Thanks everyone, I passed

[fern2340]

Just wanted to say thanks to all who provided advice and answers to my questions about the PIAA basketball test. I passed and am sending in my New Member Chapter Affiliation Form today!!!

thanks again!!

Linda

[Tim Roden]

Congradulations. now your the expert.

[fern2340]

Originally posted by Tim Roden
now your the expert.

I WISH! I am very excited about starting to ref games but nervous too! I have reffed games when I worked at basketball camps but not an actual game!
Anyone care to share their reffing wisdom with me, oh wise ones???

[Tim Roden]

Relax, have fun and be teachable. Find a mentor and hang on.

[Danvrapp]

Originally posted by fern2340
Anyone care to share their reffing wisdom with me, oh wise ones???

Yea, shoot the coach

[JeffRef]

Congratulations! You're in for a lot of fun. This is a great game!

My advice would be to get your mechanics and positioning to the point where they are "automatic" as soon as you can. Once you reach this point, you can mentally focus entirely on the game and not worry about... is my arm straight? am I in the right spot? did I blow my whistle loud enough? is that Mel Gibson in the stands?

Good Luck

[bsilliman]

One thing that JeffReff forgot,
Get the rules down so you can see them in your sleep. You must be able to react to the plays, not think about what you saw and then blow the whistle--it is too late!
And finally, work as many games as you can; at any level. This will let you see more situations which don't happen a lot. But you will remember them when they re-appear again.
Good luck!

[fern2340]

Thanks for all the helpful hints! I am looking forward to this experience. It is going to be a change because I am very use to looking at the court from the player's perspective. Can't wait to start!!!!!!!!!!

[BktBallRef]

Originally posted by bsilliman
One thing that JeffReff forgot,
Get the rules down so you can see them in your sleep. You must be able to react to the plays, not think about what you saw and then blow the whistle--it is too late!
And finally, work as many games as you can; at any level. This will let you see more situations which don't happen a lot. But you will remember them when they re-appear again.
Good luck!

I would add one more thing! Bookmark this site and the McGriff site. Everything you're going to see has already been seen by someone else. And chances are, we've talked about it on one of the two boards. Check the boards 2 or 3 times everyday, even in the off season. You can't just crack a book in October and stick it back in a drawer in March. You have to stay on top of this stuff year round.

http://www.gmcgriff.com/refonline/ww...asketball.html

[Malcolm Tucker]

Originally posted by bsilliman
One thing that JeffReff forgot,
Get the rules down so you can see them in your sleep. You must be able to react to the plays, not think about what you saw and then blow the whistle--it is too late!
And finally, work as many games as you can; at any level. This will let you see more situations which don't happen a lot. But you will remember them when they re-appear again.
Good luck!

Yes do as many games as you can. Standard does not really matter at the start but watch what the players are trying to do.

Once you start to read the game you will be on your way.

Read and re-read the rules

[rainmaker]

As a woman in this business, who is starting to find her footing, I would like to give this advice, which you may or may not need depending on your personality. Dont let the men intimidate you. Period. This goes for partners, assignors, coaches, players, dads, and any other men. If you have not learned yet in other areas of your life how to not back down to men, this is the time to start practicing. I am not saying that you need to be arrogant or obnoxious. But there are plenty of men who automatically deduct 50 points from your credibility score simply because you are female, and you need to be firm and confident enough that you send the message, "Your deduction does not affect my game." I think this is why I T more coaches than most of the refs do. I finally asked a woman I know here that is very, very good at reffing, and she said, yes, she T'd a lot of coaches in her first few years. She doesn't have to now because people know and respect her and she lives up to her reputation. I know another woman ref, who has T'd very little, but her personality is different and she wins coaches over by being very and superior -- and she also is very, very good.

But the most important thing is develop confidence quickly, and project it copiously. This will help you more than anything else.

[dblref]

Congratulations and welcome to the wonderful world of officiating. BBRef offered some good advice regarding checking this group often. I usually check it first thing in the morning at work -- helps to be the boss! I remember my first "official" game as a referee (14 y/o boys in a rec game), and I was nervous as all get out, but I survived and I really enjoy officiating. I work a lot of HS ball and rec ball. I am in the northern VA area and we have leagues all year long. Our A and AA girls (smaller schools) play Fall Ball, so our scholastic program starts the first week of Sept. Anyway, congratulations and welcome.

[SeanWorrall]

I started in early 2000, here's what I found....

Get your first game in as soon as possible, and make your calls loud and sound assertive, then everyone else will have confidence in you.

Do as many games as you can, if you do twice as many games as everyone else then you'll have 2 years experience in your first year.

People who enjoy doing something love to talk about it and share their experiences. (Hence this board!) When you ref with someone experienced, ask them things!

[Mike Burns]

I'm suprised that no one has yet mentioned this on this thread. The first thing you need to do is SLOW DOWN! Take your time becase play is not going to resume until you have completed your job. Hustle on the foor to get good position, but when you have a foul or violation take your time. Get to the reporting area and STOP. Before resuming play it is a good habit to make eye contact with your partner(s). Slow down, relax, have fun and....oh yeah, SLOW DOWN!

[fern2340]

Thanks to everyone who has responded. I appreciate all the advice. Here's another question...
I sent in my form to join a chapter... do I just wait to hear now?