Making Good Impressions
 

Hi, I am a young official that has been officiating basketball for about 4 years now. I am graduating High School this year and I have done a lot of middle school and some Freshman games. My question to some of you senior officials is... What do you look for in good officials? What would you reccomend for younger officials to make good impressions on the important people in their association? How long after you started officiating were you doing the Varsity Level? What are some of the best things to do get to the Varsity Level?

Basically I am asking these questions because ultimatly I would like to be able to do some Varsity Level in the next few years. Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you in advance!!

Great questions, I have been officiating for about 10 years now, and I've done 2 varsity games in my time. The reason why I haven't done more.. I know why, and I'm dealing with it. Basically, the big thing, at least where I'm from, is physical apperance and conditioning. If you're out of shape, can't get up and down the court, and looking sloppy, you're probably not going to get much varsity anytime soon. I know, because those are my big problems. Of course having proper mechanics and knowledge of the rules certainly helps. My advice to you would be to find some camps in your area, attend them, work in front of your league commissioners and get evaluated, and that'll tell you what you need to work on to get a chance at varsity.

Thanks for the advice.

As far as the physical appearnce, that is something i havent had to deal with. I have been playing Varsity Football for the past 3 years. I have worked a lot with some officials that are higher up their within the association. I have been told that I have done a great job and they would love to work with me whenever they get the oppurtunity. So I have been told good things and I have received a Letter of Recomendation from our person who does our Scheduling.

Sounds like you're off to a good start. Physical fitness and apperance has not been my strong point, otherwise I could very well be doing college ball right now. Good luck

Have a strong whistle, a good voice, and crisp and correct signals.

Be confident but not arrogant.

Don't say negative things about other officials.

Know when to sell a call, but calm and confident is always better than loud, flashy and attention grabbing.

Do all the little things right and always be a great partner.

Treat every game you do like it is the biggest game in town that night.

Guidelines For Evaluation ....
 

RATINGS GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATION

REACTION TIME
Reacts quickly enough to make a decision at the moment of its occurrence.
Makes quick and positive decisions, especially with respect to the “close ones”.
Takes the time to prevent an error from being made.

INTESTINAL FORTITUDE
Remains consistent when calling violations or fouls - without regard to the score, whom it may hurt, or how it may effect future relations with the coach.

CONFIDENCE
Exhibits a confident manner i.e. attention to detail, alertness, firmness, and timeliness of his/her reaction to a situation.
Has a resonant, strong voice that is supported by proper mechanics for purpose of clarification.

POISE
Has a quiet influence on the game that relieves tensions and creates a steady effect upon contestants (both players and coaches alike).
Has control of his/her emotions.
Is courteous and polite.

CONSISTENCY
Is consistent in all calls regardless of situation or point of time in the game. For example consistency in the determination of a block vs. a charge.

JUDGMENT
Uses fair and unbiased judgment and common sense in applying the rules of the game.

COOPERATION

Has the ability to work effectively as a “team” with his/her fellow official
Is not overly sensitive to constructive criticism.
Has a sense of loyalty to fellow officials, a willingness to share the responsibility and avoids attempts to shift the blame.

KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROPER APPLICATION OF THE RULES
Presents a thorough knowledge of the rules of basketball
Appears to make his/her decision with consideration to the effect the calling, or equally as important, the not calling of a rule violation will have. (i.e. advantage / disadvantage)

MECHANICS OF OFFICIATING
Utilizes proper mechanics, up-to-date techniques and procedures as detailed in the Officials Manual.

APPEARANCE AND CONDITIONING
Is in excellent physical condition and exhibits hustle and energy
Official’s uniform and overall appearance is neat, clean and well kept.

I think a "good official" is one who always brings painkillers to the game in case I run out. :rolleyes:

Anything else??

No, just painkillers.

This and good judgment will go a long way towards moving to the varsity level.

These are all good things people have thrown up. How coahces, peers, and your assignor view your judgment will be the most important thing. How they all view your ability to see and correctly call fouls and violations will determine your credibility. Also, how you respond to criticism will slant their views on your judgment. Being defensive with anyone will be bad. Being unapproachable to coaches will also be very bad. Projecting competence in judgment, along with a positive and empathetic personality will separate you from your peers and allow you to move up.

Find people you trust, and use their input to help you improve your judgment and how you deal with coahces, players, and partners.

I size officials up by what I first see. If they look sloppy in their uniform or do not look like they are in shape, they probably are not an official that is a very good official. Usually I am proved correct. I feel like if you pay attention to detail in the way you look you will do the same thing as it relates to rules, mechanics or the way you carry yourself while officiating.

I worked about 3 or 4 varsity games my first year. Mostly filling in and a couple games were 3 Person games where the AD did not mind adding another official.

I think if you look the part, have very good signal mechanics and willing to learn from officials that know more than you, that should set you in the right direction.

Peace

Confidence and hustle are king...not arrogance, but confidence when blowing the whistle. I guess I could say not second guessing yourself when you do blow the whistle. It comes with time I guess....Don't blow the whistle and look at your P for what to call (as I've seen some young and upcoming guys do :o )

Early when I started I had a weak whistle...a vet I worked with told me to "Blow the whistle like I was in Conseco Fieldhouse". So I began putting more air in it and now if I were in front of 20K fans, the guy in the top row would hear my whistle (if I'm in that gym) ;)

HUSTLE!...Get in position and if you get beat on a quick turn, get yourself back down court. I've found that hustling to be in the right position has kept me out of trouble...The coaches and fans (not that they matter) see you working your tail off and there have been times when I was not in position and got chewed on by a coach for the call or lack of it...but when I did hustle and put myself in position it kept the coach off me because he knew I was there and had a good look.

Lemme ask you this..
 

How important do you think 'walk in the door' appearance is?

In my job (courier) I'm wearing casual clothes (tee and shorts).
I'm arriving for 4:00 pm games, or 5:00. No time to change prior to arrival.

I think I cut a pretty good appearance once I'm dressed.

Should I sorta be low key entering the facility in my work clothes?

That depends almost entirely on the level you are working, the area that you live and the time of year you are working. If I am working a varsity night contest (which in my area can include JV/Sophomore or Even in some cases a freshman game) I try to wear only slacks and a collared shirt of some kind. If we are talking a Saturday morning JV game or a freshman doubleheader, I try to be comfortable. I might wear everything from jeans to sweats.

This really depends on the area you live. There is no one size fits all model here. I also think that outside of a very casual situation I dress better than most people, but that is just me. ;)

Peace