Training new officials quickly

[Back In The Saddle]

I've been asked by my church group to train basketball officials from several individual programs spread over a couple of counties. I'll have about 90 minutes. I've been wracking my brain, trying to figure out how best to distill bball officiating down to its simplest form. Being a bear of very little brain, it isn't working all that well.

At the moment I'm planning on about 30 minutes for classroom training and 60+ minutes on the floor working a scrimage.

In the classroom training, I'm thinking about covering:

• Basic positioning (including boxing the players in, movement at lead and trail)
• Switching
• Getting good angles
• Getting the ball live (administring jump ball, throw-in and free throws)
• Reporting
• New rules, probably only team control foul
• Be confident, even if you have to fake it
• Eye contact with partner
• Brief pregame with partner and watch warmups to look for jewelry (Rather than hiding in the stands until game time because they feel like a fish out of water)

{edited to revise the list based on feedback}

What I'm really looking for are some workable guidelines on what to teach and how to teach it. As I see it, the task is to present the basics in such a way that the attendees can then go back to their local programs and be successful, and pass along what they've learned -- a train the trainers kind of approach.

A good 30 minute instructional video on 2-whistle would be fantastic. Is there one out there?

I welcome any suggestions.

[Edited by Back In The Saddle on Dec 2nd, 2005 at 04:35 PM]

[zebraman]

BITS,

I too am a "bear of little brain" and I just gave one of those clinics a couple weeks ago for a group of HS kids who were going to officiate elementary age ball. Your outline is pretty much what I followed and I also included communication and reminded them about making eye contact with partners over and over and over.

I used an overhead projector to diagram basic court positioning and line coverage etc. and it helped in answering a couple of their questions. I also brought a bag of candy and tossed them a piece every team they answered a basic question correctly. It seemed to make them a little more relaxed and we had real good interaction and a lot of fun.

I think 30 minutes in the class and 60 minutes on the floor is about right. Our association used to have some videos (I think they were from NFHS) but they just put everyone to sleep. I think "live" teaching is better.

Z

[Junker]

The two biggies to me for new guys are mechanics and court coverage just to make sure you don't end up with everyone watching the ball. Something that made me much better early in my career was a veteran official came on the floor and stood beside me for a while, constantly checking to make sure I stayed in my area and talked about which players I should be watching. This might be hard for you because it's sounding like you're the only veteran involved. Best of luck.

[blindzebra]

How advanced are the attendees?

It is a tad unclear.

If you are being asked to give basic guide lines to fairly experienced officials to pass along to new official it is one thing.

If you are teaching new officials to pass on info to other new officials...well, I'd say you need several 90 minute classes.

[Back In The Saddle]

Originally posted by blindzebra
How advanced are the attendees?

It is a tad unclear.

If you are being asked to give basic guide lines to fairly experienced officials to pass along to new official it is one thing.

If you are teaching new officials to pass on info to other new officials...well, I'd say you need several 90 minute classes.

My guess (who will be attending is unclear, I was only asked yesterday) is that it'll be fairly inexperienced or new officials, all unpaid volunteers. Actually, volunteer may be just a bit of a stretch. But hopefully at least willing to give it a good shot, or willing to be convinced that they'll "survive" it all better if they're willing to learn some basics.

If it turns out to be mostly experienced officials, then I'll adjust things on the fly, but probably keep the 30 min/60 min split. Just talk/work on more advanced material.

[ChrisSportsFan]

Props and examples on the floor. Get a couple of refs who know what they're doing to help you walk thru senerios. They can show floor positioning as the ball moves up and down the court and that will keep you talking and teaching. If you can get them to pony-up for some whistles and lanyards, as questions to keep the trainees involved and reward correct answers.

Don't forget to remind tham about fans and coaches or they will not show back up the second week of games.

[JRutledge]

I have learned that anytime you can show diagrams or video that help trainees much easier. I think most people can grasp a visual aid than something they read on paper and cannot visualize. What ever you do, give as many visual examples as possible. I cannot tell you what to cover exactly, I can tell you in training classes that I have been apart of and helped organize; the visual aids helped those that have never worked games in their life.

Peace

[rainmaker]

Ray -- I urge you to get some more experienced people to help out with the scrimmage-time and then to mentor in the first game or two. I think this will accelerate the learning process overall.

During the scrimmage time, have each working newbie with one mentor, and then have a mentor or two talking to the newbies who are observing. Work with your mentors a little bit ahead of time, so that their messages to the newbies are consistent and basic. You don't want one mentor talking about Lead being in the wide-out or closed-down position, and then someone else discussing the relative merits of cutting across the key when the ball is in the opposite low post.

