In game pointers...
 

I do a lot of lower level games...I'll do anywhere from 4-6 games on a Saturday....Sometimes my mind get's clouded with everything going on...Sometimes there is so much going on (crowd yelling, other courts whistles blowing, coaches talking to us, confiring with partner, reporting to table) we can have a brain fart/memory lapse and I've tried to do a few things to keep myself sorted out mentally...

Tip off...If not doing the toss, I tell myself "blue left"...meaning blue team is going left and I focus on weather or not they get the tip then proceed to lead...If I'm doing the toss, I just wait til they clear out...

On fouls so I know which two players are involved, I always say the offenders number first, then the number of the offended to myself....for instance (25/15)...25 is who I am reporting and 15 is my shooter (if applicable). How many times have you went to report and the number escapes you....not a good feeling...

For my lower level stuff...if we have a TO and the ball is coming in on the endline, I will place the ball on the court to remind myself we are going to the other end...if it's staying at that end, I will place the ball OOB. This is in the case where I am going to talk to my partner or coach or something...

I'll keep a spare whistle in my pocket to keep track of the AP arrow...Facing the table, it goes in the pocket of the direction the ball is going on the next AP...

So anything you do to keep yourself in line...

It just sounds like you need to work on your focus. I think we all had, or are having, a time in our basketball careers where we need to move to the next level with our focus. I think we all work things out differently in our heads; my thought process might seem like a bunch of garbage to you. Considering that, I can't really say how to go about improving in these areas. I can say that once improved, you are really thinking less and reacting more. Right now the only thoughts (self talk) that go through my mind are the numbers of the (normally) two defenders in my area when I'm off ball. It might be totally worthless, but I work really hard to know, or have a really good idea of, foul counts and the AP without looking. This goes back to little games we used to play to improve our game awareness. Nevada probably knows, we wanted to really know the foul count before looking up at the big scoreboard in Reno. :D

I've said it before, but it's still a valid suggestion. If you really want to impress the hot chicks at the game, use a Hickory Farms beef stick for this. ;)

(Hey Chuck - no Larry Craig joke here - happy now?) :)

I agree with Tommy. It really is about developing focus. It's something I'm going to work on this year; being totally focused on the game at hand. That, and

Oh look, a squirrel.

Really? Rocky's friend Bhuck?

No, Bullwinkle's friend Rocky.

I agree about it being a focus thing....

I guess I'm just being cognisent that I know that when doing mulitple games there can come times when that focus can fade or be tested for whatever reason....fans, unruly coach, being tired etc....I find some of my "tricks" to help me stay focused, even when I have a lapse! :D

I'll admit right off that my statement isn't realistic but I'm going to make it anyway. Nobody should be working 4 games in a row - the brain just can't handle it, even if the body can. Watch a grade school tourney and notice how the best varsity officials are sucking up the place by their fourth, fifth and sixth games.

That said, mechanics are a great way to keep focused. Hold the ball the way you're supposed to during dead balls (toward the direction you're going), communicate fouler/shooter to partners, return signals on the number of shots, etc.

I borrowed a trick I saw from volleyball officials to keep track of the correct arrow...I use a rubber band around my hand. As I face the table, whichever hand the band is around is the direction the arrow SHOULD be. (I do this ESPECIALLY with the lower level games...JH and below...as the scorekeepers are usually somewhat incompetent.)

There is a product on the market that looks neat for keeping track of the arrow. It's a small, plastic toggle switch that attaches to the bottom of a Fox 40 whistle. Click one way and it shows white, click the other way and it shows dark. Guess its up to you to remember which direction the teams are going. :)

Not THAT thing again...

Have you ever used it? I looks kind of silly to me, but you never know. Better than switching whistles back and forth, which really looks silly. You can see the thing at:

http://www.refshop.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=515

When I see an official wearing a rubber band, I mentally place them in the same category as officials who wear a watch. That's just me though.

You do know that rubber bands are illegal for players to wear, don't you?

OK - seriously for a change. I use a relatively small chap stick in my pocket to keep track of possession. When a held ball is called, I can slap my pocket to see which side it's on. I face the table and the side the team's bench is on indicates whose ball it is. I used to use a quarter, but then I actually had to reach inside my pocket to see in which pocket it was. Something that bulges (notice I passed up the opportunity to make a joke here) that you can just feel works much better. Just be sure it's not really big.

See - I told you "seriously for a change".

So? What does that have to do with officials? We wear other equipment that would be illegal for players to wear....a lanyard. Unless you can show me something in the book that says that it's illegal for officials to wear rubber bands, you have no grounds to suggest as much. Now, I agree that they shouldn't (becasue it looks bad and for other reasons), but it's not forbidden.

The wearing of rubber bands by players was banned by the NFHS for <b>safety</b> reasons. If that's not a concern of you or your association, so be it. Hey, if you or any of your fellow officials out there want to wear rubber bands, be my guest. Knock yourself out. You're completely right. There's nothing that definitively states that officials can't wear them. My own opinion is that not only does it look bad for an official to wear something that a player isn't allowed to wear for safety reasons, it also looks as unprofessional as hell. And my association shares my opinion. They've banned officials from wearing them.

Different strokes for different folks though. Shrug.

