I r one
 

Took my test last night and passed.... sooooo in the Great State of Texas, even tho I cant spell Ref free; now I r one. :) Let the scrimmages begin!! My biggest fear at this point is showing up for my first "real" game and realizing I do not have a partner..... heavy sigh. Wouldnt that be a great way to start? NOT :)

Congrats! Don't worry, your partner will be there. However, to ease your mind... If your partner does not contact you at least 24 hours before the game, call him. That way you'll know for sure he's coming.

But just to be safe, carry two extra whistles. If your partner doesn't show, give each coach a whistle, and tell them they've been drafted to form a three man crew. If they complain, tell them that this will likely be the only game EVER where you will care about their opinion on any play. :D

Ha, too funny! I like that. Thanks for your thoughts and good point on calling my partner the day before.

Attaboy, Splute ! :)

Don't we already have one thread where it's been clearly pointed out that this is not a joke to those who have a 2x4 wedged firmly up their , well, you know?


Afgter you've worked a while, you'll realize that not having a partner is not "the worst partner you'll ever have." Don't be that guy.

oops, my bad... how quickly I forget... I was trying to put that thread behind me/us.

Thanks guys, and I appreciate the words of experience.

Whose "well-you-know" are you referring to?? And for that matter, whose 2x4? And btw, who did the wedging?? And what about Naomi??

Splute, bob's exactly right about this.

Still, for your first game it's good for someone else to be there, no matter where they have their 2x4.

Congratulations! Be sure you give a good strong whistle on every call, don't be afraid to admit it when you goof, and most of all....

HAVE FUN!!

Congrats, Splute!!

I remember when I was just certified as a soccer official, and my assignor asked me to work a high school scrimmage. I was all decked out in my uniform, and I heard the kids saying "We have a real ref for this game!!'

I was looking around for the real ref till I realized they meant me.

And, even though you may be wrong, never be indecisive! Hee hee - I got it in again. http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra.../smilielol.gif

Congratulations, Splute! I know you will make the courts a safer and happier place. :)

Another thing my crew does, and I do for games I work outside of my crew is contact the schools to confirm start times, etc. the week of the game. Email works great, but taking time to call is a nice, personal touch in my opinion. I haven't been around for a while so I'm just adding an opinion to everything, whether it is valid or not. :D

Oh yeah, and congratulations!

If you really, really want to go that extra mile - try to have someone video your first few games. Even if you only get to review the tapes by yourself and not with an experienced official to give you feedback, you'll still learn a ton.

Oh yeah - welcome to the corps. Semper T.

Welcome to the game!

What you said happened to me in my first year...I was doing an AAU tourney at a local HS and had been doing little pee-wees up to that day...Always taller than the players.......This day when my P didn't show up, it was 8th grade game and one of the kids was about a 6'-9" kid named Greg Oden!! :eek:

Partner showed up about 4 minutes in and I survived! :cool:

In fact, that is exactly what happened for my first HS game in NV. :eek:

It wasn't my first HS game ever though because I had worked on the East Coast before.