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Fellows, I have been officiating High School for 8 years, playoffs and regionals included. I will be attending my first college camp in June and would like to ask some of the more camp experienced guys what officiating aspects should I work harder on in summer league to be ready for this camp? Also what should I expect from this endeavor.
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Couple of thoughts.
What to do before camp: get in real good shape. You'll do multiple games per day and probably be sweating to death while you do them. If you're not familiar with the rules differences between FED and NCAA, get familiar with them. If you're not familiar with 3-whistle mechanics, brush up on them. What you'll get out of it: you'll be a better official. Period. If you're (un)lucky, you'll get to hang out for a few nights with Dan. :D |
The main thing I would work on is my mechanics and my run. That helped me a lot when I first started going to camps.
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Anybody have any more specific comments?
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-listen a lot and don't say much -never begin a sentence with yeahbut! -stay away from the camp guru -hustle hustle hustle -listen to the evaluators; not just your game, but other games as well -have fun and be ready to learn -take plenty of paper and pens!! |
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Ask questions. Be ready to discuss philosophy & rules with the evaluators. If you don't know something say so. Do not be a know-it-all. Go in being ready to impress. Be in shape. Hustle. If you think you're hustling enough, hustle some more. Network with other refs at the camp. Don't talk behind their back - if you have nothing good to say about someone STFU. Perfect mechanics. Ask for what you want. If you happen to meet an assignor you want to work for ask him for a few games. If he says no ask what you need to do to get on his staff. Just don't be a pain in the @ss about it...know when to back off. Ref your game. Let your experience show. Relax but work hard. If your style doesn't fit your evaluator's wants & needs he'll probably let you know...unless this is the type of tryout camp where there's no feedback. In that case you'll know later when you don't get a schedule. (I kinda doubt this is what you're going into though.) Have fun. Get your money's worth. Pay no mind to that Chuck guy...anybody who drinks nothing but diet cokes in a good bar cannot be trusted. :p |
Brace yourself for some pretty tough criticism. I went to a college camp last year just to run the videocamera, and I was "allowed" to attend the classroom time and step into the huddle when the evaluators were talking to the refs. There wasn't much namby-pamby stuff. In fact, it felt to sissy me as though they were going out of their way to find harsh things to say. It looked to me as though it didn't matter how good someone was, they were determined to cut everyone "down to size". Now that may be just the way life is. But I was glad I hadn't signed up to be a camper unawares. When I attend that camp sometime in the future, I'll spend a few days at boot camp first, to prepare myself.
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What kind of camp are you attending?
The advice I have to give is based on what kind of camp you are attending. Is it an observation camp or a learning camp.
An observation camp is all about business. Depending on the level, the less interaction you will have with fellow officials or clinicians. For example I understand that most D1 camps hardly have any teaching involved with them. So you better be on your game, because it is not likely that you will be told too much of what to improve on. If you are attending a teaching or learning camp, then you can mess up a lot. The clincians will correct you and tell you what to improve on. But the reality is that many of these camps are can have some observation elements to them. Which can add to the pressure or atmosphere of the camp. But I always go to camps to get hired, I do not go to learn. Now I have never been to a D1 camp and have been told what to do and what not to do when I get there. So I am going to observe a D1 in the area this summer to get ready for that atmosphere so I can attend in the future. Basically everything that was said is pretty much right on, and your attitude has to be right. But what kind of camp it is and what you are trying to get out of it is very important. Peace |
IMO a learning camp allows more mistakes and the feedback is a mix of good and bad depending on the ability of the camper to absorb and make adjustments. If a camper gets a "yeah but.." reputation the feedback will either decrease or not be filtered. A lot of times a learning camp is in conjunction with a tournament that will force the campers to do several games a day. This is good and bad since you can have a great game followed by a crappy game. Often this has nothing to do with the official but has more to do with what the game dictates. IMO a learning camp is one learning tool/sacrifice that must be made just like staying to watch the varsity officials. In the area I live in now officials just think they can get to the next level by doing their time. I think there was maybe two games this past season where the JV official(s) was still there at halftime.
A D1/tryout/invitational camp will offer less "ego massaging" feedback. You are good and that is why you are there. My experience has been campers do 1-2 games a day so there could only be one shot to impress. My mentor uses the crabs in a barrel analogy when talking about these camps. The officials at these camps are all good or good talkers (crabs) if everyone goes out and has a good game then everything could still be equal (crabs in a barrel). To be noticed or stand above the rest (crawl out of the barrel) an official must do something, a mechanic, intentional call, technical foul, rule interpretation or something. I have a friend, that was 46 I think at the time, that went to camp with us just to hang with the fellas. This was a camp to get noticed for an invite to a D1 camp. So he is working a game, the gym is hot and everything is pretty quiet. The teams are JC teams and we are using a shot clock. He puts some good air in the whistle during play and comes with a strong "set the shot clock to such and such." It woke everyone up and his ticket was basically in the mail for the D1 camp. That was his moment that stood above the rest. We go to the D1 camp and he has a good camp and has to leave early. It doesn't matter though. He just finished his second year in two D1 conferences. He won his job in that hot gym a month before the D1 camp. |
These are the stories/things I want to hear. More, more, more....
I was reading the story about NBA ref Joey Crawford in the new Referee magazine. This guy admittedly has a terrible temper. This bothered me for a couple days, wondering how he made it to the association. During that time I read a post on another thread and someone said that NBA refs have "IT". We all know that IT can't be described and we've all worked with refs that don't have IT. I guess Crawford has IT and I guess your friend from the warm gym has IT too. Anybody ever worked with someone that you noticed had that special something? |
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