snakey might have been a little "rough" when he said you are a nobody. but he is, i think, just restating the "do what i say not what i do". you are being evaluated by senior officials to see if you can move up. they will want you to do things "by the book." so do them that way. the fact that they dont all the time doesnt mean you shouldnt learn it that way. hypocritical, perhaps. plus, it can never hurt to learn to do things right. senior guys will always blame it on their "college experience"
so get that rules book and officials manual and practice making calls using the right mechanics. and if you have a question, go to the referee magazine website and order a book called "basketball officials guidebook: crew of two, highschool mechanics". it is awesome and will really help you learn your mechanics. then get a ref buddy or a spouse and call out vilations and fouls and practice calling them. it sounds silly, but it really helps.