knowing your role-
when i am working games for new supervisors(when i am a rookie in their league) i make a list of things that i need to do and not do. i feel that i have been very successful when i follow through with these steps.

1. first i evaluate myself-i am a rookie in this league. i am good enough to be put on the roster, but i do not need to be cocky. i have to prove that i belong on this roster.

2. 2nd of all, when i get my schedule i evaluate the quality of officials that i am working with(i.e. are they nc2a tournament officials?, finals officials?, veteran guys with many yrs under there belt?)

3. when i see that i am working with these officials i know that my role in the game is very small and i should strive to gain acception from my colleagues and coaches.
my objectives in the game are:
a. (most importantly)do not overofficiate. do not be boisterous or dominate. it is better to miss a play by not calling it(plays that are not obvious), than to miss a play by calling something that is not there. i cannot stress this enough.
b. stay within my comfort zones(i.e. i will not try to use a new mechanic that i have been working on in lower level games that i do not feel i have mastered 100%.)
c. stay in my primary and never come out of it unless it is absolutely neccessary. this is a key to not step on the toes of the other officials. get the calls right in your primary and manage the game and your responsibilities without fanfare or attention.
d. do not make any weird calls. just stick to the basics. call the obvious.
e. know clock management (this will impress an evaluator greatly if you catch clock mistakes and correct them indescreetly.) also foul counts (bonus-double bounus) and do not fumble these. i.e. attempting to inbound the ball when freethrows should be taken.
f. be a great partner. try to make my partners as comfortable with me as i would like to be with them. make them confident in me. also look pleasant on the court and look approachable to coaches and the table.

these are just some of the basic guidelines that i feel have worked for me. they may work for you, but also may need minor tweeks and adjustments for them to work for someone else.

rain, i am glad you brought this up for i have been wandering if i should post this or not.

I get nervous doing that.
 

I look at it like this. Anytime I work for someone new, I do what I have always done that got me there. I do not try to change what I have already done that got me hired in the first place. I feel I am good enough to be considered to do the league, I feel like changing things or making special efforts or paying special attention to bullet points only makes me more nervous or more uptight. If I keep doing what got me there, the game will be just like many others and I will survive.

Not trying to take away from anyone's approach, but if I treat any game differently or any league differently, at least in my mind I get more uptight and find myself making silly mistakes.

Re: I get nervous doing that.
 

this is a good insight of address.

Crew, I would recommend doing all this at any game, whether you're being evaluated or not.

I agree with you on the clock management, but how do you correct clock mistakes discreetly?

when correcting the clock try not to make a scene, toot your whistle or go to the table when your partner is already there. when i am at table side i just glance at the timer and ask to put so and so on the clock. also if i am t.t. and see my partner coming to the table i will go and fill in his position to expediate the game. if i am opposite table or at lead i will go to whoever is closer give them the info and go back to my position so that we wont have 2 people over at the table and one person watching 10.

we also have to be gentle with a table when correcting them. i have been in gyms where the clock keeper was just horrible, and i got pissed off and was getting rude. this made the clock keeper nervous with all kinds of emotions and he started messing up even more. so i have learned to pet the clock keeper and be very gentle no matter how bad he is.

i dont use this philosophy in all my games, just the higher level games where my role on the court is to fit in.
on lower level games (juco and highschool) i use these games to develope my new mechanics, awareness, and other skills that need polishing. when i work highscool games i am usually the ref on the crew(not bragging). i use these games to develope my crew cheifing abilities(being a leader on the court). i would like to be able to ref a game without useing a lanyard and also not dropping it, so i practice this at the highschool games, i am not about to do this at a d1, or d2 game until i have full confidence that i can do it.
do you see the difference in the level of the game philosophy, i have to constantly realize where i am and who i am working with as to fit in properly.

tony (small t) --

I'm not sure how nice I've been to you on this board, so I appreciate your being nice to me with this advice. It is good advice, and I'll definitely work on it this week. I guess if it's gotten you to dI which is where I'd like to be, it must be worth working on!!

Thanks