Hello everyone, I am 16yrs old and I live in Michigan. I recently registered with MHSAA "Legacy" program to become a basketball official. I just recieved the exam to take and send back to become registered. Just wanted to say hello to all of you and if you have any tips on officiating or anything let me know I am open to suggestions.

Thanks


[Edited by youngbballref on Feb 4th, 2004 at 12:41 PM]

Your best bet is to keep coming back here and asking questions, reading other people's thoughts and working on one or two things per game. There's way too much to learn to do it all at once.

Glad you found us here. Let us know how you do on the test.

That's great advice. I do it for every sport I officiate and it helps me become a better official, target somthing each game until you know you're doing it right, then pick somthing new.

[Edited by Snake~eyes on Feb 4th, 2004 at 12:50 PM]

Also make sure you speak with what ever partner you may have each time you work a game and ask him for his input on your performance.

I do this frequently and based on what they say then i will follow the above advice working on a couple of those things each time out.

Good luck

Always ask for feedback from experienced officials.

I am fairly new also - first year HS after 2 years of rec ball. You'll get some great pointers, and some that won't help you at all.

If you're lucky, the veteran official will give you 1 or 2 things to work on, and maybe a compliment on something he/she liked. Because you can only work on 1 or 2 things at a time when you're new.

If you're not lucky, you'll get a laundry list of perceived mistakes you're making. My advice is, in either case, just say "thanks for the help" and just keep what you can use.

Good luck.

Matt

youngbballref,

Talk with other officials. Find out who some of the more respected officials are; contact some of those and find out when and where they will be reffing next--then go watch.

The more of these type of officials you can observe and learn from the more opportunitites you will have to improve. This is often refered to as finding a mentor (someone you trust, admire who is well recognized as a good official and who is willing to take the time to help you along the way); one of the best things that you may do in advancing as an official.

Good luck, and we look forward to you reporting back.

Learn from everyone you work with. Some will be good, some will not, but they all offer something to be learned.

As a 2nd year official I know I have lots to learn. Last night I worked with a partner that didn't hustle and thus was frequently out of position. I know he called several phantom fouls. The lesson I learned, always hustle for good position.

He also called several fouls and violations in my area, despite them being right in front of me (and clearly wrong). Lesson learned, try not to call in your partners area unless you are 110% sure it's both right and necessary.

I witnessed several of those phantom calls even though they were not in my area. Lesson learned, stop ball hawking and take care of my own primary.

As I said, you can learn something from every partner. I hope he learned from me as well, both from my good work and from my mistakes.

Grail

First of all, great to have you here on the discussion forum and in the officiating family. I will somewhat echo what others have said with this:
*Work hard to get better and do things properly each time out, regardless of what level the game is. You don't want to do develop bad habits. You will probably not know all of the 'right' things to do right away, so try to seek out those who do know and then add those good habits to your game.
*officiating is so complex and multi-faceted, so you really can't fix everything in one game, nor can do everything perfectly in a given game, so be patient and stay focused on improving.
*Mistakes will surely happen, but try not to get discouraged-simply learn from them
*I was told when I first started to listen to the advice that others give you respectfully and take what you can use and incorporate into your game, humbly and respectfully entertain that which is not good for your game, and work to educate yourself. This forum is a great place to do that. If you have a situation come up that you dont understand, come here and bounce it off these folks. This stuff is in our blood, so we love to talk about it and we get to help others out in the process.

Good luck!

Michael, here's my humble suggestions for improving as a brand new official. Seems to me that there are only 2 or 3 things that you totally control when you're just starting out. They are: 1) your knowledge of the rules; 2) your mechanics; 3) your appearance.

1) Know your rules cold. Read the book all the time, read the cases when your not reading the rules. Talk to fellow officials who know the rules and pick their brains about situations. Listen to your board interpreter at meetings. Know the rules cold.

2) Practice your mechanics as much as possible. Do this at home in front of a mirror. Watch yourself. Say "Tweet" (don't actually blow a whistle, or you'll go deaf) and make a foul signal. Or stop the clock and give a traveling signal. Do this as much as you can. If you can see yourself doing it, you'll know if your arm is really straight. (If your arms get tired, take a break and study your rule book.) You'll get into the habit of using a fist for fouls and open palm for violations. Get your signals right out in front of your chest. Practice reporting the foul to the table. Again, try to do this in front of a mirror if at all possible. It feels silly, but it helps, honest.

