Thread: Ref Gear
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Old Tue Nov 01, 2005, 05:16pm
JRutledge JRutledge is offline
Do not give a damn!!
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: On the border
Posts: 30,463
What do you guys think about...:
the new mesh referee shirts?


I do not like the look of them. Maybe that will change, but right now I like the poly shirts the best. They look a lot better.

pleated or non pleated pants?

I like the pleated pants. This again is a personal preference. I hear the guys that are a little heavier (they say this not me) do not like the pleated pants. They feel it makes them look bigger. I am a slim guy, so I like the way pleated looks on me (not sure it would matter to me personally). I have both but I prefer to wear the pleated every single time.

belt or belt less?

If feel more strongly about this topic. I think belted pants look silly. All the higher levels wear the beltless pants. I only see HS officials (and usually not very good ones) wear the belted pants. Now I am not suggesting that you cannot be a good official by wearing only belted pants, but times have changed. Fashions have changed and it shows to me that at the very least you look like someone that knows what you are doing.

Fox40 Classic, Pearl, Mini?

Until everyone changes their whistles, the Classic is the only way to go. I worked a big varsity game with a guy that only had a Mini whistle. I offered to give him one of my extra, non-used Classics and he insisted on using his Mini whistle. Well it (Mini) sounded terrible and completely different. We could hardly hear his whistle and there was confusion a couple of times during the game because of not being able to hear his whistle. This was a pretty packed and very loud gym. His whistle sounded terrible and many of his calls were questioned which I think was largely because the whistle he was using did not sound very strong. Stick with only the Fox40 Classic. It is the only whistle most basketball officials I know use as a basketball official. I have also worked with officials from other states and I have never seen another whistle used.

Suppliers?

Basketball you can buy stuff from any place. It comes down to personal preference and specific brands you like to wear. I like Gerry Davis because they have most of the stuff I wear. Honigs is great for football (the owner was a Big Ten Football crew chief), but I can get better basketball product at other outlets. Many things can be bought anywhere like shirts and shoes. Things like pants might be sold at very specific suppliers and even socks can vary drastically from one place to another. It really comes down to who you like and how quick they can get it to you after that.

Also... What do you carry onto the court for AP arrow? Bands? Extra Whistle?

I carry and extra whistle but it is not for AP situations. I feel if you are tune to the game you will not need an "helper" for the AP arrow. This is no different than having an idea of what the foul situation is. I think it looks silly to have to constantly change the whistle so you can know something that is really not that hard to know. I think officials use the whistle as a crutch. I also know officials that forget to move the whistle and they are flat out wrong when issues of the AP arrow come up.

Any tidbits can help and will be appreciated...

I have talked enough.

Peace
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