First Game for Rookie
 

I have just attended my first clinic session this past weekend and I will be working some summer league games this week. These will be the first games I have ever worked, so anyone have any last minute advice for me? Maybe there is a mistake that all rookies make that I can try to avoid. :)

I have been hanging around the forum here for a few months and "listening" trying to soak up some of the knowledge around here, but haven't really posted much. But I have to say this forum has become a very valuable asset in learning how to officiate.

When you blow your whistle always do something with your hands. 99% of the time it will be either a fist or an open hand raised in the air.

Remember who the foul is on!!

Sounds petty, but I've whistled a foul, turned to the table, and had a brain fart as to who I whistled for the foul! :eek:

Go slower. Try to make your call, signals and reporting in what seems to you as slow motion. Everyone goes too fast when they are new.

Self-talk.

Example: [Pretend that you're the lead.] Say to yourself, "the ball is out top... I've got off-ball in the key."

Self-talk can do awesome things, including preventing bad habits when you're starting out, and aim to form proper habits as you develop.

Those are some really good suggestions and thank you. I think I will practice the signals and reporting and maybe have someone observe me to make sure I don't rush through it. Of course, I will have to keep that in the back of my mind while on the court too. I am going to watch a couple games tonight, so that should help me out too.

And, if you know a senior official whose opinion you respect who can watch you and provide feedback that can be a big helper.

PS - Don't forget to have fun! :)

I will be watched and get some verbal and written feedback, which I am looking forward to. I am hoping once I get out there and get calmed down a bit things will go well.

I know it sounds like a cliche, but "call what you see - see what you call". The more you work, the more your calls will become "reactionary". Until you feel that comfortable, pay close attention to the mechanics of your partner(s), especially the more experienced ones. Try to emulate them and you will eventually be in your "comfort zone".

One of the subjects that seems to elicit a difference of opinion is whether or not you should "anticipate" calls. Some officials think this is good planning and adds to consistency, while others think it's bad because you sometimes "pull the trigger" when the actual violation or foul didn't happen but would usually have under the circumstances. How you feel about this will develop over time. I would just advise at first not to be too anticipatory until you have much more experience.

See - sometimes when I'm actually on my meds, I can be quite lucid. Whether or not I make sense is another matter, however. :p

Not sure how much playing or coaching experience you have, OP, but Mark's point about anticipation is a good one.

If you feel comfortable, after some time, you can anticipate the play, based on the offense or defense being employed. If a team is running a flex offense, you know that there are a lot of quick screens and cuts, par example.

I don't want to add too much, because I think it's detrimental for a new official to think too much while on the court.

That said:

Don't be afraid of a late whistle. As Mark alludes to, anticipating can lead to missed calls. If you need a second to digest what you just saw, take it; and don't be afraid to blow the whistle if you realize you had a violation.

As you officiate more, your reaction time will speed up and your whistles won't be as late.

Those are some more great responses. Thanks guys. The theme seems to be to slow things down in your mind, and focus on what you are looking at. I don't know if I worded that right, but I think I see the concept. There is no substitute for experience, so I know this will become more natural with time.

I am working with a 20 plus year veteran official, so I will be paying close attention to his actions and words.

Makes perfect sense to me, keep up the meds. :D

Thanks, that's the nicest thing anyone has said to me since 1847. BTW - where in Illinois are you located? Just curious - I'm originally from there.

See the whole play...then make your decision. Note the sig below.

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!

I did some searching on the forum here and found some New balance shoes. I have been wearing them around the house the last couple weeks to make sure they feel pretty good. So, we will see tonight how they feel under playing conditions.

You must wear your shoes in a very unusual manner! ;)

Or he spent too much time on Red's bad side. I'd blame Kelso.

Okay, did my first games last night and things went pretty well. I had a few veteran officials watch me and offer me some advice. As a quick summary, the first game I focused on my court positioning and watching my primary area. I was a little timid that first game, but as the game went on I became more comfortable.

The second game went about the same as the first. My major goal was to slow down in this one. I had picked up speed in the first half and was rushing reporting at the table.

By the third game I was doing much better or so they told me. :) I was more comfortable and getting more of a feel for things. I was starting to see my positioning on the court better and where I needed to be.

Now for some of the suggestions they had for me.

1. Better communication, meaning slow down while making the call and reporting.

2. Close down on the shots.

3. Practice signals more.

4. Be more confident on the court.

So, all in all it wasn't a bad night at all. I did have a lot of fun and am looking forward to next week.

Here's what works for me:

If calling a foul as the lead, stand in place with arm raised for a second or two. Allow the play to come to a complete conclusion. You don't want to start moving towards the table when a dead ball foul, T or worse yet, a fight occurs. Don't vacate your area until your partner is coming in to replace you. Signal to partner how many FT's are going to be awarded or if the where the ball is to be put back into play. Then confidently hustle to the spot where you will report your foul.

I need to do it like this and create a more mental process. Rather than rushing, I am going to work on waiting that couple seconds after the whistle. Thanks for the advice.

It helps me to think about it like this: What you do at the spot, that's the communication you need to do. Make sure your partners, and the players know what happened, and what will happen next.

Once the real communication work is done, then you can head to the table and take care of the less important "paper work."

I guess I was looking at it from a sort of backwards perspective. I was focusing more on the table communication, when like you pointed out that is not as important as the spot communication. I have my next game on Tuesday, so I can put this advice into action.