new ref about to get started

[totalnewbie]

Well, I am happy to say that my first Official's meeting will be monday evening at Valley High in Las Vegas.

In the time since my last post some months ago when I decided this is something I wanted to try I was able to secure the various rule books (rules, cartoon, case book, official's manual) from last season and have been reviewing them. I found a mentor. I'm a District Attorney and I found another local attorney to help me out who is a long time Ref in Vegas. We have talked. He led me in the right direction on equipment and what the local officials like to see in a squared away newbie. He and I are even meeting to do a couple private lessons on mechanics to get me tuned up. I gotta say it is great to have the help of an experienced official.

I've gotten another DA friend of mine all geeked up on the idea so he is going to get involved too.

My understanding is that this first meeting on monday is a "paperwork" kind of meeting. We will also get the most current books. Then the subsequent weeks are training classes and scrimmages. Then games begin end of November. I'm not sure when we take "the test" or what test it is exactly. As I understand it, once we pass the test we newbies will work HS Frosh girls games and boys games with a senior official at first until the association deems us qualified to get higher level games.

I am really excited. I'm 6/5" 225. I played HS ball and competitive ball in leagues for years. But recently with marriage and a daughter I havent really found the time and I have missed it immensely. I'm 37 and dont have much interest in getting into gym leagues with 21 year olds who just want to jack up 3s, so I thought officiating would be a fun way to get back into the game I love. And I like the idea of helping the HS kids develop sportsmanship and good clean competition.

So...any thoughts from all you vetrans out there for a newbie like myself who is just starting out? What things should I look for? What kind of stuff can I do to get a leg up on initial training? Any things you wish you knew or that someone had told you when you were first starting out?

Your help is appreciated.

Clark

[blindzebra]

You know the game, your size helps, but the main thing from the start is have a strong whistle and a good voice. Mechanics and judgement develop with experience, but you can control your whistle and voice from the get go.

Watch experienced officials work and be open to comments from them when you work. Try to pick a couple of things to work on every game, don't come to the game with a big list of things to work on.

Good luck.

[zebraman]

totalnewbie,

You sound like you have your act together and are reffing for all the right reasons. Welcome to the club! Having been a player, you'll feel comfortable being on the court, even in a different role. That's a big help. Blindzebra gave you some good advice. Work lots of games.. work on one or two things each game. Pick up stuff from the refs you admire and ask them questions (99% of them love to share with the newbies). When it comes to mechanics (signals etc.), almost every new ref goes way to fast. Try to slow yourself down. And don't forget to have fun!

Z

[som44]

Make sure you know the rules--when I started a few years ago I was surprised by how many things I thought were the "rules" and in fact were not--Just thought i would mention this--above all enjoy yourself and have fun

[ChuckElias]

Clark, here's a post I made to another newbie, but since the search function on the forum is kaput, here it is again. Hope it helps:

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 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?

[Mark Padgett]

Just remember the referee's motto:

"Occasionally wrong, but never indecisive".

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally posted by Mark Padgett
Just remember the referee's motto:

"Occasionally wrong, but never indecisive".

I thought it was "Always tuck your whistle in during your pre-game leak".

[WinterWillie]

Originally posted by totalnewbie
Well, I am happy to say that my first Official's meeting will be monday evening at Valley High in Las Vegas.


Clark

I read a magazine article a few years ago that stated that Las Vegas was experiencing a tremendous growth spurt and that HS's were being built everywhere. As a result of that growth,there was a tremendous need for sport officials to work in that area- particularly basketball referees. This should offer you a great opportunity to get the experience you need to advance in your avocation. An added bonus will be that, since there is such phenomenal growth in the area, you will have numerous opportunities to work with veteran officials and ample room for advancement without having to leap frog over established officials

[Mark Padgett]

Originally posted by Jurassic Referee

I thought it was "Always tuck your whistle in during your pre-game leak".

You're right. The first statement is our creed, not our motto.

[totalnewbie]

I appreciate your thoughts. Keep them coming. I hate to admit it, but I never even noticed on the foul diagram that fouls were a fist and violations were an open palm.

