help for college
 

I am going to be starting my first year at the JC level...

Any advise on the best way to keep JC separate from HS?

or How to transistion from night to night?

thanks.

Congrats! It's going to be a big adjustment for you, but I'm sure it will be exciting. Good luck!

I'm not sure what you mean by this. Do you mean how to make sure your schedules don't conflict? Do you mean how to keep the rules differences straight? Help me out a little with what you're looking for.

Just like HS ball, Juco ball can vary wildly in the quality you see from night to night, from team to team, from early in the season to late in the season on the same team. If you have very high quality HS ball in your area, the Juco ball may not be that much better. On the other hand, some Juco schools get D1 athletes who for some reason (academic, financial, legal) had to wait a year to get into a D1 program.

The best way to make a smooth transition is simply to focus on the game you're doing that night. A good pre-game helps. That sounds oversimplified, but I don't think it is. Focus on the game you have to work that night. 2-whistle or 3-whistle? Mentally prepare for it. NCAA rules or FED rules? Pre-game the differences. That's the biggest step.

Best of luck. Let us know how the first one goes. :)

I know how you feel footlocker, I too finally got in JC ball and chuck I think you said it best. I agree that a good pregame is the best to get your mind focused.

Make sure that you understand the shot clock rules - they can be tricky!

Also, know the differences in the rules - some seem to be the same, but aren't. For example, double foul in HS = point of interruption. Double foul in college = awarded to team in possession of the ball nearest where foul occured. Slightly different, but could be a big difference depending on the game situation.

Personally, after doing men's college for a year or two I had to stop working HS girls. It was just too much of a jump to work a HS girl's game one night and then go work a men's NCAA D3 game the next. Not sure if this is true for everyone, but definitely was for me...

Try to arrange to ride to the games with your partner(s), it will give you a chance to ask a lot of questions and get a head start on your pre-game.

Although Brad's point is a good one -- make sure you really do know the differences between NCAA and FED -- the example that he gave is no longer a difference.

New NCAA rule for the '06-'07 season: Rule 4-51a: The ball will be returned to play at the POI after double fouls and simultaneous personal fouls. Rationale: This creates consistency in where the ball will be returned to play after double fouls and simultaneous fouls.

I do not see the transition as being that difficult. Of course the shot clock is now a factor at the college level that is not in most HS situations. You have kids that are bigger and faster at the college level and your whistle has to be much slower and your calls have to be more deliberate. I also agree with Brad. If you are working Men's basketball you need to get rid of Girl's basketball in your sights. I think it is a harder transition to work a girl's game on a Friday and then work a Men's college game on Saturday afternoon. The speed of the game is a huge factor and you do not want to be a couple steps behind when working college ball. Also when you talk plays or see things that take place at the HS level, think of the college interpretation or how it should be handled at the college ranks. This will help you understand the rules differences as the year goes on. If this is your first year you likely are not going to be alternating every night working a HS game then a college game (even big time veterans do not do this as much as you would think). If you are the typical first year college official, you will have plenty of time to go over differences in mechanics, rules and philosophy. You can watch a lot of college basketball to get a feel of what to call and what is expected. If you have a good pre-game, that will help greatly. Just do not over think the job you have to do when you officiate a college game.

Peace

I am also transitioning to College ball. I am doing Juco and oddly enough I wasn't selected to do D1 while I was at a camp, but they called me to asked if I would welcome doing a scrimmage to get another look at. Has this ever happened to anyone. To be asked after weeks after the camp took place?

Hm... Let's see..... Do I know anyone that this has happened to?

Well, I was told that if you are not selected by the end of the camp, pack it up and try harder for next year.

My comment wasn't aimed at you. It was a jibe at a friend of mine who looks at this board occasionally. It has to do with something that happened in the last year or two (sheez, my memory is getting bad!) that I like to kid him/her about!

From JUCO to D1? Shouldn't we be trying to climb the ladder one rung at a time?

Juco
Div III
Div II (If in your area of the country)
Div I

There is a huge difference from JUCO to D-3 let alone D-1 ball.

So if you were working a Juco game and a D1 assignor met you after the game and said he was impressed and wanted you on his/her staff, you'd turn it down? :confused:

LOL.

