Newbie questions

[Back In The Saddle]

Originally Posted by rainmaker

...uhhhh.... Let's try, "Welcome to the fellowship". There's still a sort of gender angle in "fellow" but it's not quite as glaring as "brother".

I'll tell you what. When the ratio of male basketball officials to female gets above, oh let's say 100:1, then maybe you'll have a legitimate case to make and I'll worry more about it.

Until then, I'm with Brother Bill: We few. We happy few. We band of brothers.

[Juulie baiting: more fun than bear baiting and legal in all 50 states ]

[26 Year Gap]

Originally Posted by ChuckElias

Steve, that's quite a background. You've already got a pretty wide area of experience when it comes to basketball. That can only help you. Welcome to the forum. I hope you find some useful answers here.

My personal experience was that I just felt lost my first year. (Shut up, Dan!) I didn't really know anything about how to get games, who to talk to, what an availability list was, any of that stuff. Plus, I was nearly as lost on the floor. I had guys telling me not to do this, do that instead; and other guys telling me the opposite. So most of what I remember is pretty confused.

The biggest adjustment for me, I think, was adjusting from the hard and fast rules in the classroom training to the interpretation on the floor. The other really hard thing for me in the first 5 years was dealing with the coaches. I started off by simply ignoring them all the time. I'm not good with a snappy reply on the spot, so I just never said anything. Well, that sure didn't go over well. So I tried to be the understanding listener. Turned out I just took too much crap. It took a long long LOOOOOONGGGG time before I finally started to feel comfortable with that aspect of the game.


You can always work on all of those. Gotta know the rules, obviously. But I think the thing that served me best was working a TON of games and seeing as many plays as possible. Seeing plays works wonders. And working a lot of games gives you the opportunity to work on your mechanics a lot. Don't get into bad habits!

Avoid the appearance of arrogance. Be confident, but don't correct more experienced officials, even when they're wrong. Avoid "yeah, but" when another ref tries to give you some advice. If you don't like the advice, just nod and then forget about it. It happens a lot. With coaches, avoid being a smart-a$$. At least at first. Once you know them, maybe you can pull it off. But I can't do it.

I tell guys: when you're first starting out, there are only three things that you can totally control. Those are your rules knowledge, your appearance, and your mechanics. Read the rulebook over and over, get good quality uniform and shoes, and practice your mechanics in a mirror. Do those things and you'll be off to a pretty good start.

Good luck. Check in with us and let us know how it's going.

Some, but not all, would suggest a good quality pair of fishnets.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by euby

As a newbie what should be my primary focus be on... rules, mechanics, networking, conditioning?

The answer is "yes".

[euby]

This has really taken a turn in discussion:eek

FYI....I haven't seen but a couple around here in Indy...I could believe th 100:1.

[Back In The Saddle]

Originally Posted by euby

This has really taken a turn in discussion:eek

FYI....I haven't seen but a couple around here in Indy...I could believe th 100:1.

Didn't mean to derail your discussion, euby. They are good questions. But in all sincerity, welcome to the brotherhood, sisterhood, or whatever gender your hood is.

PS. I have posted a poll to get a better feel for what the ratio is around the country.

[euby]

I don't even have a train on the tracks yet!

[Corndog89]

Originally Posted by euby

I've been lurking here for awhile and decided to jump in.

First a little about myself. I am a fairly old fart at 44 years old. I played Varsity HS ball and then did a couple tours in the Marines. I started coaching AAU for the little ones in 1993 and continued until a couple years ago. I gave that up to focus on Admin of our local league of which I am the President for the past 4 years (about 700 kids). So I have been around the block a few times and saw how the officials were at the youth level but I am the type of person who either "puts up or shuts up" so I started officiating little league in-house games last year and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. Anyway I figure if your going to do something...do it right so I joined our local officals association and will be starting classes here in a couple weeks leading up to the exam at the first of October. I have bought the rule book, case book, and handbook and read thru them.

Now my questions...FINALLY

What was the hardest transition to make during your first year?

As a newbie what should be my primary focus be on... rules, mechanics, networking, conditioning?

What should I avoid while dealing with AD's, coaches, other officials?

Anything else?

Thanks for any response and I'm sure I'll be bugging you all for awhile!

Steve Eubanks

Back to the post after the gender equity debate....

All advice and suggestions offered so far are excellent and should be heeded. I have a few others:

1. Similar to you, I was 45 when I started officiating after a lifetime of playing hoops and many other sports. I thought I knew the rules and the game and that officiating would be a piece of cake. Wrong! I was humbled at just how little I knew and understood. Be ready to learn at every opportunity...Be amazed at how quickly you improve and gain confidence.

2. You're no longer the president, so stop listening to the yahoos in the crowd. If they should get dangerous or out of hand, go to game management and let them handle it.

3. The first and still best piece of advice I ever got from a fellow official: If you have doubts, then it didn't happen. IOW, don't blow your whistle unless you are 100% sure a foul or violation occurred. You don't want to have to explain a poor call to a coach, or even worse to your assignor or evaluator. The voice of experience speaking here

4. A repeat from other posts: Watch and officiate your area...no one else will. You're partner(s) will cover his/her/their area, and together you'll cover the entire court.

5. Call as many games as possible. I know, it's another repeat, but experience is the best teacher.

6. Have fun. If you discover that you're not, you may want to consider a different role in the game.

Good luck!