Quote:
|
Keep a list that you write after every game. 5 things I did right and 5 things I did wrong. Learn to see your mistakes and learn to learn from them. If you know what you need to work on, the parents don't sound as authoritative.
|
Excellent idea RM. What if I have more than 5 wrong!
Hey schuster, don't sweat it. Most calls are 50/50 as far as fans go. They dont know the rules AT ALL and are 100% biased. Everyone on this board has worked games where they have made a dead nuts 189% correct call and been booed. You almost...no not almost...you laugh to yourself because you know you are doing THE RIGHT THING and are amazed at their ignorance of the rules and willingness to make themselves look foolish. Sometimes the coach will pile on but a lot of the time, more often than you think, s/he wont say anything because they know you have it right.
Soon, you will be working in front of enough people that it just becomes white noise and you stop hearing the specifics. That is nice, I am here to tell you.
(Although I did work a game last week in front of the loudest female fan in Blanchester Ohio! Her voice was like a bullet in the back of the head. Able to rise above the decible level of a jet engine. Able to shatter glass....Able to penetrate 6 foot earthen walls.....you get the picture. It became a job to see if I could look 100% like I didnt hear her every utterance, which I believe could have also woke the dead!)
I also agree with the previous posts...find a mentor. Make sure he is a successful official at the level you want to get too. Don't pick your buddy only working 8 kids rec games a saturday if you want to make it to varsity high school for example. Also pick someone who will be honest with you and not someone that will tell you what you want to hear.
The only other advice I have is find a summer camp. Not a "college official try out camp" but a camp ran by a high school assignor or association. Those summer reps with very few fans probably working varsity kids will help the game slow down for you when the season starts next year.
Welcome to our passion
Larks
VIT