Fresh Meat
 

During our pre-game the other night, we had a partner that stated he often felt like he was taking the brunt of tongue lashings by coaches who were not familiar with him even though he's been an official for 20 years, but has primarily worked college games in the past 5 - 7 years. He said, "They look at me and think I'm fresh meat." Plus he's youthful looking which makes him look like started officiating a few years ago.

What tips would you have for an official who felt this way?

We kind of discussed some of the obvious things like, be really solid on mechanics, be approachable, be firm when you need to be firm, etc.

Thought this was a good forum to generate some ideas.

Just let your work do the talking.

Use the stop sign when necessary. And then penalize if it doesnt stop

Stop sign works for some. I'm not convinced that showing the coach your hand is going to work if he already thinks you're new. For me, a quick and quiet word works better.

"Coach, this (whatever it is) is not going to continue tonight." If you want to be blunt, "Coach, I get the impression that you think this is my first game." Or "Coach, I'm not one of your players, so you really don't get to coach me today."

Sometimes, the only thing that works is a T if he's pushing your limits to see what you'll take. Pull the trigger.

Adam:

I am reminded of Mark, Jr.'s very first basketball game (and I had the thrill of being his partner); and you must remember he is a 17 year old senior in H.S. It is first game was the 7th grade game of a girls' 7th/8th grade DH. Mid-way through the 3rd QT he was going administer a throw-in after a TO on the sideline opposite the Table in front of the Visitors' fans. A father who was not impressed with our officiating asks him: "Is this the first game you have ever officiated?" With the coolness of a veteran official, like his "old man", he matter of factly replies to the father: "As a mater of fact it is." And then proceeded to administer the throw-in.

MTD, Sr.

With all due respect, he has 20 years officiating experience and a good chunk at the college level. I don't think he needs anymore tip than grow a pair. He should know what he's doing by now and how to handle this otherwise I would seriously question his experience.

However say it was an official who had a few years experience and encounters a "new" coach. I would tell the official to treat him like any other coach. Deal with him.

Just go out and officiate, and don't take any crap.

I'm a younger official in my area and still under 5 years of experience. I also have the benefit of a baby face, so I know what he's talking about. You can take what I say with a grain of salt, but here are my thoughts:

1. I try to communicate confidence through my demeanor on court. Sell the calls and get to where you need to be quickly.

2. Answer questions with as few words as possible and with as much language from the rules as possible within those few words.

3. Don't be afraid to take care of business. I'm sure I'm probably at or near the top in the state for coach technicals, but it makes no difference to me. If they can't figure out that I'm done with them after I warn them, it's not my issue that they gave the other team 2 fts and the ball. There is no other aspect of your life that you get to treat another adult disrespectfully, and the basketball court is no exception. I'm not going to listen to them talk to me differently than they talk to my partners just because they've not had me before or because I have a baby face.

4. Do what works for your personality. If you can get a good one-liner in, do it. I am not quick enough to do that, so I don't get too far away from a very business-like approach but some of my partners can. One in particular is able to build a good relationship with coaches by being a bit more chummy than me, but at the end of the day whether they want to have a beer with me has no effect on how hard I work on the court to call a good game.