Teen-age Officials

[Back In The Saddle]

Maybe I'm the wierd one, but when I was a teen I would take the rulebook too literally. It wasn't until I grew up that I could understand how the rulebook was more shades of gray than black and white. That actually helped me a lot.

[SMEngmann]

My only piece of advice is to not worry about judgement right away, it will only come with seeing plays at different levels and with experience. Make sure you know the rules and that you're in the right place and looking in the right place first. A lot of the acceptance of the call has to do with where you are when you blow your whistle and how confident you look, in other words, your believability. Judgement will come, but make sure your mechanics are good, you look the part and you hustle.

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Does starting my basketball officiating career just after I turned nineteen qualify me as an official who started out as a teenage official?

MTD, Sr.

[crazy voyager]

I am a teenage ref (15 now, was 13(!) when I called my first game)

I have played the game scince I was 10 and when I got the chance to become a ref I signed up and started holding the whistle in our practises. My coach didn't mind if I blew the whistle insted of sitting on the bench as a sub so I started my first training there. Then I went throught the training and got myself a rulebook. I am a reader (I've read extremly fast and started reading books for adults around the age of 9) and I read my rulebook, I read it firstly cover to cover, then I went throught the most importent parts over and over again (fouls, violations and so on). I just tried to assimilate all the things in it, and it worked pretty well for me.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

Does starting my basketball officiating career just after I turned nineteen qualify me as an official who started out as a teenage official?

MTD, Sr.

Mark, technically it does, but I'm looking more at HS age. My son is only 13. When, or if, he feels the urge to give this a try I will be able to take care of all the mechanics, court coverage, & positioning stuff. But getting him to comprehend, recognize, and then apply the rules seems like the more daunting task.

It's hard enough to get him to read a Social Studies handout then answer 10 fill-in-the-blanks questions.

[smoref]

I started officiating when I was 12 years old. A guy who was a father figure to me ran tournaments and he needed a ref so I was thrown in. I didn't join the high school association until I was 26.

I have always thought back to where I would be if I started doing is seriously while I was in high school, but I am very happy with the progress that I have made in the 6 years that I have been doing it.

I can't wait for the day that my daughter or son come up to me and ask if they can ref, but if they don't it will be okay as well.

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

Mark, technically it does, but I'm looking more at HS age. My son is only 13. When, or if, he feels the urge to give this a try I will be able to take care of all the mechanics, court coverage, & positioning stuff. But getting him to comprehend, recognize, and then apply the rules seems like the more daunting task.

It's hard enough to get him to read a Social Studies handout then answer 10 fill-in-the-blanks questions.

Since I am now 54 years old, I guess I was trying to recapture my boyhood and boost my self esteem.

MTD, Sr.

[ref18]

I started officiating at 15, I am now 19. I'm in college now, but was officiating JV basketball and V football while I was still in High School.

[fonzzy07]

Originally Posted by ref18

I started officiating at 15, I am now 19. I'm in college now, but was officiating JV basketball and V football while I was still in High School.

How were u able to do that? are state has a rule that you can't do highschool until you graduate.

[fonzzy07]

Originally Posted by Back In The Saddle

Maybe I'm the wierd one, but when I was a teen I would take the rulebook too literally. It wasn't until I grew up that I could understand how the rulebook was more shades of gray than black and white. That actually helped me a lot.

Thats why i recomend the simplified and illustrated version. It has little cartoons. Most kids unlike me dont want to read anything let alone a rule book, but love comics. Its not as good as the rule book but it is a start.