Thanks, Kelvin. I've been stressing so much about which 4,000,000,000 things I would have to leave out that I hadn't looked at it in terms of what three or four things I most wanted them to learn.
Last year's clinic spent much classroom time on philosophy and all the hands-on time demonstrating and practicing things like: blowing the whistle, reporting, signals, mechanics for administering free throws and throw-ins, etc. It's hard to find fault with that, it's all stuff officials need to know.
In the years I've been playing and reffing church ball, I think the biggest problem is the things that don't get called. Even guys who've played college ball, who know the game inside and out, struggle when they put on stripes. They just don't know how to "see" the game like a good official does.
I feel that the best thing I can do with this opportunity is to focus on teaching them how to see the stuff they need to call. So if I had to pick some things they should be able to explain and demonstrate (and I guess I do have to), they'd probably be:
- Basic positioning (including the principle of boxing in the players)
- Areas and lines
- Watching matchups (primary and secondary)
- Move to maintain an open look
With that, they should have the tools to allow them to "see" the game, rather than just watch the blur.
I'm not consciously ignoring mechanics, but they can be learned as they go. To grab an admittedly borderline case, knowing how to properly signal a traveling violation is less important to the well-begin of the game than not standing under the basket the whole game watching the ball.
I welcome anybody's thoughts on whether I'm right or wrong, and why.