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!