Greetings from SC
 

I have been checking out the forums here for a month or so and found a lot of valuable information. Just registered and wanted to check in.

A little background on me. I am 31 and have been in Law Enforcement for 11 years. I also coached HS 4A ball for 6 years and had to get out of it 3 years ago mainly because I couldn't commit 6 days a week to it any longer with my family growing among other reasons. I have always have been attracted to officiating and see this as a excellent opportunity for a second career. I have been studying the HS rule book to prepare myself for the class that begins in September. I am eagerly looking forward to officiating and attending camps in the future.

I Look forward to learning and interacting with everyone here.

Welcome to the forum. Just curious about this - since you are a former coach, when you read the rule book, were there any surprises? Anything you found that you always thought was "not ruled that way"?

nothing has really stuck out as surprising me yet. I was lucky to be well schooled in the rules of the game as a coach and before that as a player. I have always been a student of the game for for as long as I can remember. I am somewhat surprised by a lot of the technicalities with everything. I am waiting until August to order this years situations guide. Should I go ahead and get last year though ?

I'd wait for the new rule/case books; although having multiple years can be helpful since sometimes they remove a case play without really rescinding it.

I would go ahead and attend a camp this summer.

Welcome Lawman...you will learn a lot from this board.
May I give you some advice....probably similar to what you may tell some of the dudes you throw in the back of your squad car....

"sit down, hold on and shut up." ;)

I thought about that but didn't want to put the cart before the horse.

Where in SC are you from Lawman? I'm in Greenville.

First of all, good to have you around. As far as going to camp. I feel that camp is sometimes overwhelming to brand new officials. Personally I would try to find a summer league to work, hopefully with some veterans, and then go to camp. In my opinion you'll get more out of it that way.

He could always go across the border and attend one of Georgia's high school certification camps. They are geared for HS officials.

I looked at some of the GA camps. Would that be a good place to start this summer ? What are some of the camps you suggest for a brand new official ? Im not certified anywhere yet are there any camps that will fit my needs best in GA ?

Would one of the basic camps on here suit what I am looking for to get started with ?

http://ghsa.net/node/711

Yes, those are the ones. Some of those are held in conjunction with college camps as you may get lucky and get some extra instruction.

I asked this same question to the coordinator for the GA Tech camp and he said it was geared to whatever level of people were there. Rookies are welcome.

It's this coming weekend, so if you choose to go to this one, I'd suggest you get in touch with the coordinator right away and see if there are openings.

JT

I am looking at the one at Mercer Univ. on the second weekend in June. I am going to call Monday to check availability and attempt to register.