3) Don't scrimp on your uniform. Get black beltless pants (I prefer non-pleated Sansabelts, but you can buy other brands that still look nice). Get a good pair of black shoes and make 'em shine! People really do notice. If you have long hair or a slightly "unusual" hairstyle, get rid of it. (My first year I didn't want to cut my hair and I was called "pretty boy" by a fan. That convinced me real fast.) If you wear jewlery like a bracelet or chain or a watch, don't wear them on the court.

Finally, you just have to go out and work games. Lots and lots of games. See as much baskeball as you can. If you're not workig a game, go to a HS game and watch the officials. Take your rule book so you can study the rules during the time-outs. Then talk to the officials after the game, if they're available. Ask them about a situation from the game and why they handled it as they did. Then offer to buy them a couple beers at the local watering hole. Ok, that last part is probably not as important as the other stuff, but you get the idea.

Best of luck to you. Let us know how your first few games go. Have a great season.

Did I mention that you should study the rules? :)

Welcome to the club! One thing that made a huge difference for me when I was just starting was to go to a good camp. Pick one run by respected officials, where you'll get good training and a bunch of games. They'll watch you and give you advice on how to improve. Then work hard every time you take the floor.

So, should he know the rules? (And by the way if his arms get tired practicing in the mirror he should leave the book & go do some d@mn pushups!)

BTW, I'll add one more thing: if you find yourself in camp with Chuck & he asks to borrow $50 don't do it. You'll never see it again.

:D

Chuck gave great advice his first 3 points about rules mechanics and appearance are right on. Don't take his last comment quoted above lightly either. It is more important that he would let on. It doesn't have to be beer, but in my neck of the woods that is the preferance. It is more about spending time with the right people. After I knew the rules and all it took spending time at the watering hole to advance my "game". Not only do you get to listen their philosophy and such, that makes them comfortable enough with you to invite you along to do their JV game or if they need a fill in you might get a shot to work with them if the situation is right. Knowing and doing the 1st 3 things is important to calling a good game, but being around the right people at the right time is almost as important..

Welcome!

This is a great place to get info, sometimes opinions get a little heated but thats all fine too. Remember, theres never a dumd question.

Welcome and congrats on starting to officiate the greatest game on Earth!

The three things that I would say is:

1. Don't argue with the old(er) guys even if you think they are wrong. Just say thanks, I will work on that...

2. Go to camps, ask and find out who is doing camps in your area.

3. Do as many games as you can no matter how much you get paid.

Oh, and HAVE FUN!!!!

Sure, talking with experienced officials is a great way to learn the nuances of officiating beyond the rule book. But take everything with a grain of salt. Some of the older guys are so set in their ways that they haven't really come up to speed with the rules as they've changed over the years. If you hear something that just doesn't seem right, check with your rule books later on and if you're still unsure, talk to the rules commissioner in your association or whoever is in charge of rule interpretation and get the proper instruction from them. Just because someone has been doing this for 25 years doesn't necessarily mean they know everything. Most do, but a few don't.

Well, I certainly apperciate all of your suggestions and will definately use them. But when you say work on a couple things at once what would be the most 2 important things I should begin working on first? Besides the rules..I definately know I am going to have study the rules and learn them.

Thanks

EYE CONTACT WITH YOUR PARTNER
 

ALWAYS make eye contact with your partner BEFORE you put the ball in play.

THIS IS ESSENTIAL.

Hmmmm. Let's see. Just off the top of my head. . .

1) Hustle. As Lead, beat the offense to the endline. As Trail, get into the frontcourt so your partner doesn't have to officiate 8 or 10 players by him/herself.

2) Position. If you can't see the play, move to find a good angle. If you have to move your head to see around a player, move your feet. Don't get stuck in one spot.

3) Signals. Fist for fouls; open hand for violations; thumbs up for held ball. Get into the habit of giving a signal every time the whistle blows. (Sounds basic, but for a new guy, it's really hard to remember.)

4) Reporting. When reporting a foul, hustle to the table; then STOP! Then slowly give the color and number of the player who fouled. Then signal (don't say) the type of foul. Then indicate what will happen next (possession or FTs).