(How do I get around the "message too short" warning? :mad: )

I went to the development camp for a D1 camp. I had no expectation to get picked up. I was surprised when I got the call. I guess they feel that I may have the tools.

Not really, many officials skip steps all the time and its not like you are going to turn down an opportunity if you've been offered an upper level spot just because you haven't worked the previous level. There are plenty of officials who have skipped JUCO, D3 and D2. There are college officials who have never workeed a HS varsity game. There are also NBA officials who have never worked D1.

Grow.........

That's some nifty editing there, JR. LOL

Actually that is not true. JUCO players go from that level to D1 all the time. Usually when players play D3 and D2, that is where they are going to be for the next 4 years (unless transferring or quitting school). Also at those levels there is an issue of scholarships and the type of players that attend those schools are different and can be based on the surrounding areas. The talent at the JUCO level can be better at times. Also JUCO programs have to recruit differently because things change every semester at their programs.

Peace

Im a man of many talents.

Most ot them evil......:D

Do you get paid to post these kinds of straight lines?!?:eek:

:p <font = font>

That's how you do it? That's wierd. "font=font". What does that do?

Ok, I guess I'll divulge my secret. Someone pointed this trick out to me back when the new format went up, but the command <font = font> apparently is a valid command (that stays hidden) that tells the font to stay the same size. Useless for most things except for putting enough characters into a reply.

That's the short of it.

Cute <b></b>

:D <b> </b>

Oh my.

Not a good day for Mr. Obnoxious Little Spelling Guy.......

As I have said on previous occasions, I know that the correct spelling is "weird"; but I don't like it. I think it just looks wierd. I before E, except after C; and in words rhyming with "ay", like neighbor and weigh.

That means the correct spelling should be "wierd".

Don't worry Chuck, I looked behind it and it's just not plugged in.

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Do you think it is better for an officials to work his way up the ladder (D3-D2-D1) or just get thrown into the fire at a level they can't handle (I understand that you aren't going to turn down a higher level if offered to you)...then they get fired in 3 years. There are a lot of educational experiences along the road that make you a better officials, you can learn those at the D3 and D2 levels.

Ron - I would say for the vast majority of us, that would be the case. There is a lot to be learned along the way. However, there are a few people who just have the talent, a feel for the game from the beginning, who can start right near the top. Of course, they still need to just do more games, because there is no substitute for experience, but I believe that's why the NBA has the D-League. I think you can also safely make the statement that working all those junior high games will not help in your NBA game, so it's not necessarily a natural progression from jr. high to high school, to college, to pro sports. There may be smaller progressions within these steps, such as what you suggested - juco, D3, D2, then D1 just at the college level. But even then, some people can start higher than others due to talent, knowledge, etc. In the end, however, it's how well you continue to improve that determines how far you go (or stay), no matter what level you start.

You are making a couple of assumptions that may or may not apply to every situation. Everyone is not around schools that would allow them to work all those levels. Assignors of conferences have likely have no influence over what other conference assignors decide. In my area there is only one D2 Conference likely available to me if I were to get hired. There are more D1 conferences I would likely be hired by if I was deemed good enough. A D1 assignor is going to hire the best people; they are not going to always care where they come from. You are also assuming that the jump from D3 to D2 is a huge and significant jump. Too many that would not be the case at all. One of the college camps I attended the camp director assigned D1-JUCO ball. It would be unlikely from where I live that guys would work his D3 conference, but were much closer to his D2 conference. He uses people largely based on where they live and does not want people going ridiculous miles to work a game for just over $100 (his words not mine). So he might pick a guy up at the D1 level that has never worked D3 in his conference and in some cases might not have worked D2. So it is not always feasible to go in the order you suggest. This is why there are guys who have never worked a single HS varsity game but have worked an NCAA Final Four. It is about talent, not the level you have previously worked. At this same camp the assignor said, "Some officials just get it and many do not." So from this one person's point of view at least it really does not matter what you have done, he feels if you can referee, you can referee. He also felt getting a shot was the key. There are so many factors as to why some people get a shot and others do not get a shot at all.

Peace