[eventnyc]

I'm in my seventh year of officiating boys basketball. This is my second year of varsity ball. I'm having a horrific time adjusting to the varsity level. Just as I start feeling comfortable, something seems to happen that sets me back. Either it's a coach or something stupid I did. Last night, I blew an inadvertant whistle. The court's OOB area was a red color almost two foot wide. In the fourth quarter, I'm the lead and a pass goes out to my right on the baseline. I quickly look over and observe the player's foot on a black line that is painted on the floor about 6" away from the OOB. Yeah, you guessed it. I blew the play dead just as he released a good three pointer. To top it all off, my partner and I kicked the enforcement. We scored the goal and went with the arrow. STUPIDITY, in action! The coach realized he lost the arrow on the next held ball. We saw him after the game and informed him that we kicked it. Surprisingly, he was very civil about it and took it in stride. It helped that he won by double digits.

When did you guys start to feel comfortable at the varsity level? Did it take a few years? Several officials on my board tell me they went through the same thing. Don't get me wrong, I feel great some games and feel I did a good job, then the setback!