Nerves Question

[btaylor64]

Well since I had no idea what kind of ball it was before JRut spoke about it, I will add this and it is especially important for upcoming officials to remember:

Don't overanalyze things (i.e. contact plays). When you overanalyze you tend to forget the obvious.

Good luck and have fun.

[zebraman]

As my high school coach used to say, "if you aren't nervous, you aren't ready." Once you go up and down a couple times, you'll settle into a comfort zone.

[ChrisSportsFan]

Since there will probably be other games going on beside you, make sure you hit your whistle loud. Your the only one there who knows this is your first game of that type so doing worry about it. Sssllllloooowwwww down.

[Scrapper1]

It's been almost 15 years since my first game. (That's so depressing.) But I have done a "first game" at a couple of different levels, moving from sub-varsity to varsity to college ball. Each level brings new butterflies, that's for sure.

At this point, the thing that helps the most for me is arriving at the game site EARLY. This gives me the chance to do several things. I can read my case book or talk to my partner(s) to put me in a basketball frame of mind. If my partners aren't there yet, I can close my eyes and just try to rest a bit (this is nice in the middle of those 10-games-in-11-nights stretches). If there's a JV or women's game before mine, I can watch that game. (That doesn't always help with the basketball frame of mind, though. ) Or I can listen to a recorded pre-game that I have; which I usually listen to in the car on the way to the game.

The worst thing in the world for me is to be late to the game site. I am rushed; I'm worried about getting there; I don't have the chance to think about the upcoming game.

Best of luck!

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by Scrapper1

It's been almost 15 years since my first game. (That's so depressing.)

Why is that depressing?

Mourning your lost youth, Skippy?

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

Mourning your lost youth, Skippy?

Nope. Mourning the arrival of all this gray hair.

[M&M Guy]

Originally Posted by Scrapper1

Nope. Mourning the arrival of all this gray hair.

Same thing, actually: gray hair = old.

That's why Dan's always happy - he may never get old.