Camp Clinician/Observer Question

Originally Posted by walt

I was contacted and have been invited to be a clinician/observer at an upcoming 3 day "national" training camp for high school level officials. As a veteran of many camps at the high school and NCAA level myself, I know what type of clinician/observer I like and how I learn. Now that I am about to sit in the chair, be on the film mic, walk the sidelines, I thought I'd ask this group what they appreciate/like/value from a clinician? I've been told there will be approximately 75-100 campers of varying experience levels (brand new to 15 year vets, registered so far). The camp will have two person and three person courts. The only guidance I have received from the camp coordinators is they expect me to be honest, fair, constructive, and willing to observe and submit evals for a lot of basketball officials over the three day period. I am pretty excited about the opportunity. Realizing we all learn differently and respond to feedback differently, I am interested in your views as to what works and doesn't work when interacting with camp clinicians/observers. Thanks!

I've been going to camps for a bit, so I can share some pet peeves I have about clinicians:

When they get easily distracted by other campers sitting with them. This is mostly on the campers but clinicians still have the responsibility to focus on the game at hand.

Only giving advice about mechanics. There is always a play or two to talk about, and playcalling is a big part of what we do.

Good clinicians recognize that there are several correct ways to officiate a play or handle a situation. There's no hard and fast way to do things, and if things work out in the end campers should get credit for what they did.

As a camper I hate when I go to one court and get told one thing and implement that on my next court and get told the opposite. This is especially frustrating when a clinician doesn't know how the boss/assignor who is running the camp wants things done.

At the HS camp level, critiquing signals too much. Critique other mechanics and positioning all you want, but understand that signals are there to communicate to players, coaches, and fans what kind of call we have. If the signals I use do that effectively, then it shouldn't be a big deal if they are not literally out of the rulebook signal sheet.

[bucky]

Originally Posted by AremRed

As a camper I hate when I go to one court and get told one thing and implement that on my next court and get told the opposite. This is especially frustrating when a clinician doesn't know how the boss/assignor who is running the camp wants things done.

+1000. Happens at least once every camp.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by bucky

+1000. Happens at least once every camp.

We all work for various bosses. Each one will have a slightly different philosophy.

I have my own philosophy on how I take plays, playcall, etc. There is no way I can sit down with 10 other clinicians and ensure that I am on the same hymn sheet as the rest of them.

Sometimes it's about showing that you're willing to try new things and are adaptable.

[bucky]

Originally Posted by Rich

We all work for various bosses. Each one will have a slightly different philosophy.

I have my own philosophy on how I take plays, playcall, etc. There is no way I can sit down with 10 other clinicians and ensure that I am on the same hymn sheet as the rest of them.

Sometimes it's about showing that you're willing to try new things and are adaptable.

Sure and that is fair however, go ahead and say that then. Do not be the clinician that acts like it is his/her way or no way. Go ahead and tell campers that you may have a different philosophy on taking plays, etc. Do not just act as if the other clinicians are beneath you, wrong, etc. and that you must be right.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by bucky

Sure and that is fair however, go ahead and say that then. Do not be the clinician that acts like it is his/her way or no way. Go ahead and tell campers that you may have a different philosophy on taking plays, etc. Do not just act as if the other clinicians are beneath you, wrong, etc. and that you must be right.

I only teach at HS camps. I distinctly remember the people leading the camps saying that we're all going to be a little bit different and just try things out.

I also remember I got much better taking drives as an official because of some of this "off-label" advice I received at a camp I tried and found fit me well.


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[walt]

Thanks all! I truly appreciate it. I have been a clinician at my organizations camp for a couple of years now but this is my first opportunity at a national camp. I will keep in mind this thread!

[swkansasref33]

One thing I clinicians talked about more is how to handle situations that come up. Technical Foul situations, coach outbursts, player outbursts. I know that each official handles each situation differently, but hearing multiple ways to handle situations would have helped me out a lot early on in my officiating career. You can practice mechanics in a mirror, you can watch film on plays until you go blind, but you can't practice conflict resolution techniques when coaches/players lose their ish.