New Referee Here

[ATLBrvs326]

OK, I have been refing for about 2 months and I really want to get better. I just had a really bad week last week and am trying to shake that off. Really, what do all you experienced referees do to get better. Im sure all of you were at least at the low level of skill I am at. I want to watch videos on how to get better. What should I do? Any websites or magazines? Just please explain how all of you got where you are today and how you gained the confidence to become the best referee possible. I am only 16 so I have a lot of time for improvement but as you might guess the crowd is a little bit harder on me because when you see a kid (same could apply for women) on the court if you are not perfect the crowd hates you (even when you make a good call). Thanks for the help.

[Snake~eyes]

Originally Posted by ATLBrvs326

OK, I have been refing for about 2 months and I really want to get better. I just had a really bad week last week and am trying to shake that off. Really, what do all you experienced referees do to get better. Im sure all of you were at least at the low level of skill I am at. I want to watch videos on how to get better. What should I do? Any websites or magazines? Just please explain how all of you got where you are today and how you gained the confidence to become the best referee possible. I am only 16 so I have a lot of time for improvement but as you might guess the crowd is a little bit harder on me because when you see a kid (same could apply for women) on the court if you are not perfect the crowd hates you (even when you make a good call). Thanks for the help.

Find someone who you KNOW is good and ask them to give you some feedback after watching your game. Pick something each game to work on and focus on it. You will get better, it takes time and plenty of patience. Keep at it.

[AZ_REF]

I'll try not to hold your being a braves fan against you. To give you a perspective of where I'm coming from: I too started when I was 16. I'm now 21 and have been calling college ball the past 2 seasons.

The most important thing to get better is to attend some camps. There are a ton all over the country ranging anywhere from introductory to tryout camps for college. You'll want to try to find a teaching camp. I'm guessing most of your games are two man so try to start there. Also listen to and watch EVERYONE. You can learn from ANYONE. I can't stress this enough. Steal something from everybody's game. You may like one of their mechanics or how they deal with coaches. Or you may see something that you do and you realize it doesn't look good.

As far as the crowd goes, ignore them. I know it's hard but when you're just starting you need to remember to not let them affect your game. Also a little confidence goes a long way. I started off calling men's leagues. And after I showed that I wouldn't be intimidated I had way less problems.

Best of luck, if you have any other questions please post them. This forum is a great place to learn.


PS - Go Yankees!

[Brad]

You've come to the right place... Officiating.com!

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We've all been where you are... Personally, I got better when I started reading books, listening to tapes, and attending camps and clinics. It just takes hard work and effort and you will get there.

- Brad

[tjones1]

I would recommend an Officiating.com Post Game Bag with your membership! I've got one and it's great.

[dave30]

You are only 16. Every single game you work is going to make you better. After each game, try to think of one or two things you wish you would have done better and make a note of them. You will only get better with experience. Camps are very important. You should attend at least one every year and just keep working games. You will become more confident as you go along. Some day you will look back and laugh at the bad experiences and learn from them. It's kind of neat when the kids you reffed recognize you 5 or 10 years later and then some of them become referees and you get to help them out!

[mplagrow]

The best thing to do is find a good official's association in your area and join up. Some of them offer free clinics to their members. That's helped me a lot!

[Bad Zebra]

Find a mentor...someone who's skills and court presence you admire (they should be veteran and highly rated by their association). Ask them to do a few games with you...even if it's summer league, rec ball...whatever. Chances are, they will welcome the opportunity to develop your skills. It will also give them the opportunity to examine THEIR skills, which is something ALL good officials want to do. Take as many games as you can, even if you don't get paid, especially in the off season. You will be surprised at how fast you improve! Good luck.

[ATLBrvs326]

thanks for the help

[Junker]

I would also add go out and work as much as possible. There is no substitute for experience. You'll work with good officials that you can learn from, and you'll work with other officials that will show you what you don't want to do. As far as a rough week, that was last week. Shake it off. One hint I picked up at a camp for after a rough week is to break the game down into segments. Work on focusing hard for small periods of time, for example, when I'm kind of out of it, I'll tell myself to suck it up and work the best 2 minutes of the season until the next time out, dead ball, etc. Also, rough weeks happen to all of us. I seem to have about one a year where things just don't go well. It's part of life. The best thing you can do is learn from any mistakes you made and move on.

[Kostja]

Hi, even though I don't ref in the States I can relate to your situation very well. I started refereeing when I was 17, that makes it 10 years now. And I started to work games on the highest level (professional league) here in my country, this year.

What can you do to get better? To repeat what others already told you, work as many games as possible! Ask someone to be your mentor, maybe he won't have enough time to ref many games with you, but you'll need somebody to talk about the things you experience on the court (this forum is a great place to do that, too). Keep a game log, write down 3 things to focus on, before every game, rate yourself after the game, what did you do well and where could you improve.

Points of emphasis for your first years will be mechanics (how to get into a good position), call selection (what needs to be called and what is just an unnecessary interrution of the flow of the game), selling your calls (signals and body language). Practice on the court and get yourself videotaped by a friend or family member. Practice in front of a mirror (what looks good and what doesn't). Talk to as many referees as you can, you can draw on their experience. Watch as much basketball as you can, and watch the referees. AZ_Ref said steal something from everybody who you see refereeing. he is right about that! Officiating is like a large buffet. You can take/try everything you see, but you'll stick to the things you liked (worked for you and your personality).

[BadCallTallKid]

I'm 25 and have finished my third year of officiating and my first in college basketball. The thing that has helped me the most is having my ears open and my mouth shut. Listen to people who are where you want to be. Be a sponge. Go to as many camps as you can afford and have time for and just be around people who are good solid officials who can offer you good evalutions of your games. And try to get on film as much as possible, it's amazing what you pick up after seeing yourself on film.

[BktBallRef]

Learn the rules. I can guarantee you that you don't know them. Get a rule book and a case book. Ask questions about situations that arise in your games on this board. Also, read other discussion about rules, situations, screnarios. Ignore the bull**** posts.

[fonzzy07]

I am only 16 so I have a lot of time for improvement but as you might guess the crowd is a little bit harder on me because when you see a kid (same could apply for women) on the court if you are not perfect the crowd hates you (even when you make a good call). Thanks for the help.[/QUOTE]
On this matter. I started at age 16.I am now 17 and am small for my age. While it is hard to get the respect of the coaches and fans because you and I are so young their are somethings you can do. 1st off dress like a ref. Get a pair of ref pants and a pair of ref shoes patent leather if you can. I can't say enough to how powerful the shiny shoes are. 2nd off demand respect. You can control coaches. Don't be afraid to use T's. As for fans just ingnore them. Goodluck and keep improving.

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by fonzzy07

2nd off demand respect. You can control coaches. Don't be afraid to use T's. As for fans just ingnore them. Goodluck and keep improving.

WHOA! You may demand respect but that's certainly not the way to get it. All that will get you is a lot of FTs with no players on the lane. Respect is earned, not demanded.

Control is an illusion. Keep the game under control and manage the coaches. There's no need, or hope, to control them.

But yes, I agree, ignore the fans.