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Old Thu Dec 23, 2004, 10:58am
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In the past week I have had two different officials give me differing advice (no surprise, eh?). One partner suggested that I needed to work on things like having my arm straight up on fouls/violations. His general message was that if I want to go varsity, I need to focus on perfecting my mechanics.

So I fixed the arm thing, and a week later another official tells me that my partner and I looked too "robotic" and didn't exhibit any personality on the floor. He specifically mentioned that it looked liked I practiced everything in front of the mirror (which I do).

Funny enough, the first guy came here from Kansas and the second guy from Oregon. Perhaps their advice reflects a regional bias they brought with them. Neither of them is a varsity official.

I think the question is worth exploring. How much personality can we/should we display out there?
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Old Thu Dec 23, 2004, 11:11am
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BITS,

I think you can have both... great mechanics without being robotic.

Having crisp, standard mechanics is always a benefit, so don't ever lose that. Smoothing them out so that they look fluid instead of robotic can be added as well.

When I see a "robotic official," sometimes it's just a matter of them "throwing" their arms when they signal (movements too fast) rather than being a little slower and smoother. It seems to me that the officials who have "really serious personalities" are more likely to be robotic than guys who smile a lot and are real relaxed on the floor. See if you can stay crisp while relaxing your body. Those two things may sound like they conflict with each other but they really don't.

Keep on practicing them in the mirror. Just the fact that you care enough to do that puts you ahead of the game already. In addition to working on straight arm and crisp movements, also mix in some smoothness and fluidity. It'll happen.

Z
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Old Thu Dec 23, 2004, 11:17am
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Keep the "arm thing" straight. Crisp, proper mechanics are more important, IMO, than putting on a "personality show."
Especially with years of experience, your own "style" and personality will filter into your officiating. You can still achieve this without sacrificing sharpness. I'd go for the "robot" look any day over the "sloppy" look.

I don't think geography has anything to do with it. We have the slobs and the robots and everything inbetween here in the Northeast as well.
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Old Thu Dec 23, 2004, 11:20am
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I think you have to show a little personality on the floor. I hope I look like I enjoy being there. I see nothing wrong with interacting (a little) with the players and coaches as long as everyone knows you are in control.

For example, had a kid make a steal and it looked like he had a break-away. B1 comes screaming down the court, catches up and attempts a block from behind. I hated to calle a foul but he clearly got A1 on the arm and head. We are lining up to shoot FTs and I saw my partner and most of the guys on the lane smiling. At the half I asked what was so funny. Seems A2 had asked my partner "Did you see him catch pokey on that play? If he can't run faster than that he deserves to have his shot blocked, dosen't he?" Partner said he just winked at the kid and said "It would be unprofessional for me to agree with you and embarasse him further."

I also think "getting into" the "big call" helps people know you know what you are doing and that you enjoy being there. You just have to be very careful and maintain control and not to "deminish your authority".

JMO
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Old Thu Dec 23, 2004, 11:28am
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Hi Ray.


Rather than worry about the two non-varsity guys think is important, I would worry about what Scott, Ty and Kurt think is important. I personally don't like the robot look, but my style (as you know) is probably too much of me for what the UHSAA wants. As you progress up that ladder, using the proper mechanics is very important, but after you "make it", you can get away with more "personality".

IMO, the most important things you can do to move up is get plays right and control games. I would rather work with a partner who does those things than one who's mechanics are perfect.

Tell Benjamin Merry Christmas for me and that I want to see him the next time I'm in Utah working.
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Old Thu Dec 23, 2004, 11:33am
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Personality is more that just floor mechanics.
How you interact with the players and coaches, when you put a smile on and when you get firm, body language, they all play a part.

I believe that you need to follow the manual as closely as possible. Your mechanics need to be fluid and comfortable at the same time. That comes with practice, and once they become second nature that will take care of itself (as long as the mechanics you are practicing are correct).

That said, you still need to do something to get noticed by the higher-up officials (evaluators, assigners). That doesn’t mean flamboyancy that detracts from the game. It means (to me) being able to manage the game. Knowing how to resist making the ticky-tack calls that just interrupt the flow of the game, and being able to identify the calls that have to be made. Having sharp, crisp communication skills. Being able to communicate with an angry coach and leave without the "T". Knowing when he/she has crossed the line, and being able to "take care of business" and resume play as quickly as possible.

Might be a little deeper than you wanted to get, but to me all of these are part of one's "personality".
Just one man's opinion, I'm sure that there will be others.
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Old Thu Dec 23, 2004, 12:39pm
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Ray

Mr Stripes is absolutely right. It's Scott, Ty, and Kirt and other board members who need to worry about. If they are non-varsity there may be a reason.


Take a look at the evaluation form the association uses. Mechanics is 24 points (converted to 20 percent). Court Coverage is 20 percent Game Management is 30 percent. They are importatnt.

When I evaluate there are things I always look for. (I know there are others who look at these things too)

1) If youre not having fun out there or at least some of the time you dont belong.

2) Are you working hard? Are you working the arc or are you standing still? Are you working the baseline and going strong-side?

3) What are your mechanics like? The straight arm is a necessity! I evaluated a JV game earlier this year with a guy I know well. He made the good mechanics when he blew the whistle and then when he went to report he was stiff as a board. You can have sharp mechanics and still be relaxed.

You never need to showboat but each one of us has our own way of calling an offensive foul, illegal screen, the push behind on the rebound. (Arm up pointing the other way... stating offense... whatever.)

