New referee advice?
 

I'm a sophomore in high school who decided to pick up refereeing HS basketball as a winter hobby/sport. I've got history in refereeing hockey and wrestling (however, not qualified for hockey anymore and there's only one wrestling meet in my town this year), and directing fencing, but my heart lays with being a baseball umpire.
However, in August, it was discovered that I've got some vision problems and I decided that officiating over the winter would make me more confident umpiring with corrective lenses.
I know the basic rules, as a spectator that has gone to the occasional high school game, but I know absolutely nothing in the way of mechanics or more detailed rulings. The rules meetings start on the 3rd. Our season doesn't start until December 12th, so I've got time to learn and I intend to do so BUT I've found that the best advice comes from other officiators and not a book...now that that's all said and done-does anybody have any advice? And techniques I should know? The best shoes? Points of focus?

You're HIRED!!!:D

Are you only interested in officiating basketball for the purpose of preparing for baseball, or are you seriously interested in being a quality basketball official for years to come? If it's the former, I wouldn't waste your time or your money. Basketball and baseball are in two different spectrums when it comes to officiating. However, if you do want to officiate basketball for years to come, then congratulations! Coming to this forum was a good start–most of your questions can be answered through the previous threads.

Basic rules knowledge ("fanboy knowledge") is, as I'm sure you know, not going to cut it. Read the rules again and again. When you dig into the NFHS rules, you'll probably surprised at how many myths you may have are dispelled. Make flashcards for the definitions in Rule 4.

Practice, practice, practice. Practice your signals in a mirror. Be a great dead-ball official.

TV commentators don't know what they're talking about 95% of the time. Don't listen to them for advice.

Don't wear belted pants.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes.

If you encounter a situation in a game where your knowledge of the proper rules was shoddy, look it up in the locker room.

If you like Nike shoes, all-black Air Monarchs are a good choice.

And above all, as MTDSr. says often, never let the game go into overtime.

Have fun!

I believe this is very basic, but highly underrated and not emphasized enough:

Start now when are alone, and condition yourself to raise your arm every time you blow your whistle. Either a raised fist (foul) or a raised open hand (for everything else). If you condition yourself to do that it will become second nature and then you can start concentrating on the proper signals, mechanics, and communication that follow every whistle you blow. I see way too many new officials who get so flustered and nervous about blowing the whistle, the rest is not even worth addressing.

Guys - just FYI, I sent a PM to rulekeep listing the First Rule of Officiating. Let's hope he follows it. :D

BNR makes a really good point. Another point about whistling: when you are practicing, you have to blow the whistle with confidence. It should be loud and sharp. Coaches, players, fans, and fellow officials will never buy a 50-50 call where an official acts like he's scared to hit the whistle.

One tip I share with new officials in blowing the whistle.....you want to start and stop the flow of air with your tongue, not your lungs. The air starts flowing forcefully and is cut off forcefully. It creates a much crisper sound.

As for how to actually do that, it is sort of like saying the word toot into the whistle (extended as needed, of course) without the actual vocalization.

That said, find a way to get last year's books (rules, case, mechanics) and read them so you have some basic understanding from an official's standpoint before the meetings / training sessions.

Read and understand Rule 4 (Definitions). Every other rule has a definition that applies and if you learn that rule all other rules will make more sense.

Finally, just watch other veterans work. Do not work your game (prelim, sophomore, JV) and go home. Become a gym rat and watch what others are doing. When you do, you can learn more about officiating than what you read.

Peace

That's deep. Can you elaborate.

I think the Facebook group is leaking.

Except for a held ball/jump ball signal, which in and of itself is a stop clock signal.

We're lucky to have a mentoring program here in central Ohio. I worked with the same JV crew four years, who worked along with the same Varsity crew. They would watch us, we would watch them, and all discuss how to get better.

Assuming you don't have that, find the top refs around you and talk to them. Ask them if you can watch them work games. When I did that they'd always allow me into the locker room with them before the game, at halftime, and after the game. That way I could either ask questions or simply see what they do and how they talk about it. One thing I learned was what the right questions were to ask, and how to ask them.

I also had some of them come watch me work and join me in the locker room.

Just don't be afraid to ask for help. The books are great, as is this message board, but there's no comparison to talking with veteran officials first hand and watching them work.