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Originally Posted by euby
I've been lurking here for awhile and decided to jump in.
First a little about myself. I am a fairly old fart at 44 years old. I played Varsity HS ball and then did a couple tours in the Marines. I started coaching AAU for the little ones in 1993 and continued until a couple years ago. I gave that up to focus on Admin of our local league of which I am the President for the past 4 years (about 700 kids). So I have been around the block a few times and saw how the officials were at the youth level  but I am the type of person who either "puts up or shuts up" so I started officiating little league in-house games last year and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. Anyway I figure if your going to do something...do it right so I joined our local officals association and will be starting classes here in a couple weeks leading up to the exam at the first of October. I have bought the rule book, case book, and handbook and read thru them.
Now my questions...FINALLY 
What was the hardest transition to make during your first year?
As a newbie what should be my primary focus be on... rules, mechanics, networking, conditioning?
What should I avoid while dealing with AD's, coaches, other officials?
Anything else?
Thanks for any response and I'm sure I'll be bugging you all for awhile!
Steve Eubanks |
Back to the post after the gender equity debate....
All advice and suggestions offered so far are excellent and should be heeded. I have a few others:
1. Similar to you, I was 45 when I started officiating after a lifetime of playing hoops and many other sports. I thought I knew the rules and the game and that officiating would be a piece of cake. Wrong! I was humbled at just how little I knew and understood. Be ready to learn at every opportunity...Be amazed at how quickly you improve and gain confidence.
2. You're no longer the president, so stop listening to the yahoos in the crowd. If they should get dangerous or out of hand, go to game management and let them handle it.
3. The first and still best piece of advice I ever got from a fellow official: If you have doubts, then it didn't happen. IOW, don't blow your whistle unless you are 100% sure a foul or violation occurred. You don't want to have to explain a poor call to a coach, or even worse to your assignor or evaluator. The voice of experience speaking here
4. A repeat from other posts: Watch and officiate your area...no one else will. You're partner(s) will cover his/her/their area, and together you'll cover the entire court.
5. Call as many games as possible. I know, it's another repeat, but experience is the best teacher.
6. Have fun. If you discover that you're not, you may want to consider a different role in the game.
Good luck!