Well, I am taking this advice in pretty well...But I am having a really hard time spotting the fouls. I guess I just dont know what to look for. I mean..I know what traveling is and all but sometimes...I just cant see the fouls. Any help!?!?!?!?

thanks,

patience and time :) just keep at it, and watch all the ball that you can on TV. When other officials you know are working in the area go see them.

Study the rule book and case book.

Visualize what the cases are in your mind.

Always remember to referee the defense. Keep a eye on the offensive player, but concentrate on the defender. I think that you will find the fouls jumping out at you when you do this. Also, practice, practice, practice.

The reason you are having a hard time is you are trying to ref the whole floor. focus on your area. If you ref your area, you will have 4 or 6 players to ref. Out of that 4 or 6 players, you will have maybe 2 or 3 players to focus on (i.e. competitive match ups). This is when the game sllooowwwwsss down. This is called seeing the game in slow motion. The Key is to trust your partners. Much easier to see, process and call a foul.

The best way to learn the game is to watch experienced officials work. Watch officials at the varsity level and college levels. You will get a good sense of what is acceptable for a foul to be called. Then go to camps to get hands on training as to what to call and what not to call.

Peace

Spotting
 

Well, it would help if I could get ahold of a rules book so I knew what all the fouls were but MHSAA wont send me one until I get registered and I cant do that until the 20th. So, we'll see what happens.

Thank you all

Re: Spotting
 

If it means enough to you, contact the NF and order them.

But the rulebook is not going to help you what a foul is, they are just going to tell you what to do after you call one and the technical definition of what foul you called. But "what is a foul and what is not a foul" is going to be based on judgment and watching the game and knowing the game.

Here is the link.

http://nfhs.org/

Peace

Also try to keep in mind that not all contact is a foul. Incidental contact, if not excessive, should be ignored. Remember to keep in mind the concept of advantage/disadvantage. The crucial foul to call is the one which gives one player an advantage over another.

That is not true.
 

Contact can be severe and not be illegal. The severity or the amount of contact has nothing to do with fouls if no one is prevented from doing something they were trying to do.

Rule 4-27-2.

Peace

Someone else touched on this earlier, but it is the single best piece of advice I have recieved to this point...ALWAYS FIND (AND REFEREE) THE DEFENSE. This will help so much in seeing who caused/initiated the contact. Also, it will make block/charges easier to see. You have also heard a little bit about refereeing on the basis of advantage vs. disadvantage. This will help you in determining when to blow the whistle on a foul or violation and when to "pass" on a call. If a player does one of the following, you have a call to make:
a)gains an unfair advantage by committing a certain action
b)takes away an opponent's advantage by committing a certain action
Get yourself in a good position where you have a wide angle of vision of the play, find and referee your defense,take a look, and decide upon matters based on advantage vs. disadvantage. Hope this helps. Once again, I'd like to offer you kudos for seeking out this forum. I wish I would have been as wise when I first got into officiating... :)

Besides refereeing the defense,work at seeing through the play.It is all about the angle,if you are seeing the defender's back or can't see the defender at all,you are in a stack.Take a big step down and right or left as lead.
As trail you can step down or up to get the look thru,but move out of a stack.