Officiating Journal?

[Troward]

I am a new IAABO official with a goal of becoming a Collegiate official.

I was given some advice to keep a journal of all of the games I referee.
I am curious if other people keep a journal?
and what type of information they keep in it?

I would also like any other suggestions for someone knew starting out.

great web site!
thanks everyone
Greig

[Spaman_29]

I like to keep a journal of all of my games. Number one to record how many games I am doing a year. Number two to record any good one liners that seem to come up. I also like to record the really weird stuff that seems to happen. Some other things that do come up seem to be the good partners that I have had and if they did something that I really liked or something that I disliked. My rational is that if I write them down I am that much more likely to remember it down the road.

Second Part
How to become better. Watch yourself on film every chance you get. No matter what people tell you most of us don't really believe it until you see yourself do it. In my state we just started a mentoring program. The officials that I mentor, I always take my video camera and sneak in without them knowing it. Then afterwards we talk about any situations and I show them their reporting skills. I have seen more improvement when I follow this than if I just tell them.

[co2ice]

The idea of keeping a journal is nothing new but IMO is probably the best aid we as officials have at correcting bad habits we seem to pick up so easily. I've kept a journal for the past couple of years. In addition to situations, partners and who and where, I also try to get feed back from my partner as well as other officials who may be watching the game, for areas i can improve in. At the end of my entry I always have 4 or 5 things that I want to work on in my next game, if I feel I did well in one of those areas I drop it in the following game,but there is always somthing else to replace it. Good luck to you!!!!!

[Tim Roden]

I have kept one. I like to be able to remember the good times and the bad. To be able to review how you are perfoming.

[Dan_ref]

Frankly the only "journal" I keep is a schedule and account
of travel expense & game fees. I like to think I can keep
unusual plays in my head for future reference. "Hey coach,
hold on while I run down to the locker room & look up how I
handled this sitch the last time around. I surely don't
want to mess up this over and back call again!" As for
partners, well, like most of us I have my favorites &
not so favorites. Not so sure I would want to put these
opinions down on paper.

Good luck with your goals. Maybe the best route is to
attend some college level camps as soon as you're able
and get yourself known.

[ChuckElias]

Originally posted by Troward
I am a new IAABO official with a goal of becoming a Collegiate official.

I would also like any other suggestions for someone knew starting out.

Troward,

First of all, glad to have you here on the site. If you're like me, you'll find that it's a valuable resource for improving your officiating. You'll also find that it's addicting. So maybe it's better if you're not like me.

In any case, here's my humble suggestions for improving as a brand new official. Seems to me that there are only 2 or 3 things that you totally control when you're just starting out. They are: 1) your knowledge of the rules; 2) your mechanics; 3) your appearance.

1) Know your rules cold. Read the book all the time, read the cases when your not reading the rules. Talk to fellow officials who know the rules about situations. Listen to your board interpreter at meetings. Know the rules cold.

2) Practice your mechanics as much as possible. Do this at home in front of a mirror. Watch yourself. Say "Tweet" (don't actually blow a whistle, or you'll go deaf) and make a foul signal. Or stop the clock and give a traveling signal. Do this as much as you can. If you can see yourself doing it, you'll know if your arm is really straight. (If your arms get tired, take a break and study your rule book.) You'll get into the habit of using a fist for fouls and open palm for violations. Get your signals right out in front of your chest. Practice reporting the foul to the table. Again, try to do this in front of a mirror if at all possible. It feels silly, but it helps, honest.

3) Don't scrimp on your uniform. Get black beltless pants (I prefer non-pleated Sansabelts, but you can buy other brands that still look nice). Get a good pair of black shoes and make 'em shine! People really do notice. If you have long hair or a slightly "unusual" hairstyle, get rid of it. (My first year I didn't want to cut my hair and I was called "pretty boy" by a fan. That convinced me real fast.) If you wear jewlery like a bracelet or chain or a watch, don't wear them on the court.

Finally, you just have to go out and work games. Lots and lots of games. See as much baskeball as you can. If you're not workig a game, go to a HS game and watch the officials. Take your rule book so you can study the rules during the time-outs. Then talk to the officials after the game, if they're available. Ask them about a situation from the game and why they handled it as they did. Then offer to buy them a couple beers at the local watering hole. Ok, that last part is probably not as important as the other stuff, but you get the idea.

