Things went much better this year in camp than my previous experience (both from a quality of camp/clinicians and, more to the point, my maturity level and willingness to keep my mouth shut and listen). Many thanks to the posters here for providing camp tips and how to get the most out of the time.
With some time spent reflecting, here are some quick takeaways from the camp:
- Listen more than you talk - once committed to this sit back and watch how few of the other attendees adopt this approach.
- Have a goal/goals - my goal was to refine my game (as one of the clinicians said - we can all blow a whistle, it's the other stuff that sets us apart) and keep progressing toward being post-season eligible. Because my goal is to be good at high school ball, and not college/beyond, I can filter the feedback and apply it in a more focused manner.
- Don't get hung up on conflicts in feedback - my first game the clinician said I need to use Fed mechanics on violations/out of bounds. Tried to incorporate it but was inconsistent. Had the same clinician for game 5 where I didn't use the mechanics again and he didn't mention it (he had repeated it several times to other officials so it's not that he forgot). Last game the clinician specifically said not to use Fed mechanics. The "old" me would have gotten hacked off and wondered why they couldn't get on the same page. The "new" me accepted their feedback, tried it out, and ultimately got to the place I knew my association wanted me to be.
- Have fun - I don't remember having as much fun officiating games as I did this weekend. It wasn't a comedy club out there by any means, but there were funny moments with coaches/players/partners that allowed me to just smile and enjoy the moment, then get back to the game. Don't know if that came across in my scores, which won't be out for something like a month, but it did make the experience much more enjoyable.
Thanks again and hope that all who have camps scheduled get what they're looking for out of them.