Be sure the mentors aren't show-offs, and are very good communicators. Buy them a pizza party half way through the season when they are done kicking their "little ones" out of the next.

[Back In The Saddle]

Originally posted by JRutledge
I have learned that anytime you can show diagrams or video that help trainees much easier. I think most people can grasp a visual aid than something they read on paper and cannot visualize. What ever you do, give as many visual examples as possible. I cannot tell you what to cover exactly, I can tell you in training classes that I have been apart of and helped organize; the visual aids helped those that have never worked games in their life.

Peace

Do you have any leads on good videos or visual aids that I can use as a starting point? Obviously it would have to be something I could get electronically or buy locally.

[Kelvin green]

Ray,

I would focus on the rules that are the most misunderstood.
Maybe even do a pre-quiz to get them thinking about rules

I would think

3 seconds
Back court
Block Charge
Backboard rules
Team control fouls
Screening

Anyhting else that is perpetuated in rule myth out there

From someone who has been a trainer in non-officiating side,

I would set up the learning objectives.

What should they be able to recite?
What should they be able to demonstrate?
What do you wnat them to be competent in?
knowing that you have 90 minutes
Once you have that then model it around that.
Dont try to do too much pick the 3-4 most critical skills

Knowing church officials

A couple of on floor suggestions
-blowing the whistle with authority
-basic positions
-basic table reporting
-switiching
-maybe on ball/off ball

Dont overwhelm them its better to get them good at 2 things than do the whirlwind tour of officiating that they will forget 80 percent in 48 hours.

Have them practice, be reptitive..

In the army we have what is called task, condition, and standard and we are supposed to train to that. Pick the task you want them to be good at and have them train until they meet the standard.This will be ingrained, ....

Follow up with other stuff later.

The best traiing programs are those that reinforce over time

[Kelvin green]

Ray,

I would focus on the rules that are the most misunderstood.
Maybe even do a pre-quiz to get them thinking about rules

I would think

3 seconds
Back court
Block Charge
Backboard rules
Team control fouls
Screening

Anyhting else that is perpetuated in rule myth out there

From someone who has been a trainer in non-officiating side,

I would set up the learning objectives.

What should they be able to recite?
What should they be able to demonstrate?
What do you wnat them to be competent in?
knowing that you have 90 minutes
Once you have that then model it around that.
Dont try to do too much pick the 3-4 most critical skills

Knowing church officials

A couple of on floor suggestions
-blowing the whistle with authority
-basic positions
-basic table reporting
-switiching
-maybe on ball/off ball

Dont overwhelm them its better to get them good at 2 things than do the whirlwind tour of officiating that they will forget 80 percent in 48 hours.

Have them practice, be reptitive..

In the army we have what is called task, condition, and standard and we are supposed to train to that. Pick the task you want them to be good at and have them train until they meet the standard.This will be ingrained, ....

Follow up with other stuff later.

The best traiing programs are those that reinforce over time

[Back In The Saddle]

Thanks, Kelvin. I've been stressing so much about which 4,000,000,000 things I would have to leave out that I hadn't looked at it in terms of what three or four things I most wanted them to learn.

Last year's clinic spent much classroom time on philosophy and all the hands-on time demonstrating and practicing things like: blowing the whistle, reporting, signals, mechanics for administering free throws and throw-ins, etc. It's hard to find fault with that, it's all stuff officials need to know.

In the years I've been playing and reffing church ball, I think the biggest problem is the things that don't get called. Even guys who've played college ball, who know the game inside and out, struggle when they put on stripes. They just don't know how to "see" the game like a good official does.

I feel that the best thing I can do with this opportunity is to focus on teaching them how to see the stuff they need to call. So if I had to pick some things they should be able to explain and demonstrate (and I guess I do have to), they'd probably be:

• Basic positioning (including the principle of boxing in the players)
• Areas and lines
• Watching matchups (primary and secondary)
• Move to maintain an open look

With that, they should have the tools to allow them to "see" the game, rather than just watch the blur.

I'm not consciously ignoring mechanics, but they can be learned as they go. To grab an admittedly borderline case, knowing how to properly signal a traveling violation is less important to the well-begin of the game than not standing under the basket the whole game watching the ball.

I welcome anybody's thoughts on whether I'm right or wrong, and why.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally posted by rainmaker
Buy them a pizza party half way through the season when they are done kicking their "little ones" out of the next.

Out of the "next" what?

[rainmaker]

Originally posted by Jurassic Referee

Out of the "next" what?

I figured you were the new Mr. Spelling Guy. Thanks for keeping us all on our toos.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally posted by rainmaker

I figured you were the new Mr. Spelling Guy. Thanks for keeping us all on our toos.

Always glad to be obnoxious.