What does it take to be considered a top notch official

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Terrapins Fan

Politics-

Kissing butt. You know it exists. To deny it is a lie.

Could you define that further? I have never seen anyone actually kiss someone's butt. I have seen officials hang around and talk to certain people, but that does not get you hired automatically or even considered seriously in the circles I have run in. As a matter of fact if you try to do this it does not work very well from what I have seen. You are still required to attend camps, attend meetings and do more than just pay some money to an association and all of a sudden games are going to fly in your lap.

I guess it is better to blame someone than look in the mirror and take responsibility for your own short comings.

Peace

[boiseball]

top notch officials doing top notch high school games have several things in common:
they referee the defense
they have perfected mechanics
they are aware of all pertinent information: players in foul trouble, foul counts, best players, time, score, calls their partner is making and not making
they know every rule that regularly comes up during a year
they are humble, teachable, and driven to excellence-arete (had to pull out the one greek word I know)

In my opinion there are a lot of referees like that; if you have the knack, well then it just takes a lot of ballgames and hard work and you will get there, and you get there within a couple years

then it just depends on someone taking an interest in you; just like I landed the job I have today, not because I am brilliant, because there was a need at just the right moment and only a few people were applying at that moment; now that I am here, I will work hard to keep it; same with refereeing, you get just the right break (and there are only a few of them out there) and you run with it

I would hope (although I know I am wrong) that none of the "top" refs really think that they are "special" in the sense that they are irreplaceable; there are hundreds of great high school officials around the country who could jump into an open college spot and do great; give them a year or two at that level and all of the sudden people would be talking about how great they are and how they must be the best

Look at all the college refs, do you see things that set each one of them apart and make you say, "now that is a great ref." No, they are all pretty much alike, they all have the same philosophy (get the heck out of the way)and the same mechanics; every basketball game involves the same types of contact and floor movement; you ref for a couple years and you get the feel for how to police those movements, no matter what angle they come from; of course there are those who cannot do it; but there are a lot that can; I have refereed in 3 different areas now and there lots of topflight guys everywhere I go; now put them in college with great partners and great training and quickly you would find that they can handle it and excell at it

Just my opinion; this opinion of course is coming from a guy on the bottom end, down in high school and I am sure that once I get to college I will be sure that there are very few guys who can handle it and I am better than pretty much everyone else, just human nature to think that

[Old School]

Originally Posted by boiseball

In my opinion there are a lot of referees like that (that are really good)

Hear!!! Hear!!!

I would hope (although I know I am wrong) that none of the "top" refs really think that they are "special" in the sense that they are irreplaceable; there are hundreds of great high school officials around the country who could jump into an open college spot and do great; give them a year or two at that level and all of the sudden people would be talking about how great they are and how they must be the best.

My feeling exactly. I know a few that think they're god's gift to officiating. I guess that comes along with the terriority, or at least for those that have always gotten the breaks in life, it goes to their heads and there ain't no unswelling it either.

[tomegun]

Politics are a way of life and they are in basketball - it is as simple as that.

Having said that, I don't know if those who have excelled because of politics would really be considered top officials. So much can go into being recognized as a top-notch official; it is a hard question to ask. However, for me it has nothing to do with how many games you do on TV or how far you go in the playoffs because top-notch officials are passed over all the time. I know one official who is still working in D1 tournaments now and he is average. I know another guy who is in a couple of D1 conferences and he is not very good - he is a good golfer and talks a good game though.

This is why I don't believe making it to D1 is a true indication of how good someone is. There are guys that get hired at the D1 level and they are basically hid on crews for many years. By the time they are given better games, they can stand on their own two feet. I'm not saying this always happens, but I have seen it many times.

[Jimgolf]

Don't wear fishnets with runs in them.