"NEW" Ref ???

Worked the first game of the season last night with a first year official. Got there a little early to make sure we had plenty of time for a pregame. It wasn't too long into the pregame I could see that "Deer in the headlights" look on his face. I backed off the info and told him to keep it simple, make sure we kept eye contact as much as possible between action, keep moving to get good angles, get his hand up and have fun. What do you guys tell a new partner?

[Edited by NWRef on Nov 4th, 2003 at 03:10 PM]

As much as possible.
 

I think you can never go over too much. You have to get them on the same page as much as possible. They may not do everything you discussed, but it is good to go over everything or as much as you have time to do.

Peace

Try to put them at ease. Tell them you "have their back". Let them know it's just a basketball game and it's not the end of the world if they make a mistake. Have them put it into perspective. Tell them it's not "going on their permanent record".

Oh yeah. I almost forgot the most important thing. Tell them to tuck their whistle in their shirt before they take a leak.

Last year was my first season since workign intramurals 15 years ago in college.

My partners didn't seem to believe in doing any pregame preperation. The only advice I got from the one partner that cared enough to offer was to make sure to communicate during the game.

Good advice for sure, but something a little more detailed would have been helpful.

I don't understand this one. How short are you?

You'll have to excuse Padgett. He sits down. :)

He must have a pretty long lanyard!

Combination of the noose lanyard and a pencil neck :D

[Edited by Back In The Saddle on Nov 5th, 2003 at 04:54 PM]

I don't want to steal Padgett's thunder, but his usual response is generally along the lines of "splashback."

Pre game
 

The association that I belong to here in the Midwest (SWOA) has printed cards made for the pre-game. It's a great idea to give all the younger officials (veterans too) one of these laminated cards that they can study and keep in their bags. That way it serves as a reference guide for them to study. I found it's also a good idea to let the newer official give the pre-game. That way you can add anything that they don't touch upon at the end. You won't overwhelm them either with all the new rules that are out there.
Have a great season.

I worked my first game over three years ago with a guy who had been doing basketball for about four years. It was two 7th grade boys games in a Saturday evening league. I told him it was my first game, he was very relaxed about it and went over a few things he liked his partner to do. Eye contact, communicate the location of the throw in spot, how many shots, who is the shooter etc. He told me that I would probably have tunnel vision at first (I did) and to just relax and call what I could see. Told me afterwards that I did a great job and gave me a few pointers. I would cover the basics with a new guy but wouldn't overload him or her. The biggest thing that helped me that night was his relaxed demeanor and confidence in me. I might also add that I still occasionally do games with this gentleman and that he now considers me his peer, not still "a new guy." There are some veterans that work a game with you early on in your career that never stop thinking of you as a rookie, even though you may have several hundred games under your belt. That can be frustrating for officials trying to establish themselves.

Re: Pre game
 

WI REF,
That's a good idea. Thanks.
If I were to employ that tactic, I should probably give them my pre-game *board* as a guide for "going down the list".
That way my partner would know where/how to start, as opposed to looking like, "Uh, me?" :)

mick

One thing I have found to help a jittery newbie is to tell him to just worry about the players on the floor. I tell him/her that I'll watch the coaches, the clocks, the benches and that I'll handle it even if the ceiling falls in.

If their head is swimming, that usually helps. And a VERY basic pre-game helps (I avoid the "what-ifs" that I would go over with a more veteran partner. I don't want to give them too much to handle).

Then I usually tell them that I expect them to smile at me at every time-out so that I know they are having fun. It's usually a forced smile, but it breaks their tension.

Z