Best of luck to you. Let us know how your first few games go. Have a great season.

Did I mention that you should study the rules?

Chuck



[Edited by ChuckElias on Nov 29th, 2001 at 11:33 AM]

[Mark Dexter]

Originally posted by ChuckElias
Ask them about a situation from the game and why they handled it as they did. Then offer to buy them a couple beers at the local watering hole. Ok, that last part is probably not as important as the other stuff, but you get the idea.

According to my old high school's nurse (whose husband was a basketball official), that was the only thing that mattered in their area for advancing.

[ChuckElias]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mark Dexter

According to my old high school's nurse (whose husband was a basketball official), that was the only thing that mattered in their area for advancing.

Wow, I hope that's a joke!

[Mark Dexter]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ChuckElias

Originally posted by Mark Dexter

Wow, I hope that's a joke!

Well, not the only thing, but I think she was emphasizing that who you knew and who liked you played a part in that association.

[Dan_ref]

Originally posted by ChuckElias

Troward,

First of all, glad to have you here on the site. If you're like me, you'll find that it's a valuable resource for improving your officiating. You'll also find that it's addicting. So maybe it's better if you're not like me.

In any case, here's my humble suggestions for improving as a brand new official. Seems to me that there are only 2 or 3 things that you totally control when you're just starting out. They are: 1) your knowledge of the rules; 2) your mechanics; 3) your appearance.

1) Know your rules cold. Read the book all the time, read the cases when your not reading the rules. Talk to fellow officials who know the rules about situations. Listen to your board interpreter at meetings. Know the rules cold.

2) Practice your mechanics as much as possible. Do this at home in front of a mirror. Watch yourself. Say "Tweet" (don't actually blow a whistle, or you'll go deaf) and make a foul signal. Or stop the clock and give a traveling signal. Do this as much as you can. If you can see yourself doing it, you'll know if your arm is really straight. (If your arms get tired, take a break and study your rule book.) You'll get into the habit of using a fist for fouls and open palm for violations. Get your signals right out in front of your chest. Practice reporting the foul to the table. Again, try to do this in front of a mirror if at all possible. It feels silly, but it helps, honest.

3) Don't scrimp on your uniform. Get black beltless pants (I prefer non-pleated Sansabelts, but you can buy other brands that still look nice). Get a good pair of black shoes and make 'em shine! People really do notice. If you have long hair or a slightly "unusual" hairstyle, get rid of it. (My first year I didn't want to cut my hair and I was called "pretty boy" by a fan. That convinced me real fast.) If you wear jewlery like a bracelet or chain or a watch, don't wear them on the court.

Finally, you just have to go out and work games. Lots and lots of games. See as much baskeball as you can. If you're not workig a game, go to a HS game and watch the officials. Take your rule book so you can study the rules during the time-outs. Then talk to the officials after the game, if they're available. Ask them about a situation from the game and why they handled it as they did. Then offer to buy them a couple beers at the local watering hole. Ok, that last part is probably not as important as the other stuff, but you get the idea.

Best of luck to you. Let us know how your first few games go. Have a great season.

Did I mention that you should study the rules?

Chuck



[Edited by ChuckElias on Nov 29th, 2001 at 11:33 AM]

Wish I wrote this, very nice. (Don't be surprised if I
steal this too!)

[williebfree]

Great directives!

However, I do think you should have told thy beginner (And all of us) to read the rules more.

[ChuckElias]

Originally posted by williebfree
Great directives!

However, I do think you should have told thy beginner (And all of us) to read the rules more.

Shoot!! I knew I forgot something!

[rainmaker]

Troward --

Everything everyone else says is true, but I would like to emphasize asking advice. A certain amount of the advice you get will be useless, but as you work your way along, you will learn who to listen to. Camp is just a really intnse advice session.

log the advice, who it came from and when, into your journal. Here's how I keep my journal: I bought a little spiral notebook about 4 x 5 inches. On each page, I write at the top the details such as level, date, time, location, assignor, and amt paid. Then I write 5 things I feel good about, and then 5 things to work on. On the back of the page I write questions I need to look up or ask about, and situations I need to remembre how to handle.

The only time I had a situation where I needed to "journal" as a vent, I did that here on the board (Howard, I hope you weren't reading back then -- it was awful!!). The folks here are so supportive and helpful, it kept me from suicide.