Advice for rookie officials

[SMEngmann]

Originally posted by JRutledge

That sounds great but to become a good official you have to know when to make calls and know when not to make calls. Just blowing your whistle every time something is close is not what is going to advance a newer official. As a matter of fact it might get that official held back. I would agree that in the short term the official might get away with calling every little thing, but officiating is also a competition. The officials that know how to call the game (using advantage/disadvantage) will be the officials that get the opportunities to move to the higher level a lot quicker.

Peace

Rut, I think you're ahead of yourself, and it may be different based on the person, but I think it's a lot easier to begin to look at foul selection if you're calling too many fouls than if you're calling too few as a new official. As you see more plays, it then becomes a lot easier to hold the whistle on contact later on because now judgement comes into play. For a newbie, I think it's more important to blow every foul and work on learning rules and mechanics and not to worry about judgement. Judgement and selectivity will then come when the official calls a foul that doesn't impact the play and thinks, "Gee, maybe I could've passed on that." It's far easier than, "God that guy got hammered, maybe I should've called something." Obviously guys who call too many fouls will have a hard time moving up, but the guys who see a train wreck and don't have a whistle won't remain in officiating very long, and again, I think it's easier to learn and adjust by at first calling too many fouls, which will eventually lead to developing judgement.