Young officials
 

Hey everyone. I was just wondering what the normal age in here is for the younger officials. I'm 21 and would like to discuss things with officials around my age to see how they handle situations as well as speak with the veterans. I have been officiating high school basketball for 4 yrs and DIII and JC mens for 2 years. So I just want to discuss and get some advice for other officials.

Thanks!!

I'm one of the younger officials. I'm only 36 years old.

I'm very young. In fact, I have the AARP card to prove it. :cool:

Nice! can you hook it up with a discount? :)

I am young too. I started at the age of 44. Now 51 but I look 26.....could be....

I'm a young official. I'm 21. Send me a PM if you want.

How do you fare up with coaches? Do they pick you out of the crew or they give you a break?

Gray Hair, Fewer Technicals ???
 

Over the past twenty-six years, it has been my personal observation that the grayer my hair gets, the fewer technical fouls I seem to give to coaches. This is not a sceintific study, just ancecdotal evidence from one source, me, but if my hypothesis is true, I don't mind my hair getting grayer every new season. It's only a correlation, not necessarily a cause and effect relationship, however, as my hair gets grayer, I have also gained an extra year or experience, and the coaches get to know me better, one game at a time. I've been to two schools in our local area, which services over seventy schools, over thirty times each in twenty-six years.

FYI: In September, 2006, I celebrated the thirteenth anniversary of my 40th birthday. I believe that Jack Benny never got older than 39. That's impossible. You have to be at least 40 before you're allowed to stop counting.

If it's a coach I haven't seen before, he will usually try to test the waters. But they quickly find out I'm not someone they just pulled from the stands 20 minutes prior to game time. However, it's something I understand I have to go through being the young guy on the crew.

For the most part, I've proven myself to the coaches that I know what I'm doing and I'm open to questions if they have them.

Well, I would say I'm young, I'm 23 and finishing my 6th season. Holler at me anytime.

CLH

I'm 18 and just getting ready to hopefully takeoff. PM me if u wish

I just turned 23 and I'm finishing up my fifth season. Some coaches get on me a little more than my partners, but I get the feeling that coaches in my area have officials they prefer to others based not on age but on call selection.

One of my favourite partners has been around for fifteenish years and is the best non-college official we have, and he gets WAY more flack from veteran coaches than I do. They say things like, "We've NEVER had a good game from you!"

My first thought was that both coach and my partner have been around so long that the coach knows he can work the guy. But I also wondered why they don't ever say anything to me.

I was young when I started reffing......hmm. :o

I was young my first time........:eek: back in 1975!!!!!

18 going on 19. You can message me as well if you'd like

I am 21. You can PM me if you need anything. It's good to see that there is a lot of young up and comers out there, but probably not as many as there needs to be.

Coaches rarely say anything to me, which I feel has hurt my responding skills, as I have not had to respond that much. I guess I should be more specific in saying I don't usually have to use any conflict resolution when talking to coaches. They do talk to me, but rarely have they talk to me in a manner where I have to diffuse them, or so I think.

I started at 20. I look back now and see a lot of immaturity, even though I projected what I thought was maturity. The thing about those in their low 20's is that virtually all they've been around their lives are kids and young adults. Yes, there's parents and family members, and teachers, and parents' friends, etc. But think about it: in school, you are in a class with 20-30 kids and one adult. You interact with maybe 10-12 adults your whole day and then another dozen on weekends. But you have 50-100 kids you interact with every week. Even in college, the numbers are similar. You're just now getting into an adult world.

I say this to say it takes time to mature, even if you think you are already mature -- and to a great extent, you are. Just enjoy the process, work hard, and don't worry about worry about what you can't control. You have the benefits of (likely) better conditioning, time, and freedom.

If you are doing the above games you better hold classes for some of us old guys.

I am 17 going on 18 hoping to get take off next year!

I am 29, finishing up my 9th season. Even after all this time I still get yelled at and coaches still question my eyesight at different times. When will it stop? lol!

When you turn 30.

Well since 29 was the last birthday I am having, I guess that being yelled at will just have to continue.:)