Hoop Mountain was great for teaching the 3-whistle mechanics, and for getting lots of feedback.
Pros:- Lots of quality observers. Two D1 officials on every court.
- Video evaluation on about half the courts.
- Very good instruction during morning sessions.
- Price (usually under $300).
- Room and board are substantially better than what we had this summer, Dan
- Pizza and beer every night after late games.
- Only 45 minutes drive from home. (Sorry, that one only applies to me
)
Cons:- Quality of basketball is not very good.
- Contacts?
I enjoyed it when I went. It was great for me b/c I had no 3-whistle experience. I don't think you'll get games by going. I guess I shouldn't say that. I should only speak of my own experience. I certainly didn't get any games from it. I really enjoyed all the D1 guys that were there. They were great to talk to and were very approachable. Like I said, it was great for me. I met Jim Burr, Mickey Crowley, Charlie Diehl, Fran Connelly, just to name a few. So it was fun to meet all those guys, but I don't know if any of those contacts has advanced my officiating career.
If I were to sum it up in one sentence, I'd say it's Mickey's camp with better quantity of feedback and worse basketball. I'm not trying to discourage you, Dan. It's a great camp to get very good instruction. Just trying to give you my experiences. If you decide to come, you better let me know.
Chuck