Camp Clinician/Observer Question
 

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!

There is only one thing that consistently bothers me about observers. I can't stand when they criticize your judgment on a play without first asking what we (on-court official) saw on the play.

When I'm observing, I try to stay away from critiquing judgment. If I do believe an official did kick a call, I will have them run through the play while I ask questions so they can recognize on their own they could have ruled differently.

You should have at least one critique for every official at every intermission. If you find yourself saying "I have nothing," you likely weren't paying enough attention. Nitpick if you have to, but you need to have something. After all, they are paying to get feedback.

You are going to have to deal with people that know it all. You are going to deal with officials that know nothing. And you will have to deal with officials that know enough they are dangerous. So you just have to manage those personalities and give them what they need. Sometimes you just have to get into someone's behind and know when to pat them on the back and lift them up. That comes with experience. There is no one size fits all when you are dealing with different people. Officials have egos. A lot of officials do not like to be told to do something regardless of your experience. When you get those that do not listen, move on. Help those in the end that want to be helped. Use your experience and knowledge to get you through. This is not much different than how you deal with coaches. What works with one coach might be a disaster with another coach. But at least in this setting people are paying with their time and money to get some information so they are more captive of an audience.

Peace

Be able to give "big picture" feedback and "small detail" feedback...use big picture stuff when talking to the whole crew - rotations, court coverages, positioning, etc. Small detail stuff when talking one-on-one - mechanics, judgement, etc.

I've been a clinician at a number of camps and the lessons I learned were:

There will be people who will try to dominate your time. Don't let them - not at the expense of others.

There will be people who want to tell you why you're wrong or aren't interested in your feedback -- great, more time for the others.

There is a tendency to want to write down a ton of notes, but then you aren't watching the play. Focus on a few things for the crew and 1-2 things for the official to work on. And make sure you have something for everyone, as was said above.

I enjoy teaching at camps. I'm probably a better teacher/evaluator than I am an official. Some would say that's not saying much.

Couldn't Resist ...
 

Those who can, do; those who can't, teach. (George Bernard Shaw)

Just kidding. Retiring after over thirty years of successfully teaching middle school science, for the past twelve years I've had a second career as a successful chemist.

I can teach, and I can do.

I can also walk and chew gum at the same time, I'm a real multitasker. Are you all impressed?

Most significant thing to verify is that officials are turning "off-ball." BALL WATCHING is the #1 thing officials at camps need to learn not to do and is also one of the most neglected things that clinicians don't look for that they should.

Lots And Lots Of Double Whistles ...
 

Absolutely. Telltale signs of ball watching are eyes on the ball instead of where they belong, body language toward the ball instead of where their body should be pointing, and lots and lots of avoidable double whistles.

All have given good responses

I recall 2 similar items that stick out from my dozens of camps over the years: clinicians who will not admit to being wrong and clinicians, when they do not know, refuse to admit that they do not know.

Sure, most know the rules and give good, solid answers. But when asked about a rule (and they do not know), I would love it, just once, for a clinician to say "I do not know." Furthermore, it would be great if they would investigate and come back to you (camper) with the correct answer.

It always cracked me up (on the inside of course) when asking two or more clinicians simultaneously about the same rule and they quizzically look at each other. Then one spouts off some vague response and the others piggyback on it. lol. Just admit when you do not know, sheesh.

We're Still Waiting ...
 

Several years ago I served on our local board's floor training (mechanics) committee. The chairman of the committee, one of our best officials (many state tournament appearances), was going over free throw responsibilities with the rookies who had just passed the written rules exam. After going over the responsibilities of the lead and the trail he was asked a question about rebounders on the lane putting their arms outside the planes of their lane space. He replied that the rebounders in the marked lane spaces couldn't put their arms over the plane of the lane line, or the plane of the lane marks. I asked him if he was sure, that the rule was that the rebounder's feet can't break these three planes and that the arms are good to go for everything short of contact. He replied that he would double check it and get back to everybody. We're still waiting.

What kind of camps are you attending? I say that because having been to many camps over the year at the NCAA level where almost all the time we are using high school rules, I cannot recall many times if ever where there was a deep conversation over a rule. We might have an honest confusion on a mechanic or even a procedure of that mechanic, but not a rule in the game. Even when there has been a debate, we usually ask about the difference in we move on. But almost all camps I have been to the focus is on our calls, coverage, and teamwork, not a rule in a game.

Peace

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.

+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.