5) Off-ball officiating. Probably the hardest thing for any new official. As a fan, you're so locked into the action of the ball-handler, you don't realize how much goes on with the other 9 players. But as a ref, when the ball is not in your primary area of responsibility, you need to train yourself NOT to watch it. Instead, officiate the players that are setting screens and defending the cutters. Very hard. Don't worry when it doesn't come right away.

6) Knowing your FT shooter. Again, very hard to do. You make the foul call, it's a great call and you're ready to hustle to the table to report it. You come back and realize -- oh, crap! -- you don't know who's supposed to shoot. Try to make a mental (or better yet, verbal) note about who will shoot the FTs.

Ok, that's more than enough. You should get through this list in about 4 years. :D I'm not kidding, either. But if you work a little bit on one at a time, you'll make great strides. Good luck!

YoungBBall,
I am so jealous that you have committed to start officiating at such a young age! You will be past what level I am at by the time you are 25! A few thoughts I have: Make sure you get an officials manual and use the proper mechanics for the rules you are officiating. Usually at lower levels you will use fed. mechanics. Sometimes, in varsity games officials will use a combination of college and fed mechanics and may not necessarily be proper. Also, some older official just choose to do things the way they always have regardless of the proper mechanics. At your age, appearance and how you present yourself is very important. If you look like you know what you are doing, you will get more respect right away from the coaches and the players. How you present yourself is how you conduct yourself before and during the game. Know where to stand during warm-ups and don't find yourself talking to someone on the sidelines or another court. Remember, the game you are scheduled to do is the most important game in the world at that time. Don't get impatient that you aren't moving up as fast as you think you should. You have alot of years to get there. Above all, have fun and never do it for the money. You can always get a job that pays way better than officiating. Well sometimes do it for the money.....

1.Blow the Whistle!

2.Put up a fist or open hand!

3.Give a signal!

Learn these three in the first game you call.

A few hints that i've been given by veteran officials, or that i have read on this board, or that i have learned from experience.

1. Never blow the whistle, BLAST IT!!!!
2. Use your voice, make sure everyone that needs to can hear your call
3. Use nice crisp signals
4. Use only the mechanics specified in the manual.
5. Keep your shoes shiny, and your uniform clean and presentable.
6. Don't worry about when coaches b*tch and moan about the calls you are making. The majority of the time, you're right and they don't know the rules.

I'm not sure if i read this on this forum, or someone said this at one of my association meetings, but its an invaluable piece of advice that you'll do well to follow.

Always tuck your whistle inside your shirt when you go to the bathroom. :)

I can relate to your posistion, because when i started officiating, i was 15. The one thing i learned about reffing when your this young is, not to expect high school level games. I've been doing this for 2 years now, and i'm still waiting for my first high school game. I get the high level grade school stuff, and i've done a few gold medal games for tournaments involving kids under grade 8, but no high school games.

Its good to start at a young age, because you have more time and oppertunities in your life to advance up the officiating ladder.

Good Luck!!!

Thank You ALL
 

Thank you EVERYONE who has given me advice and I will surely use it. Just to let you all know. lol, I just completed the "exam" mhsaa sent me and will be sending it back this week for results. Will let you all know how I did. Appreciate your time and efforts in helping me.

Thanks

camps/associations
 

im from michigan and am in my 2nd full year...best thing i ever did was join an association and attended a summer camp for refs...with an assoc. you will have the benefit of experienced refs to work with and an assignor to help locate games for you. with the camps you find young and old, 1st year refs and 30 year refs...one that i would recommend is jim eastman camp at saginaw valley university...depending where you are located maybe this would help you his e-mail is [email protected] luck

The two things that you can do from your first game are a strong whistle and voice.

Everything we do is about communication and perception.If you have a strong whistle and are loud and clear with your voice everyone knows what you have and you give the appearence of confidence.

Everything else comes with practice,studying,observing and working lots and lots of games.

Good luck.

2 things to do on your first game and every game that follows - relax & have fun!

It's easier than that
 

<b>if you have any tips on officiating or anything let me know I am open to suggestions. </b>

I can narrow everything down to one suggestion for you: Don't ask open-ended questions on this board looking for wisdom unless you're really sure that's what you want, because we refs love to grace everyone else with our knowledge! :D

I'm just glad there's someone here who's greener than I am. :)

Yes, know the rules. Yes, work on your mechanics. Yes, go to games and do nothing but watch the officials - where they go, where their eyes look, how they do everything. Watch how they communicate.

