people and believes that by yelling at you, it makes you a better official.
Camps can be one of these or a combination of all three.
6. Help and learn from each other, not just the instructors.
7. Ask a ton of questions!
8. HAVE FUN and remember this important item...You paid good money to come to a camp and you are a customer of theirs. You are there to learn as much as you can. You are there to become a better official, not to listen to a guy tell you "ghosties" about how he handled a game situation.
Well, thats my take on camps. You can't beat em as far as training. Highly recommended! If you have any questions, let me know.
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