IHSA Officials

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I have never seen a NF Test ask on how it is applied, but point out what is a correctable error situation. You need to know how to apply the rule than just know what situations are correctable error situations. The problem I see in rules mistakes are often not just what the rule says, but what you do after you make an application. We do not even agree on the importance of a rules tests and different states and associations have different approaches on how to train or what they require their officials to do to maintain a license. That suggests like anything in life people have different opinions on how to be successful and not to be successful.

"I have never seen a NF Test ask on how it is applied, but point out what is a correctable error situation." There has always been at least one correctable error application question on the IAABO Entrance Exam, at at least a couple of correctable error application questions on the IAABO Refresher Exam.

"The problem I see in rules mistakes are often not just what the rule says, but what you do after you make an application." You hit the nail right on the head. Especially with the IAABO Refresher Exam, the correct answer to the question very often hinges on, not the violation, or the foul, but what happens after the violation, or foul. That often tricks up a lot of people.

"We do not even agree on the importance of a rules tests and different states and associations have different approaches on how to train or what they require their officials to do to maintain a license. That suggests like anything in life people have different opinions on how to be successful and not to be successful." I don't believe that I ever suggested that what I post is appropriate for everywhere in the world where basketball is played under NFHS rules. Case in point:

My first post in this thread: "Here, on my local Connecticut board..."
Second post: "The purpose of our local procedure is not to test an official's true rules knowledge..."
Third post: "Which is why the Refresher Exam only counts 10% here in my little part of Connecticut..."
Fourth post: "Here's what we use to rate our colleagues..."

These are the procedures and guidelines that we use. Not only don't I think that they would be appropriate for all officials groups, there are officials on my local board, who don't even think that they work for us, and would like to change them.

I'm sure that you'll probably be passing out handouts at your training sessions. I would love to see those, and use what I can, with proper source notations, at out training sessions that begin Thursday night, and continue through the month of October. Why reinvent the wheel? If you've got something, especially something that might be unique, that works for you, and your local, or state, organization, why not share it with other officials organizations? Why keep something that works a secret?