Longtime listener, first time caller

[mikesears]

Originally posted by OverAndBack
Turned out to be 2 1/2 games. I got there early for my game, and the guy working the game before me had his partner not show up, so he did the first half alone. I jumped in and did the second half with him (8th grade Girls A, the highest level I've done so far), which was good. I'll take all the action I can get.

I blew a couple - nothing earth-shattering, but things that at least make me say "Okay, I need to work on that," which is the point, I reckon.

But one thing I've definitely improved on is something that I think is very, very important for an inexperienced official that most of the rest of you probably take for granted because you've been doing it for so long - confidence. That's a huge hump to get over. Having a court presence is so valuable, I'm finding out. How I feel now when I go on the court versus how I felt three weeks ago is like night and day, seriously. I feel like I'm supposed to be there, at least, which is a good part of the battle. Now I can deal with finding a few things in every game I do that I do a little better than the last time and try not to make the same mistakes over and over.

Season's almost over. Hope I'll get a few more games in.

Hey O&B. Nothing much happening on the football part of this forum so I thought I'd come back over here and read some posts. I used to work basketball and got out due to other obligations (but still work football).

Just a word of encouragement.

Confidence comes when you KNOW you know the rules. Presence comes when you show you can apply those rules fairly, correctly, and consistenly.

This group is OUTSTANDING! When I worked basketball, it was amazing the breadth of knowledge provided by my fellow posters here. Please keep coming back and posting your experiences and questions.

So my advice is this: read your rulebook religiously and ask as many questions as you can.

Glad to know that you are enjoying yourself and welcome to the world of officiating!

[TPS2859]

Starting off with 6-7-8th grade girls is probably the toughest grades to officiate. Why, cause if its gonna happen, its gonna happen in those games. And yes it gets better every game you do. After my first game I could'nt make up my mind to $hit down my leg or run off the court. Helpfull hint...every one will tell you about the rules, or mechanics, but they tend to forget about the all mighty whistle itself. Blow it hard, crisp, and with conviction. A soft weak whistle tells most people that you are not shur of your call. Keep your toung in front of it, remove, blow, replace. Kind of like when you have a real small piece of something in your mouth you want to spit it out. Clear as mud. Not shur how else to explane it.


[Edited by TPS2859 on Feb 16th, 2004 at 03:38 PM]

[OverAndBack]

Blowing the whistle correctly, was, strangely enough, one of the major problems I had early on (besides feeling like I was standing in the middle of the tracks with a train bearing down on me). You figure you've blown whistles and things since you were a kid, how hard can it be?

Going back over last night's games, I can see some calls I just out and out blew. I'm convinced (even at this early stage) that you can read all you want and watch others all you want, but a rule doesn't really coalesce in your mind until it comes up during a game and you either (a) get it right (hopefully) or (b) get it wrong (which may be more useful to you in the long run). At least, that's how it's happening for me.