How Do You Train?

[Stat-Man]

Originally Posted by The_Rookie

Looking for info on how your boards/associations conduct training for officials.

1) How Many meetings do you hold with your members?

We usually have four in-season meetings, once a month. The last two seasons, though, the last meeting has been cancelled due to officials being needed for makeup games and/or our trainers being assigned to said games.

2) How is each meeting structured? You have a group meeting and then break out into smaller classes? What % of meeting time is done in group meeting vs Break out?

The majority of our meetings are a single-group presentation. However, we've had a breakout session once each of the past two seasons where officials were split based on whether they officiated most of their games in a crew of two or three. A trainer would facilitate discussion in each group and ask if there were any questions about plays, rules, etc. that officials wanted to ask or learn more about.

3) Is watching videos part of each meeting?

We don't watch videos every meeting, but they're included when relevant. For example, we had a session early this season about traveling. Because it's easier to see examples that are and aren't traveling, we watched a video showing different plays and the rule basis behind each play being legal or illegal.

4) How much time is dedicated to on court training?

One to two weeks before our first meeting, a floor demonstration of two-person floor mechanics is offered for new officials and any official wanting a refresher. Those attending don't do anything on the court; it's only a chance to observe how two-person mechanics work in practice. As Bob Jenkins mentioned earlier, learning three-person mechanics is done mostly at summer camps. However, there are assignors in my area that supply officials for preseason scrimmages and use them as a mini-camp for officials to work on two- or three-person mechanics and receive feedback from veterans.

Thanks for taking the time to answer....

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