And then the first time they blow the whistle and the ball goes up, it's all going to go out the window anyway, and you're going to feel like you're on the tracks trying to outrun the train.

As people here can tell you, the first day I did this (just last month), I felt totally overwhelmed. You think you know the "easy" things like how to blow the whistle. It all looks easy, but it's not. The first day I thought I was so bad, I found this board and came on here to ask if everyone felt like that the first time out. Turns out most do.

The second day was much, much better. Had a great experienced partner, had a much better feel for what I was supposed to be doing out there. I felt like an actual official, and not somebody they just pulled out of the stands because they were a man short. Last weekend I was bummed because I didn't have any games to do. :(

So good luck. Take a deep breath. Hustle, be in good position, know the rules, keep your cool, look sharp, feel sharp, be sharp, all that stuff.

And then just know that it takes time.

Watching other refs
 

I had to do officials evaluations as part of a Basketball officiating class. I found these to be very helpfull in learning and watching officials. I went to a nearby HS and watched a JV and V game, I didn't know anyone from either team so that helped in not making any of it personal.

I used 2-3 different eval sheets, the one on NASO website, IHSAA (Indiana), and Big Ten. They all helped me look for specific things while still letting me watch positioning, calls, etc. I would also agree to bring Rule Book, Case Book, and Officials Manual. Especially Officials Manual!!

BTW anyone know of any good camps in Indiana?

Mike,
Like cloverdale said the Eastman Camp would be a great place to start. I've been there twice.
Once, my roomate had not even then been registered at MHSAA.

138 miles away from you and ~$200.00 Friday, Saturday, Sunday morning, probably in June. Ask your mentor, maybe he'll be happy to attend, also, although you and he will probably be in separate groups.

mick

Re: camps/associations
 

cloverdale,
I agree. Good camp.
Welcome to the forum !
mick

I was so hoping no one would have already mentioned the beltless pants so I could give the kid the absolute most important piece of advice of all. :)

Timing is everything...

Never call anything you can't explain.

and

Sometimes Ugly is just Ugly!

Camp
 

I e-mailed the guy about the jeastman camp. I have the application and will be filling it out and sending it in. I am looking forward to being up there this summer learning some new stuff. Thank you alll for you help and advice.

Thanks,

Re: Camp
 

Attaboy!
You have been shopping at Honigs in Ann Arbor haven't you? :)

I didn't start reffing until I was already an old lady, so I had to improve as quickly as I could or I'd never get to do more than Jr Hi games. Here are two things you can do if you want to really speed up the process:

A) (...and I can't believe no one else has said this) Catch yourself on video tape. Take a friend to a game and get him or her set up ahead of time with a fully charged battery, and a 2 hour cassette. have them use a tripod and just slide it back and forth. Be sure they follow you and not the ball. When you watch your first two or three tapes, you'll know what you need to work on next. It will be VERY obvious.

B) Start early working on watching off-ball. The best way to get a great evaluation is to call one good off-ball foul in the first quarter. But watching off-ball is a little tricky, since it's just natural to follow the ball. The best way to practice is to tape college games off of tv until you get a game where there is an off-ball foul called, and it shows on the screen, either during the running time, or in instant replay. Practice seeing that foul before it's called.

Doing these two things will help you move up as fast as it's possible to do. And don't forget to have fun!

FWIW
 

This is the link to MHSAA "Legacy" program for Student officials. The program requires a very active association between youngbballref and his mentor.
I presume most states offer a similar tool.

http://www.mhsaa.com/services/legacy.pdf

Smitty, don't tell anybody, but. . . that post is actually almost 2 years old! I wrote it two years ago for another poster and I just keep cutting-and-pasting it for new guys. Shhhhhhhhh.

Also (almost as scandalous), I've switched to beltless, pleated pants :eek:

Everybody knows that's your baby, Juulie. Nobody wanted to steal your thunder. :)

Well welcome to the 21st century, Chuck! :)

I didn't mean to pick on you personally, you just happened to be the one who mentioned the beltless pants first. That was one of the first threads I read when I started reading this forum a couple months ago and I was pretty amazed at the passion people felt for pants. It's kind of become an icon for me about this forum.

I certainly hope that you'll never go back after feeling what those pleats do for your game. Almost like what happens to Superman when he puts on those tights, eh? ;)

Well, it's official.

Next year, all the "good" officials will be wearing belted, plain-front pants. ;)