I know it's summer league, but...

[jsblanton]

I find it tough to try to work on my mechanics during summer league games when my partners don't have any desire to switch on fouls, bump and run etc. I get very aggrivated at these refs that tell me, "It's just summer league". I guess there is no point to my post, just venting. I finally did say something when my partner inbounded the ball in the backcourt when she was supposed to be the new lead. Oh well. I guess the real problem is, my assignor has a son playing in the league and He is there every day watching. I hope he understands.

[26 Year Gap]

Work on other stuff. Crisp signals for OOB. Good mechanics, etc. Chances are the assignor has seen your attempts to do it the right way. You can still improve your positioning, game management, etc.

[love2refbball]

Originally Posted by 26 Year Gap

Work on other stuff. Crisp signals for OOB. Good mechanics, etc. Chances are the assignor has seen your attempts to do it the right way. You can still improve your positioning, game management, etc.

i work hard to improve in the off season and i sure dont want to develop bad habits. i think one of the problems is that some officials are working a ridiculous amount of games in a day (or week) - its not fair to the players, summer league or not, they're only hurting themselves by slacking and picking up bad habits, which will be obvious in camp situations. Take everyone's advice and continue to work hard during summer league regardless of what your partners do and it will pay off in the end.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by jsblanton

I guess the real problem is, my assignor has a son playing in the league and He is there every day watching.

I bet you would get some points with him if you show him you capitalized "He" when referring to him in you post. Exactly which deity is he?

[26 Year Gap]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

I bet you would get some points with him if you show him you capitalized "He" when referring to him in you post. Exactly which deity is he?

Don't you mean 'He'?

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by 26 Year Gap

Don't you mean 'He'?

To me, he's just he. Hee hee!

Off-season ball is what it is...
Unfortunately, most quality officials don't do off-season ball & that puts assignors in a situation where they have to use whoever is available. Most times the only requirement for working is owning a shirt (football or basketball) & a whistle (volleyball or basketball)

That being said, there is still SO MUCH you can do to improve YOUR game in these situations! Like others have said, get your signals tightened up, game management skills & effective communication can always be improved. Videotape your games & break them down, to plug some of those holes. Look at your presence, your run & your dead ball officiating. A good time to work on being an R for next season!

I used to look at it as a negative when working with "those guys" but now I embrace the opportunity to lead by example & people who KNOW good officiating when they see it generally let you know what a great job you did... considering.

The officials who say "it's just summer ball" are more than likely to say the same thing for JV games.
Probably the reason why they are still doing those games after 10+ years at the craft... continue to treat them all as State Championships/Final Fours & it will pay off.

Last year I found myself feeling the way you do now, until I was told, don't work off-season or take advantage of it. I do feel ya pain though...

[Coltdoggs]

If you are not bumping and running, aren't you getting caught in a long switch? The rest of it seems all to common for summer ball though....

I think I'd be saying something like "Hey P...let's make sure we are bumping and running unless you really like to run from baseline to baseline for some reason....I'd prefer if we bump and run...Ok with you?".

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Ch1town

The officials who say "it's just summer ball" are more than likely to say the same thing for JV games.
Probably the reason why they are still doing those games after 10+ years at the craft... continue to treat them all as State Championships/Final Fours & it will pay off.

The problem is summer ball is not like other regular seasons. I was working a camp yesterday and only one of the 8 coaches even said a word to the officials about calls on a regular basis. The host coach who gave me a lot of crap during a regular season game I had with him was as quite as a mouse. It sounds great in theory to treat these games the same, but the participants do not treat these games the same. They are just trying to get better.

Peace

[jsblanton]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

I bet you would get some points with him if you show him you capitalized "He" when referring to him in you post. Exactly which deity is he?

Slight slip of the sHift key.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by jsblanton

I find it tough to try to work on my mechanics during summer league games when my partners don't have any desire to switch on fouls, bump and run etc. I get very aggrivated at these refs that tell me, "It's just summer league". I guess there is no point to my post, just venting. I finally did say something when my partner inbounded the ball in the backcourt when she was supposed to be the new lead. Oh well. I guess the real problem is, my assignor has a son playing in the league and He is there every day watching. I hope he understands.

As long as you understand where to stand and where to go during dead ball coverage, then it really should not be that hard to get that down. It is really not hard to switch or bump and run. As someone said, you should work on your signals, your coverage area, and your judgment and game management skills. You really do not need to work on where you stand. As long as you know where to stand and when to stand there, you should be OK.

Peace

[Tio]

It is hard to get everyone to buy into working hard in the offseason. Even though the offseason is when officials get better. In my experience, the guys that won't switch, etc are the same guys that complain and criticize the officials who leap frong them every year.

Still continue to work hard on your improvement goals. More often than not, you will have guys that want to work hard and get better.

Originally Posted by Tio

It is hard to get everyone to buy into working hard in the offseason. Even though the offseason is when officials get better. In my experience, the guys that won't switch, etc are the same guys that complain and criticize the officials who leap frong them every year.

Still continue to work hard on your improvement goals. More often than not, you will have guys that want to work hard and get better.

Exactly! You'd be suprised at how your credibility & development can increase during the off-season.

Example: Working a low level sophmore summer league. Play is sloppy, game is boring, not too many people intersted. Not to my knowledge, but the varsity coach is watching from waaaaay up in the bleachers. After the game, he comes down & says you're sweating & hustling as if this were a post-season game. I said, I treat all my games the same coach!
He asks for my name, writes in down & proceeds to say, looks like I'll have to put you on my list for post-season votes.
Year around work ethic pays off!

Not just because of that situation either, it feels good to leave a gym knowing you gave your best, having the winners as well as the losers say "good work tonight sir"!

Knowledgable people can tell when you're working hard or just going through the motions.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by Ch1town

Knowledgable people can tell when you're working hard or just going through the motions.

Gee, I wanna be one of them knowledgeable people when I grow up too.

My take? There's one heckuva big difference between not switching in summer ball and actual lack of hustle. Jmo but I think that maybe some people you might call fairly knowledgeable are looking to see if the the officials are hustling to keep up with the play, hustling to get into position and hustling to stay in position. What they do before play actually starts might sometimes even fall into the realm of...gasp...false hustle.

I personally kinda put switching in the summer in the same grab-bag as foul-reporting mechanics. I'd rather have an official who is better at calling fouls than one who is better at reporting 'em.

I know....heresy.....but also my opinion.

That's straight from an assignor folks!

And I can dig it JR, because I don't switch on every foul nor do I come to a complete stop when reporting as most summer leagues have a running clock. I like to give 'em their moneys worth.

FTR, I was addressing the "it's just summer league" attitude in general.

And letting the OPer know that there is always something we could be working on regardless of level, gender, partners experience or lack therof & season of play.