Good idea practicing the signals. I have to remember that not only do I have to call teh foul/violation right but I also have to signal it right and I have to worry about starting and stopping the clock. My plan is to have my friend who I dragged into this call out things to me and I have to signal it right and say what I would do. Then I can do it for him.

"Travel"
"tweet, [raise arm with open palm, travel signal, indicate direction, indicate throw in spot]" etc.

Yes, Vegas is badly in need of officials which is why when I called they were happy to bring me in and when I said I had a buddy who was interested they were doubly excited.

Looks like we work 2 man for Frosh and JV (?), and 3 man for Varsity, which I wont have to worry about for some time or so I hear.

Please keep the suggestions coming.

Here is a quesiton. I appreciate why teh rule book is organized how it is organized, but it isnt exactly a model of clarity. Is there any reference that does a better job breaking down the types of fouls and violations, etc?

Clark

[ChuckElias]

Originally posted by totalnewbie
Is there any reference that does a better job breaking down the types of fouls and violations, etc?

The casebook helps to give you examples of what the rule is saying. If you have both books, you can look at the rule and then flip right to the same number in the casebook and see the relevant play. That will help.

There's also (so I'm told) an "Illustrated" rule book, kind of like a comic book that gives pictures of the different rules. I'm sure you can get it from the FED website, or maybe from a local sporting goods store that caters to officials. Good luck.

[rainmaker]

Originally posted by totalnewbie
Here is a quesiton. I appreciate why teh rule book is organized how it is organized, but it isnt exactly a model of clarity. Is there any reference that does a better job breaking down the types of fouls and violations, etc?

Clark

As a lawyer, you will find this very frustrating. The most blatant problem is that words that sound just like normal American-English words are used with specific jargon-type meanings, but there aren't necessarily clear, concise definitions anywhere. Compounding this problem, coaches who read the rule book and think they understand the situation don't know about the "altered" meanings of normal words, and thus unknowingly design plays and coach their kids in ways that are illegal.

An example is rule 9-3. It says, "A player shall not cause the ball to go out of bounds." That sounds pretty straightforward, doesn't it? Unfortunately, the average Joe who offers to coach his nephew's 7th grade team doesn't realize that "cause" has a specific definition which is much different from the one he would use in everyday conversation. The rule book does clarify in 7-2-1, "The ball is caused to go out of bounds by the last player in bounds to touch it or be touched by it, unless..." But that doesn't necessarily make it any easier to understand. Why not just change 9-3 to say, "A player shall not be the last to touch the ball before it goes out of bounds."? A similar muddying of the waters occurs on the subject of the backcourt violation.

The only thing you can do is to keep asking questions, keep reading, keep studying. And think up reasonable explanations for the few coaches who try to study the rule book, but haven't yet learned the rules.

[totalnewbie]

Someone already gave me what seems to be a good "generic" line for dealing with coaches:

"I didnt see it that way coach, but I'll watch for it on both ends."

What do you guys think about that one? Being a newbie, I'm not really in a position to judge if it is good or not. But it seems to be. And the guy who gave me that one is a senior guy.

Do you guys have any good, neutral responses that placate the coach yet dont really admit an error while at the same time saying I'm going to watch it on both sides, not just against the other team. Seems like if I have a few of these in my back pocket I will be less likely to say something that might just cause more problems.

Clark

[Camron Rust]

Originally posted by totalnewbie
Someone already gave me what seems to be a good "generic" line for dealing with coaches:

"I didnt see it that way coach, but I'll watch for it on both ends."

What do you guys think about that one? Being a newbie, I'm not really in a position to judge if it is good or not. But it seems to be. And the guy who gave me that one is a senior guy.

Do you guys have any good, neutral responses that placate the coach yet dont really admit an error while at the same time saying I'm going to watch it on both sides, not just against the other team. Seems like if I have a few of these in my back pocket I will be less likely to say something that might just cause more problems.

Clark

Good line, just be careful not to over use it. Any coach will get tired of hearing it a dozen times.

[totalnewbie]

Yeah, thats why I was hoping you guys could give me a few more