Hammered!!
 

Worked with varsity officials for the first time the other nite and didn't go well. These guys intimated the heck out of me and never felt comfortable and as a result, had my worst outing in my brief 3 week career. I'm still working on my mechanics and they had very little patience with me and unfortunately let it affect my performance. All I wanted to do was run out of the gym and hide. Funny thing though, after the games, I got some compliments from the players which made me somewhat feel better.
Any of you rookies experienced this?

That would make ME a little unnerved.

My very first game of my very first camp I was getting absolutely reamed by the floor observer and I deserved it. Midway through the half during some free throws a player standing next to me said "Hey, you're not THAT bad, I don't know what his problem is"

:)

If it was an IAABO camp, I can probably guess which observer that is, having experienced a reaming or two myself.

So far I have never experienced this. But I wouldn't be too happy about it cause.. Rookie or not you cannot show up your fellow official on the court.. Ream me out off the court.. I have no issue, but on the court we must "appear" as equals. Or as close to it as possible.

That is my take.

:D

Yes it was an IAABO camp and I bet you can guess who it was but it actually wasn't who I think you're thinking of. He was actually quite nice to me as a newbie (and even as a not so newbie) but I did get more than my share of hats thrown at me at camp while I was on the court!

:eek:

The gentleman I am thinking of is from NJ.

Yep, he's the guy I thought you had in mind. Really nice guy once you get to know him, just don't f@ck up under his watchful eye.

:)

Perhaps they were not pleased about getting a newbie on a varsity game and took their frustration out on you instead of the assignor? Dont take it personally. Review in your mind how you performed and find something positive from it; and a few things that need to be improved. work on those things and the rest will take care of itself. Consider it a crash course and you lived thru it :)

My guess is it was a subvarsity game being worked by varsity officials with our newbie friend here.

that makes more sense. :) but we dont run 3-person on Sub V, so I assumed........ :)

and I assumed 3-person because of plural on officials.... heavy sigh. I going back to work now.... :) good luck and be patient.

Fortunately it was 3 man and one of them REALLY screwed up a couple times to take the pressure off.

If I read your post correctly, I don't think he said the other officials showed him up, it was more of his perception of being intimidated. I would like to think that they tried to make him feel relaxed and were comfortable in their own skin enough not be concerned about looking bad.

Everyone has to start sometime. I had a thread about a brand, spanking new ref who I was teamed up with for a Soph boys tourney over Thanksgiving. I had a blast helping him out, and he was terrific and receptive to any comments I gave him. On the court, they were very subtle, non verbal signals, not to bring attention to us.

It brought back memories of both jerks and good guys during my learning curve.

You mean Edgar? :D

MTD, Sr.

You know, I remember my first meeting. The President of the chapter told the lot of us Newbies. If you don't make one call right, during your first night out, make sure you know your mechanics. The calls will come. It's a lot different looking at the game from an officials perspective. Don't let it get you down.

My worst call as a newbie. Freshman boys game. I'm lead, under the basket and a 3 point shot is up and I thought it went in. The defense grabbed it and started up the court. I blew the whistle and called a violation for not inbounding the ball. I think every person in the gym fell silent and looked at me. My co-official came over and told me, the basket didn't go in. Talk about wanting to catch a plane....

While I'm not a rookie, I do feel your pain...sounds like you got stuck with a couple of guys with that proverbial 2x4 where the sun don't shine. Advice: forget about it and move on to your next game. If you get in to a similiar situation again, have the courage to walk up to your partner(s) during a time-out and tell them "I'm really struggling with my rotations and mechanics tonight. Could you help me out some?" and then see how it goes from there...most people (most, not all unfortunately) will be glad to help you out with those things and give you little reminders and hints as you go along. If not, call your game anyway and worry about mechanics and things like that later. Get the calls right.

You probably did fine. You need to always act like you belong. Rockyroad is correct, just focus on your area and work on your judgment when you hit the floor with those guys. If they choose not support you and help you get better, chances are you will surpass them sooner than they--or you--think.

He's put his foot in my backside a time or two. ;)

Edgar is a tough cookie....
 

Getting older now, gets pissed very easy...But I learned alot..I also learned to save my questions for after class...LOL

I don't think I've experienced anything that bad, but I understand what you're referring to.

When I work with an official who I know is a veteran I get a little intimidated, especially if he's not very personable. Worse, I tend to defer to the veteran for fear of blowing a call in front him, or having him wonder why I made a certain call.

OTOH, when I work with a guy I know is either new or has less experience than me, I usually have my best games. I don't seem to be as hesitant or as likely to second guess what I just called. It's almost like I take over and lead in those situations, and I end up calling a very confident game.

I dunno, maybe that's strange. Anyone else relate to this phenomenon?

Thats exactly what happened last nite to me!! I worked with a guy more or less in my range and I had my best game yet. I guess you could chaulk up this whole experience due to the lack of experience. But lets not deny, they're are alot of cocky refs out there especially the ones who have the same partner for years.

I've found that 98% of veterans are more than happy to help rookies get better, but those other 2% sure do come across as pompous jerks.

That's how I read it too.

Just remember....you cannot teach an official judgement, but you can teach an official mechanics.

Agreed. But, if you put the official in the "right" spot and have the official look at the "right" things, his/her judgment will improve right away.

Yep, I can relate. I step up a lot more if I'm working with somebody newer than me. I have a tendency to lay back just a little bit if I'm working with a vet. It's something I'm working on. I'm comfortable being the stronger official; I'm not as comfortable being the weaker one.