Missed a big call

[HawkeyeCubP]

Originally Posted by Corndog89

Wildcatter...Good on ya for working hard to make yourself a better official. However, I would advise you to stop doing college intramural games, by far, IMO, the absolute worst games to officiate. Why not find your local association, join it, get real training, and start calling rec and lower level school games leading to future HS and higher games. Did I mention college intramurals are the absolute worst games to officiate? I called them one year and refuse to call them anymore.

Don't be so quick to judge. It depends on what school this is at. I got my start in university intramurals. My Intramural Director was (and is) a college official and on the Board of the local HS officials' association, is an excellent basketball (and other sport) official, and takes the intramural officials' association and it's employees' training very seriously. I excelled at officiating intramurals (a baptism of fire, so to speak, to be true), and it prepared me (as we used NFHS rules and mechanics, for the most part) for my jump to the middle school, lower level high school, and eventually varsity, and my professional career - as well open my eyes to the aspirations I developed for working small college ball someday. If you can call a technical foul for the right reasons on someone you have to see in class the next day or down at the bar later that night, you can call a technical foul on ANYONE.

I am now in a position of authority in an intramural sports program, and take training of officials seriously (officiating's the reason I got into the field). There is a national governing body for this field, and the sports officiating part of it is professional, and its members, for a large part, are dedicated and sincere (and mostly aspiring, current, or one-time college officials themselves.) This is not the intramural sports of 15 or even 8 years ago, nationally-generally speaking.

That being said, it still depends, like I said, on where you are, what program you're in, who your boss/trainers is/are, and what your aspirations are. But if you can do well in a decent intramural officiating program, you'll be set to work upper high school ball in due time, in my experience.

Edited to include: Oh yeah - And widen out (get AWAY from the paint, if appropriate), don't watch the ball on the shot, and anticipate the play as the drive to the basket begins. (Anticipate the play, NOT the foul). And you're on the right track, as it sounds. You missed a call, know you missed it, but didn't take the abuse that was given. Good job. That's a start.