[Gutierrez7]

Last night I was privileged to tag along with a good friend of mine's college game. This friend officiated the first round of NCAA Womens Tournament last year. In addition, he was partnered with another friend, who is a WNBA official. (sorry to name drop, but you will see why)

They invited me in their locker room before the game and I was able to witness the WNBA official's pregame meeting. There are reasons why he is a WNBA official and the other, a NCAA Tournament official. The pregame meeting was nothing short of impressive. The meeting was a casual conversational format. He pulled out a binder that held several pages of points he wanted to cover as simple reminders. All three discussed both teams insights that they had from previous games. They shared each others tendencies since they didn't work together before and wanted everyone to feel comfortable. They discussed both coaches in a manner to better the game not their ego.

The game was action packed, but they looked "As cool as the other side of the pillow". (Thanks Stuart Scott)

Therefore, for all you officials that want to move up, take the time to prepare before you ever get on the court. For those of you that think pregame is a waste of time, please move out of the way.