Officiating in the ABA, update

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by ilyazhito

... it might give me the experience ...

Nothing, absolutely nothing beats experience. Yes, one has to know the rules and the proper mechanics, and figure out the local politics of getting assignments, but the best way to improve is to work games, and work more games, never mind the level.

I can't offer advice on how to get three person games, Connecticut is basically a two person state, but back when I was starting out, almost forty years ago, I worked as many games as I could get, partly for the money (I had three college bound kids, and a low paying (at the time) teaching job), but also for the experience. Nothing beats making lots of calls (right and wrong), dealing with different types of coaches, working with both good and bad partners, observing better officials work higher level games, and seeking advice from such officials.

I worked games on several different levels: public middle school, Catholic middle school, high school freshman, high school junior varsity, travel games, middle school recreation, high school recreation, mens recreation, church leagues, Jewish leagues, AAU, summer leagues. If there was a game somewhere, and if I was asked, I worked it.

I even kept working these games after I started getting high school varsity assignments, and after public school teachers in Connecticut got better pay. Why? To see more plays, to call more plays, and to work with, and observe, different officials that I could learn from.

Eventually I started giving up most of these games, only giving up Catholic middle school assignments a few years ago when I started having ankle and knee problems. The past few years I've only worked high school varsity games, but may move down a level for some of my games during the upcoming season to unofficially mentor young officials in mid and late afternoon (I'm retiring from my day job as a chemist in seven weeks) middle school, and freshman games.

How does one improve? Work games. Work games. Work games. On any level as long as there's a basketball and some baskets. Three person. Two person. Even one person. Just work.

Yes, keep your head in the rulebook, and in the mechanics manual. Keep going to camps and clinics. But be sure to keep working, and then work some more.

The absent-minded maestro was racing up New York’s Seventh Avenue to a rehearsal, when a stranger stopped him. “Pardon me,” he said, “can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?” “Yes,” answered the maestro breathlessly. “Practice! Practice! Practice!”