Now I'm nervous

[tjones1]

Originally Posted by M&M Guy

Considering all the gear he brings, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a "zipper alarm" in there somewhere now.

Well, now that you bring it up. I had a Smitty custom made so that it would only reach my mouth if the zipper was up. Somewhat of a reverse alarm -- that being if I can't blow my whistle, there's no sound. The problem is whenever I spit the whistle out, it tends to drag on the court.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by tjones1

Well, now that you bring it up. I had a Smitty custom made so that it would only reach my mouth if the zipper was up. Somewhat of a reverse alarm -- that being if I can't blow my whistle, there's no sound. The problem is whenever I spit the whistle out, it tends to drag on the court.

What drags on the floor?

That ain't a Smitty. It's a Jeremy.

[M&M Guy]

Originally Posted by tjones1

Well, now that you bring it up. I had a Smitty custom made so that it would only reach my mouth if the zipper was up. Somewhat of a reverse alarm -- that being if I can't blow my whistle, there's no sound. The problem is whenever I spit the whistle out, it tends to drag on the court.

Is that a Smitty, or are you just happy to see me?

[M&M Guy]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

What drags on the floor?

That ain't a Smitty. It's a Jeremy.

I found a Jeremy for sale on the OC website. It's pretty reasonable, but you get hosed on the shipping.

[Jimgolf]

Six years to get a varsity game? Congratulations on your perserverence. Remind me not to look for work in CT.

Don't worry about the game, it's just a game. If you've been officiating for six years you've got a few years on most of the players, and possibly the coaches as well.

Let your instincts take over. The reason you have this assignment is that people are sure you're ready for it. Trust them and yourself.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by Jimgolf

Six years to get a varsity game? Congratulations on your perserverence. Remind me not to look for work in CT.

Believe it or not, Jim, that's fairly common in a lot of states where there isn't a major shortage of officials.

[All_Heart]

My advice is expect to make mistakes.

I used to go into games expecting perfection and when I made one mistake I was thrown off. As some will tell you no one has called a perfect game so you can't expect yourself to either. After you MAKE your first mistake say to yourself "I'll talk to my partners about that play later but now I have to concentrate on the next play". Then you must follow through and forget about the mistake because if you harp on it then you will make another mistake.

I had some great advice from my R in one of my first college games. He said call the obvious in your area and don't worry about ANYTHING else. It simplified my thought process and allowed me to call a better game. Your partners should help cover anything big that you might miss.

My first HS Varsity game was a packed house (over 2,000) and it was 2 very good teams. I would have been nervous but I had a cold and was feeling pretty sick. It helped take my mind off the moment because I was thinking of how lousy I was feeling. I was praised highly by my R after the game and was given almost a complete varsity schedule after that. So my advice to you would be to catch a cold a couple of days before the game .

[rainmaker]

Check your whistle, check your fly, have fun, call your game, expect mistakes, keep your cool, and let's see what else? Oh, yea, you can order a Jer... no, that one's not really relevant.

Scrappy didn't have fun, but some folks do. The best moment for me was when the JV guys were coming off the floor, JV teams were leaving, varsity teams just setting up for their warm-ups, table people switching, and as I began to look for my bag, I realized, "Hey, I'm not leaving, I'm staying!!" Now THAT was adrenaline!!

Also, a little closer to the time remind me, and I"ll tell you my "first game follies" story, just to give you a laugh. Others will chime in, and you'll be able to relax a little as you go out on the floor for your first. If you hear them now, the humor will wear off before it has a chance to really help.

[Dan_ref]

Originally Posted by Jimgolf

The reason you have this assignment is that people are sure you're ready for it. Trust them and yourself.

Either that or it was turned back 3 times already and it's down to you or your assignor's 12 year old daughter... (just kidding!!)

All advice given is good stuff. I rememebr my first V game...I was doing great then near the end a player asked for a time out and I gave it to him...using the T signal.

That got everyone's attention!

[stripes]

was to remember that after the ball is tossed, it is just basketball and you know how to call the game. I have reminded myself of this fact whenever I have been nervous about a game...all the way up to the D1 level. You will have to deal with other factors at every level you advance to, but it is still basketball. Call your primary and do your job. You'll be fine.

[TimTaylor]

Congratulations!

Not much I can add to what others have said, except don't forget to HAVE FUN!

I remember my first - was scheduled to work a 5:45 JV game......at 3pm our assigner calls & tells me he needs me to stay for the varsity game as well. Maybe it's just as well I didn't have much time to worry about it....anyway, it went fine & I'm sure yours will too.

All kidding aside, as a pilot of 33+ years, I'm used to using brief phrases to remember critical items. "Fly with pride" (fly, whistle, patch) is the very last thing I always say to myself before donning my jacket & leaving the locker room.

[REFVA]

I've doing basketball for 7 years. I know exactly how you feel when I did my first Varsity game. I've been doing Varsity girls for 4 years Last year was my first boys regular season game. I was $h!tting in my pants forget pucking. One thing that help me get over the issue was. One of the veterans told. " hey you've been doing spring and Fall ball with these same kids. What is different now? Oddly enough, nothing! So you made it. You are there because you have something special. JUst go do ywhat you do best!

Good Luck!!!!

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by REFVA

JUst go do ywhat you do best!

You men will merely be risking your lives. Whilst I am risking an almost-certain Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. . . Now go do. . . that voodoo. . . that you do. . . so weeeeeeeeelllllllll !!!!!"

[Junker]

My first game at new levels caused some nervous feelings before, but once the ball goes up, it's just basketball and you've been doing a good job of calling a game or you wouldn't be there. Hopefully you work with some good veterans and can get some constructive feedback during dead balls or halftime. Make sure and have a good pregame, above all have fun! My first 3 man game was with some veterans that didn't flex (the told me at pregame, I didn't believe it till we were on the floor and they literally didn't flex). Me, the newbie ended up as C all night right in front of the benches. I was thrown into the fire with my game management that night.