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Old Tue Aug 28, 2007, 10:30pm
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Is it worth it???

This may be in the wrong area...but I'm just wondering...I've been considering purchasing a membership to officiating.com, but am wondering if it's worth it if I only officiate basketball. Are there any other online sites that offer training material and are a membership site? I LOVE these posting boards, but was just wondering how many of you belong to an online site, or do you find that the association that you're in along with this board is enough? I'm a youth pastor and won't be pushing to move up in the ranks (my time is somewhat limited), but I do want to improve and get more varsity games in the future. Been around the game for 17 years or so...officiated for about 7, played for four, coached for four...loved the game the rest of the time. Anyway...thanks for your posts!
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Old Wed Aug 29, 2007, 12:35am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bigdog5142
This may be in the wrong area...but I'm just wondering...I've been considering purchasing a membership to officiating.com, but am wondering if it's worth it if I only officiate basketball. Are there any other online sites that offer training material and are a membership site? I LOVE these posting boards, but was just wondering how many of you belong to an online site, or do you find that the association that you're in along with this board is enough? I'm a youth pastor and won't be pushing to move up in the ranks (my time is somewhat limited), but I do want to improve and get more varsity games in the future. Been around the game for 17 years or so...officiated for about 7, played for four, coached for four...loved the game the rest of the time. Anyway...thanks for your posts!

Well, I think it's a really good investment, but then I write for them so for me to recommend it is a little self-serving, I suppose. On the other hand, the reason I started writing was so that there would be stuff for folks at just the level you're talking about, and it wouldn't just be the same old cant from the big dogs who don't remember what it's like. You know, "Just keep working hard." "Always listen to what your mentor says" and so on. It may be true, but it's isn't always very helpful or informative.

I would suggest subscribing for at least the first year, and then see what you think. That first year is definitely worth it, since you'll have access to the enrtire archive of what's been printed in the past. Match that, Referee Magazine!

And there'll be a great series starting about mid-September about gearing up for the season, with references back to various things from the archive. Great series, since I'll be writing it!

After you've checked it all out, and if you still have some suggestions or want to see a certain topic covered, be sure and let me know, or contact the editor directly. We always want to know what readers want to read!
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Old Wed Aug 29, 2007, 08:14pm
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Since they publish a couple new articles every weekday, you'll get an order of magnitude more basketball content at Officiating.com than you'll get in a year's subscription to Referee magazine. And it's good content, ranging in target audience from newbie up through early college. And as Juulie mentioned, all of their past content is available in their archive. You can even pose questions back to the authors.

What you won't get at officiating.com is current news, any kind of discernible editorial calendar, the warm and fuzzy feeling that they're hooked up with the NFHS, and most especially the insurance you would get by joining NASO (which includes a subscription to Referee Magazine).

But...at the end of the day, neither costs more than game fee or two. So why choose? Do both.

PS. If you're really torn, maybe this will help you decide: Juulie badly needs a raise, and your subscription to officiating.com may help!
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Old Wed Aug 29, 2007, 09:02pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Back In The Saddle
What you won't get at officiating.com is current news, any kind of discernible editorial calendar, the warm and fuzzy feeling that they're hooked up with the NFHS, and most especially the insurance you would get by joining NASO (which includes a subscription to Referee Magazine).
What you also won't get imo is as much actual officiating knowledge as is available free on this forum.
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Old Thu Aug 30, 2007, 02:49am
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Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee
What you also won't get imo is as much actual officiating knowledge as is available free on this forum.
So how come you don't write? (I know, I know....)

Also, you forgot to mention that the paid side doesn't include wading through all the trolls that you have to deal with here.
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Old Thu Aug 30, 2007, 03:35am
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Originally Posted by rainmaker
Also, you forgot to mention that the paid side doesn't include wading through all the trolls that you have to deal with here.
Oh?
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Old Thu Aug 30, 2007, 08:48am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee
What you also won't get imo is as much actual officiating knowledge as is available free on this forum.
I totally agree -- to an extent. What you get from the forum is a lot of imformed and sometimes varied answers to specific questions. So if you're looking for help on a specific rule or mechanic, this is probably your best resource. What the magazines do, that the forum doesn't, is to take a topic and develop it from start to finish. The forum doesn't do that very well at all.

But perhaps the most damning shortfall of the magazines is the complete absence of that squirrel!
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Old Thu Aug 30, 2007, 10:03am
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Originally Posted by Back In The Saddle
What the magazines do, that the forum doesn't, is to take a topic and develop it from start to finish. The forum doesn't do that very well at all.
I seen a few articles in the magazine that didn't develop anything very well from start to finish either imo. I've seen things written that I completely disagreed with.

It all depends what you want to get out of the information available. Jmo, but there are quite a few people posting on this and other forums who are very knowledgeable about officiating. Personally, I find it easier to learn and keep current coming here.

Jmo, realizing that this site does have to pay it's bills also.
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