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As a woman in this business, who is starting to find her footing, I would like to give this advice, which you may or may not need depending on your personality. Dont let the men intimidate you. Period. This goes for partners, assignors, coaches, players, dads, and any other men. If you have not learned yet in other areas of your life how to not back down to men, this is the time to start practicing. I am not saying that you need to be arrogant or obnoxious. But there are plenty of men who automatically deduct 50 points from your credibility score simply because you are female, and you need to be firm and confident enough that you send the message, "Your deduction does not affect my game." I think this is why I T more coaches than most of the refs do. I finally asked a woman I know here that is very, very good at reffing, and she said, yes, she T'd a lot of coaches in her first few years. She doesn't have to now because people know and respect her and she lives up to her reputation. I know another woman ref, who has T'd very little, but her personality is different and she wins coaches over by being very and superior -- and she also is very, very good.
But the most important thing is develop confidence quickly, and project it copiously. This will help you more than anything else.
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