What is an experienced ref?

[drothamel]

Quite an interesting thread. Two things come to mind:

1) At the camps I recently went to, the clinicians all said the same thing, "The world is filled with U1's and U2's, we want R's" Leadership is a part of officiating. We all have off the court personalities and experiences that affect us on the court. In many cases, I think that the "experienced" official has gained much of that experience off the court and is better able to apply it on the court.

2) Repetition is certainly not the same as experience.
If I do something 1000 times, and keep doing it incorrectly or poorly, I don't think I fit what we mean by "experienced." The most "experienced" officials out there seem to be the ones that are best at taking whatever experiences they have an translating them into useable learning tools.