Too many sports, and a little too tight

[Back In The Saddle]

"Cary said at halftime that he couldn't shove a pin up your tail with a jack hammer you were so tight out there the first half."

My R said that jokingly on the way home from our game tonight. He was right; I was a little nervous, this being my first college game. But I managed to relax during the second half. And it was a lot of fun.

It was pretty much the stereotypical "breaking in the rookie" scenario. My R began officiating the year both I and my partner were born. He referred to us as "the kids". It was a pre-season women's game at a little community college about 180 miles from here. So the smallest, least stressful possible stage on which to break in.

The game went pretty well. Home team was expected to lose big, but led by 4 at one point and it was a close game until half time. But they ended up losing by 15 in the end. So that presented a little bit of a game management "opportunity". And I think we did okay with it.

But I did get my obligatory rookie screw up out of the way tonight as well. With all the possible new things to mess up (shot clock, remembering media time outs, rules differences, etc.), I had to pick the dumbest possible way I could imagine. Early in the first half V coach requests a time out. So I hit the whistle, turn to the bench, and calmly give a well practiced time out signal. For volleyball. By forming a tidy little T with my two hands, and then pointing to the V bench. I did manage not to turn back to my partner and show how many time outs each team had taken.

Oh well, with that I can declare my volleyball season officially over and basketball officially begun.