The bottom line is that there are times you need to stand out and ther are times you dont. The routine fouls dont matter it's the tough ones, the bang-bang ones that will make or break you..

You can be too robotic but never too polished. Sharp Mechanics dont have to be stiff and robotic. Your personality comes out when you interact with players, coaches etc and it will come over time.

I know that sometimes its not bad to get someone you trust to watch your games. Have them nit-pick it to pieces (you gotta be willing to take it all) We do it during the summer all the time in the one league, but I think everyone gets better when you do. I have done this for a couple of friends reffing a varsity game on Friday night when I did not have one...

I do know there are those of us out here who will help you just let us know...


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Old Thu Dec 23, 2004, 01:43pm
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Quote:
Originally posted by Back In The Saddle
In the past week I have had two different officials give me differing advice (no surprise, eh?). One partner suggested that I needed to work on things like having my arm straight up on fouls/violations. His general message was that if I want to go varsity, I need to focus on perfecting my mechanics.

So I fixed the arm thing, and a week later another official tells me that my partner and I looked too "robotic" and didn't exhibit any personality on the floor. He specifically mentioned that it looked liked I practiced everything in front of the mirror (which I do).

Funny enough, the first guy came here from Kansas and the second guy from Oregon. Perhaps their advice reflects a regional bias they brought with them. Neither of them is a varsity official.

I think the question is worth exploring. How much personality can we/should we display out there?
I think zebra hit the gist of this right on the head.

Straight arm is not equal to robotic. Having the arm straight is the ends. How it gets there is what makes it look robotic or not.

Consider two methods...
(1) Arm down at you side and straight. You raise it by keeping it straight and swinging it up (to the side or to the front).

(2) Arm down at you side and straight. You raise it by doing more of a shoulder press...bending it on the way up and pushing it to straight with a snap.

Both ways gets your arm straight at the end but look very different.

If you are going to bird dog, do it a second or two after the other arm goes up. Otherwise, it looks like you directing airplanes or cheerleading or one of the village people.
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Old Thu Dec 23, 2004, 04:53pm
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Does anyone still bird dog?
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Old Thu Dec 23, 2004, 04:56pm
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Quote:
Originally posted by nine01c
Does anyone still bird dog?
Some of our long time veterans are having trouble breaking their 30-year habit.

Z
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Old Thu Dec 23, 2004, 05:17pm
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I think it's interesting to note that Earl Strom, in his book "Calling The Shots", was very vocal about the NBA trying to eliminate "personality" from the officials. He blamed it on Darryl Garretson after Darryl became Supervisor of Officials. Strom said the league felt the personalities of some of the officials (read: Strom, Jake O'Donnell and Richie Powers) was a detraction from the players entertainment value. Strom said the league wanted all the officials to be like robots, have identical mechanics and not draw any attention to themselves. Those lower level official that did not conform were not promoted.
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Old Thu Dec 23, 2004, 05:27pm
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I think both ways. Proper mechanics are big. However, if you don't come completely straight up with your closed fist for a foul, yet you come up strong and fairly straight...I don't see anything wrong with that. Now of course if you are out there trying to put on a show (which I have seen before) with your mechanics, that's a different story.
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Old Thu Dec 23, 2004, 05:28pm
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Thumbs up

Z,
Yep, I still bird dog sometimes. I have two teams whose games I call who, if the foul occurs in a crowded situation, players like to run away from the spot. It helps with them. It also helps when you call from a distance away and run in and point. I also use it when there's mutiple contact on the shooter to make sure I keep in my head who hit the shooter first. Just some of my ways of using it.
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Old Thu Dec 23, 2004, 07:03pm
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Bits. I won't embarrass you by calling you Ray. Stripes and Kevin are correct. Except for this. I have seen you work and know you have great mechanics. You work hard, and call a good game. Continue to work on that. I think most of us know what we need to, or want to, improve on. Focus on that, and you will continue to get better. When Scott, Ty, and Kurt see you, they will like what they see.

Btw, you've got dinner on the 6th. I like chips and pbj's.
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Old Thu Dec 23, 2004, 08:42pm
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Bamar

Quote:
Originally posted by BamaRef
Bits. I won't embarrass you by calling you Ray.
Yeah, I noticed that you called me by my psuedonym the other day. I've never been embarassed to be called by my name. In fact ... you can call me Ray, or you can call me Jay, or ...

Quote:
Originally posted by BamaRef
Stripes and Kelvin are correct. Except for this. I have seen you work and know you have great mechanics. You work hard, and call a good game. Continue to work on that. I think most of us know what we need to, or want to, improve on. Focus on that, and you will continue to get better. When Scott, Ty, and Kurt see you, they will like what they see.
Thanks! I think you guys are right. I'm not terribly worried about what either of these gentlemen told me. The bit about getting my arm straight was true, so I fixed that. Kirtley confirmed the bit about handing the ball to the thrower in the front court, so I've changed that.

The personality thing was an intriguing statement. I wasn't sure what he meant. I didn't see anything in his game that stood out as being particularly personality-enhanced, did you? I think the discussion here has given me a lot better idea. It's something I'll muse about for a while.

I do need to get taped so I can see what I look like. Maybe that night I was lookin' a little stiff. I was focusing quite a bit on straight arm everywhere. Perhaps I looked like a cheerleader, or worse, an escapee from the Village People!

Quote:
Originally posted by BamaRef
Btw, you've got dinner on the 6th. I like chips and pbj's.
Yeah, but whose got dinner on the 4th? You know, the night of YOUR FIRST VARSITY GAME. Oh whoops, did I let that slip out?
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