[QUOTE=Camron Rust]So? What does that have to do with officials? We wear other equipment that would be illegal for players to wear....a lanyard.

C. Rust, I agreed with you up until you said a lanyard was illegal for officials to wear. I draw you attention to page 14 of 2007-2009 Official Manual.

I'm pretty sure Camron was saying that it's legal for officials while being illegal for players...

Correct. missed it

The product you are describing is called the Flip Switch by Sport Switches of Meadow Vista, California. Yes, I have two of them. I do not use them when officiating real games. But the Flip switch comes in handy when officiating CYO games, summer camp games, etc. where there is no AP Arrow. They do alter the sound of the whistle slightly enough and that slight change in sound can be detected by anyone who is familiar with the sound of a Fox-40.

With apologies to the late J. Dallas Shirley, never, I repeat, never use a Flip Switch while officiating a real game. And don't use a rubber band on your wrists or an object in your in your pocket; it makes you look like rookie. Train yourself to remember who has the AP Arrow, or have Daryl "The Preacher" Long as your partner.

MTD, Sr.

I don't know if it would change any of your opinions, but I don't wear the rubber band around my wrist...I put it around my hand under my thumb...I don't think it's really noticable. I could be wrong...but I've never thought of it not looking "professional." Personally, I'd rather not have anything in my pockets...that can cause the pants to sag or have "bulges" in them...I don't need an extra "bulge" in my pants...;)

They're no less safe than a wristband...and are perhaps more safe since they're likely snap before someone gets hurt where the wristband will not snap. The only difference is that rubber bands have no functional purpose and are considered decorative. You'd also have to define what a rubber band is vs. other items (rubber braclets...LiveStrong, etc.).I'm am most certainly NOT advocating that an official should wear a rubber band. In fact, I'm opposed to it. But not because it's "illegal".
I don't disagree at all with an association establishing such a standard and would support it.

The rules that govern what is legal for players only govern what is legal for players...not officials. As someone who is a stickler for a rules basis for claims people make, I'm a bit suprised that you're using player rules as a basis for what officials wear. Again, I agree in principle with what you think is appropriate and believe that such restrictions are reasonable for an association to establish, but my reasons are strictly about looking professionial....not because player's can't.

Agreed with your Post JR, but was wondering how you feel about wedding bands for officials? I can't take mine off even if I wanted to.

I generally leave mine on. My wife doesn't care, because the imprint on my finger is already permanent.

There's always one exception to every rule. And wedding rings might be that exception(for officials). That's one thing that I'd never dream of asking anybody to remove.

Smokey, again this is jmo but I think that officials just look much more competent and professional if they're not fooling around with rubber bands, objects in their pockets, doo-dads on their whistles, etc. Geeze, why not go all the way and wear an arrow around your neck on a chain? It just ain't that hard to mentally keep track of the arrow.

Nah, I think the arrow through the head is more appropriate!:D

Grin:D

Now I have a question for you. I think that you posted once that you were a fireman. If so, do you feel that your training also gave you an advantage when it came to officiating?

I can't say that it did. I started officiating when I was in High School way before I even had an incling to become a firefighter. I do think that my confidence is directly related to my ability to effectively do both jobs however.

"Incling". Sounds like a cross between "inkling" and "inclination". Actually, it fits really well. :)

Hmmmmmm........

The reason that I asked is because locally we've had quite a number of fireman and police officers over the years officiate in both football and basketball. A lot of them have athletic backgrounds in those sports and they do have the availability needed to officiate with the shifts that they work.

This is just my own observation, and obviously it doesn't hold true for all of the fireman/cops that officiate. I think that their training is very helpful when to comes to the conflicts inherent in officiating. Fireman/cops are trained not to panic, to stay calm and relaxed, assess the best way to proceed if there's a problem, etc., and they seem (to me,anyway) to be able carry over this training into officiating. That's not true for all of them, of course. They may not be better officials overall, but they do seem better prepared in a lot of instances to deal with the inevitable conflicts.

Note that I'm not or have never been in those vocations. However, the guy that mentored me and put so much time and effort into developing me as an official so many years ago was a cop. Because of that, I may certainly be biased.

PS- I should also mention that I've noticed that one the other main professions that also seems to be related to officiating would be school teaching.

You know when you put it in that context, I also notice that there are a number of police officers/ firefighters officiating here as well (yea School teachers too)
So to answer do I think that my ability to think on the fly and make decisions without panic, to extinguish conflict and keep control over situations is because of my background? Well I think it helps. I believe that these qualities had to be there in order to become a firefighter/police officer (either that or we are just crazy). Finally, have you ever seen an off duty cop or fire monkey not want to be in control of anything? We are Control freaks, when we are in control we are happy other wise we just have ants in our pants to get the control.

Yup, we are thinking along the same lines.

So is the ring through my nose as well as the chain that my wife uses to lead me around. :D

MTD, Sr.


P.S. If she reads this I will be sleeping on the couch the entire basketball season. LOL

I wouldn't mind wearing this at the table. :D

We all had to wear those when I worked the Steve Martin classic. Steve entertained at halftime.

http://www.urbanhonking.com/greatest...Martin_250.jpg

JR...............

Good points, I've felt the same about a few guys in my area.