Camps

[JRutledge]

Originally posted by stripes

I disagree with this. It is not necessarily a better environment. It certainly will be a different environemnt. You will tend to get more information at a damp that is staffed with college refs, but my experience is that the clinicians like to get beginners to work with because they have so much to learn and they are so eager to learn. They are ready and very able to deal with the new guys and the new people tend to get the most out of the camp.

Look for the best instruction.

You do not have to agree. To each his own. If you want to learn you are better off learning IMO around people that you will have to work with. What good is it going to do to surround yourself by people that after the camp will not ever see you again. I think newer officials need instruction from people that will see them long after the camp is over and might be able to actually see them during a game.

Now officials that have been around the block and have advanced far and are looking for other experiences and training, the "cash" cow camps might be what they need to learn. Those officials might have already outdone the folks in their area and need "advanced" training. I have even had D1 Officials tell me to not go to those camps. You are better off getting a person that is already within the "system" and having them recommend you for moving up. But then again, that is not the purpose of what this question was. It was for the "training" of younger officials. Newer officials need different attention. They do not need to be thrown in with officials that are only their to get hired and do not care to make others look good. They need to be where other officials are there to learn and that to me is a better environment.

For officials like you and I stripes, we might feel more confrontable in a "cash" camp. For the newer guys that might not be the best thing. I know I would have been intimidated earlier in my career. Most of us would be.

Peace