I am in the northwest central area. In a little town called Kewanee, about an hour from Iowa. Where were you originally from, if you don't mind me asking? I grew up on the eastern side of the state about an hour out of Chicago.

Before you go to your game, you need to spend a couple of hours (6 is better) in front of a mirror practicing your signal mechanics. You don't need a whistle (you can blow or just whistle yourself), but you do need to get used to several things:

1. Hearing yourself talk out loud. Sounds silly, but you'd be surprised how many people have never done it and it feels weird the first few times. Don't yell, but project your voice.

2. Making the foul presentation (Red 31, hold -- or hack, block, player control, etc. -- run through them all) with your hand giving the number. Do this for every color imaginable and every legal number -- especially 0 and 00. Use the book for guidance.

3. Simultaneously blowing and lifting your hand into a fist or open palm (and then do a few for a jump ball). Run through all violation signals a couple of dozen times each -- make your hands into a fist while doing the travel signal; it looks cleaner.

4. Get into a habit of saying the color when you are pointing for the direction after a violation like out of bounds. In front of the mirror, stick the open hand up then point, saying "white" or whatever other colors.

Do this NOW and I guarantee you your mechanics will be better than any first year's.

This may sound dumb, but after having a lot of first year officials as partners.....Most importantly, when you see something happen, BLOW YOUR WHISTLE. You can work on your mechanics/hand signals as you go, just make sure to stop the play when something happens.

I have read, maybe on this board, that newer officials tend to second guess themselves and then they don't blow the whistle at all. I am going to try really hard to not fall into this and be confident with what I call. I know I will miss some, but I will learn as I get more experience.

Thanks for the detailed points. I have some face time reserved in front of the mirror, so I will be practicing. I also am going to see if my family might let me abuse them with some practice too. :)

I was born and lived until 3rd grade on the South Side of Chicago (always use caps for this). Then I moved to Chicago Heights (which is where I consider having grown up) and went to college at Northern Illinois in DeKalb. Lived in Aurora for a while where I worked in radio after broadcasting school in the Loop, then moved to Las Vegas for a year, finally to the Portland area in 1971. Here ever since.

This is probably the most important point made so far. Forget about the signals, just blow the whistle. Once you're blowning the whistle, you can worry about what to signal.

A lot of great stuff has been covered already. So let me add a touch of perspective. Your first game as a ref can be a wild ride. Play seems like it's coming right at you at 90 mph. Don't panic. you'll start to develop the mental filters we all use to reduce all that activity down to the parts that matter. And over time things you'll struggle with at first will become automatic.

As has been mentioned, it's tempting to go out there with 100 things to focus on floating around in your head. That will not work. You need to narrow your focus to a very few things that matter most. Then, game after game, add one or two new things to work on. Good officials became good over time.

If it were me, I'd focus on these three:
1. Be where you are supposed to be and look where you're supposed to look.
2. When you see something wrong, blow the whistle. Hard.
3. Relax and enjoy the experience. During every time out and quarter break, stop, take a deep breath, unclench your shoulders, and smile. Then go talk to your partner.

And report back on how it went. :)

Anticipation (Carly Simon) ...
 

Anticipate the play, not the call.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyC0X1z4J0U&NR=1

Misunderstood Rules ...
 

Check it out:

http://forum.officiating.com/showthread.php?t=43554

That is some great advice from everybody. I practiced some signals in front of the mirror last night and will do so again today. I am going to take things in small steps, focus on being in the right spot and looking where I need to look and signaling first. I know it will come to me over time, but it can be a little overwhelming at first. I will definitely let everyone know how things go on Wed. night.

I know a lot of people have touched on this, but like everyone has said i do to personally think that this is the best point anyone has said so far. Personally for myself I know i am blowing my whistle loud enough when people are giving me the look "ooooo that hurts my ears". Because I know when it comes down to a big play and the crowd is going nuts i do know they will here my whistle. Also make sure you have a nice whistle. I have a Fox 40(as im sure everyone else does) but it will make a difference.

That was one of the first things I bought, the Fox 40. I took my whistle outside today and put some air through it to kind of get a feel for what I need to get a nice loud tone. I got quite a few good blows before the neighbors were looking at me. :o

Having a strong whistle and not being afraid to use it are my first two goals for tomorrow.

All good advice!!!
 

These are all great tips. My $0.02 worth is enjoy yourself and have fun. If you like officiating as much as I do you will have alot of good years to come.:)

O and rule number 2... Get shoes you could wear all day long if you needed to. I found my pair of shox and spent the usual $125. But you will be thanking yourself in the end. Find something thats more then just comfortable! Good luck and have fun!