young officials
 

in anyones experince have coaches been harder on younger officials then on older officials that have about the same amount of training. And do u think that coach r tring to take advantage of younger officials just becsuse they think they could intimidate them?

[Edited by babyref on Mar 11th, 2004 at 07:50 PM]

Depends on the coach
 

I'm assuming that the youngest officials are still working their way up the ladder, running games in lower level leagues and gaining experience in the process. Good coaches usually will cut a new official, especially if they are young, some slack.

Lousy coaches may try to intimidate a young official. But those types of coaches are usually the same loudmouths trying to work the veteran officials as well, usually to no avail.

[Edited by PGCougar on Mar 9th, 2004 at 08:52 PM]

Agreed, age won't matter for a coach if he's never seen you before. And he will especially press on you if you're young. Just set the tone early and let them know that you're not going to put up with it either.

I never had any problems this past season. I had a few coaches ask how old I was and my answer was, Does it really matter? One coach picked up on the fact that I was younger and he tried to use it to get to me late in a game. Best thing is to ignore it and let your work on the floor speak for you. The younger you are the better you have to look mechanics and apperance wise. I never showed up for a game dressed this season and I always made sure I was well dressed and groomed. If you look the part they'll just assume you are the part. I'm 17. Everyone says i referee like ime 27. Goto camps and make be on top of your game and age will never be a factor.

In my area there are no camps for official in the league i ref 4. also the are very few official due to the verbal abuse coaches/parents give official. most ref in my area are between 12-25 officating game that are well above the level some ref are ready for is there any advice that could help me in to better my mechanices and court positions

Buy the official's manual from the NFHS. Watch experience officials work and ask them questions. Find a mentor. Come here and ask questions. Good luck and have fun!

Where is your area? Perhaps there's someone here who could help you find some help.

Your 2 statements seem to contradict each other.:)

Bah, what I meant is wether your old or not won't matter when you're new. Somthin like that.

I think it all depends on how you carry yourself. A properly dressed official, that is confident in his calls, speaks clearly and most importantly knows the rules will get alot of respect young or old. The problem that arises is young officials are typically new and tend not to show these characteristics. I'm only 21, but I grew up with parents that stressed the importance of always doing your best and respecting your job no matter what you are doing. There alot of young officials that come to games sloppily dressed, don't speak clearly, and despite a good solid knowledge of the rules they just aren't confident enough, because they are new. Alot of coaches jump all over those kids because they see them as easy targets as well as having no respect for the game. Do I think they do it on purpose??? Probably not. In most cases it subconscious, or so I think.

Some coaches will try to intimidate you somehow. Once they notice that it won't help them they'll stop. I've been there quite a lot of times, since this is my 5th year of refereeing and I'm still only 19 yrs old now... Just do a good job and age won't matter.

ADR

babyref, is english your first language?

I haven't been around for a few days, but i'll answer the question.

YES!!!!!

I started officiating at 14. I started with my dad, the coaches would accept my dad's calls more then they would accept my calls, and my calls were by far better.

And no, i wasn't sloppily dressed, i had a clean shirt, beltless pants, and shiny shoes. I blew my whistle with confidence and made clear and direct calls.

I once had a coach after a call he didn't like ask me how old i was. I didn't answer the question but i believe it warranted a T, so he got one.

Basically you're gonna have to deal with this kind of bullsh!t for a few years, then grow a beard or some other form of facial hair, it adds years to your look.

Back when I was in high school, I was umpiring high school baseball. Growing a mustache did wonders for my credability by making me look older. However, we've had the discussion at least once around here about facial hair on basketball referees. It seemed to be one of those regionally accepted/not-accepted things. You might want to ask around to see if it would be a problem in your area. If not, I recommend it. If so, you may want to weigh the pros and cons and maybe still do it.

Let me put it this way, most of the successful refs in my association have a mustache. And I would love to grow one, but I'm 17 and still in high school, and a mustache certainly isn't something everyone is doing. Maybe i'll grow a goutee.

[Edited by ref18 on Mar 10th, 2004 at 07:47 PM]

growing facial hair wont help my case much seeing that i am a girl :)

Babyref, i have a few questions for you,

1. How old are you
2. How old do you look
3. Where do you ref
4. Do you ref people who are older or younger than you
5. Do you draw the line, or do you let coaches and players run wild??

Just to get a backround on the situation.

Babyref, i have a few questions for you,

1. How old are you
2. How old do you look
3. Where do you ref
4. Do you ref people who are older or younger than you
5. Do you draw the line, or do you let coaches and players run wild??

Just to get a backround on the situation.




1. 14

2. a little older

3. Canada

4. between 10-15

5. there is a line drawn

Where abouts in Canada, I'm from Hamilton, Ontario

alberta

I think you guys are gettin to into it, don't change yourself to look older. Call your game and when a coach gets on you just let him know that you're not going to put up with it.

LOL, I don't know. A full beard on a 14 yo girl would intimidate the heck out of most adult men! Good luck and stick with it.