Begin Officiating at 50?
 

Great forum here everyone. Lots of good info.

I am planning on registering as a ref for next year.

I have a few questions:

1. 50 too old to start?
2. What one thing makes you love being a referee (or is official the preferred term?)
3. What one thing do you hate?
4. How long until you became proficient?

I'm new to this forum too, with that said. Welcome!

1. 50 isn't to old to start, just as long as you can get up and down the court.
2. I love the intensity of the game, the way the crowd either hates you or loves you. (most of the time, it's hate...jk)
3. i hate loud parents
4. and last but not least... practice makes perfect, i have been officiating since i was 15... I'm 19 now, doing Varsity boys games in my HS association. (it all depends how much time and effort you put in before you become "proficient")

Not too old to begin. I began [again] at 45. It is an age that is common for there to be an empty nest. As long as you work hard at improving, listen to good advice [and follow it], make sure you get in position [don't hang at half court if you are trail], and enjoy what you are doing [not there for the money], I say you should go for it.

1) Are you kidding? You're just a kid.
2) I love the feeling of total authority.
3) My partner eating burritos just before the game - for many reasons.
4) Still working on it since I began with Dr. Naismith.

Not to old at all. Make sure that you get yourself in shape. Especially stretching. Even if you've been active doing other things your body will be doing things they haven't done in years. Workout doing things that you might be doing on a court so you get used to doing those things under controlled circumstances. Start by going easy doing starts, stops cuts etc. The biggest bummer there could be is that you get some kind of an injury right out of the box. Start slow. Also consider putting in arch supports into your shoes. That will help you avoid plantar fasciitis a real common injury among officials. Just a couple of cents worth.

Just Ordered, Two Sets, Carol Wright Catalog, $19.99 Each ...
 

Amen. I wish someone had given my arches that advice midway last season.

I am in my second year and i started when I was 58. I am a life long runner, so being inshape was not an issue. The starting, stopping and constant change of direction was harder to accomplish.

I wear a pair of running shoes(New Balance 858) and that helps for the cushioning.

Get as many mid school games as possible, so you can hone your skill faster. I did about 55 games my first year and am ontrack for at least that many this year.

You don't have as much time to learn as a guy starting in their 30's + most associations are going to cater to the younger guys as they will be around for many more years.

life is a challenge, make this one of them.

I was very close to 50 when I joined the local board and started to ref high school ball, so I feel very qualified to speak.

1. 50 is not too old to start as long as you are in good physical shape or can get there with reasonable effort.

2. There are many things I love about being out on the court, but just running up and down the floor and being a part of the game when many people my age are finding it hard to just get off the couch is rewarding in itself.

3. The thing I dislike most is not being able to stop the game and educate folks who do not understand the application of the rules.

4. How long before I become proficient? Maybe never (LOL), but I do enjoy trying to make every game a little better. Some folks move up quickly because of many different reasons (some of which you can control and some that you can't). I was allowed to develop at my own speed (slowly) and was never thrust into a game over my head. I became a "rules person" as I continued to develop my floor skills, and now do a mixed bag of JV and V games.

Don't be afraid to give it a try. Officiating any sport at any level offers challenges that keep the brain and body active. My only regret is that I didn't start sooner.

It takes most folks a while to get comfortable on the floor, but once you work enough games and start to relax it gets better and better. Learning to officiate (like raising children) can be the most flustrating and most rewarding thing you do in your life.

That depends on your goals for your officiating career. If you aspire to NCAA games, then 50 is probably too old to start. If you just want to be active and work young kids and JV, then it's no problem. Depending on where you live, you might get some Varsity games eventually. (Around here, it's usually at least 3 or 4 years to get Varsity, but it varies widely in different areas.)

15 years, and I'm still working on it. :) Took me 4 or 5 before I felt I was pretty good.

Age is only a mindset
 

1. 50 too old to start?

Age is only a mindset. Be in shape, find a mentor. Be prepared to watch as many games as you work. Ask short concise questions and then ask. Not everyone will help you. You will learn quickly who will and who will not.

2. What one thing makes you love being a referee (or is official the preferred term?)

I love the game and want to give back. I grew up in a basketball crazy state, Indiana and developed a great passion for it. I do not play much anymore and love staying involved. It is all about FUN for all.

3. What one thing do you hate?

8th grade parents are the worst. I have come to believe that there is a gradient that increases until eight grade. After that time, the parents seem to get wiser and quieter. Maybe it is just because there are more people in the audience. Try to block them and thier lack of knowledge and big mouths out. Their child will not be the next Michael Jordan as they believe.

4. How long until you became proficient?

You will always learn. Proficient is a mindset. Learn the rules and their application. The biggest thing to learn and is not in any book is game management. Everyone is different and needs to be handled different. You will have to find what works for you. You will get told lots of stuff. Listen intently. Disgest what you were just told. Understand it and then try to apply what works for you. 80% of what you are told is good stuff, some of it will work. That which will not, say thanks and discard. Some of it you will not be ready for. It will come with time and games. Watch a lot of games and understand what they call but also understand what they do not call. What is not called is just as important as what you do call. Find some local camps this summer and go to them. You will lessen your learning curve greatly.

1. 50 is not too old to start and way to young to quit.
2. You should love the game to even think about getting into it. I love the challenge that every game brings.
3. I hate annoying people, whether they are coaches, fans, players, or even partners, who think they know it all.
4. It will take at least 50 games to begin to feel comfortable, and I don't know how many games it would take to ever be "proficient".

1. Like Scrappy said, it depends on your goals. If you go in willingly accepting that you're not going to be on ESPN, then you'll be fine. You also need to be in decent shape physically. Even your average 4th grade games require quite a bit of running on the official's part.

2. Official, referee, zebra, stripes, blue, whatever is fine. Official is kind of a generic term and doesn't imply a specific assignment within the crew. But we generally use official and referee pretty interchangeably.

What really drives me is the challenge. It's like a whole new sport, with its own skills to master. Can you see everything, and call only what matters? Can you perform under pressure? Can you come up with the proper rule in the very moment you need it when something unusual happens? And then can you go out next game, and do it all a little better?

3. I really despise those people who act as though the game is all about them. Be it the wreck ball warrior who berates you for not covering his shortcomings with your whistle. Or the wannabe coach whose team is getting beat and he has nothing left except to ride the official. Or little Suzie's daddy in the third row who truly believes the only reason his princess isn't getting calls from the WNBA is that incompetent refs are holding her back. Or partners that come into a game with the mentality of "I hate these games but I condescend to work them so I can get the games I want." Or worst of all, partners who come into a game with the mentality of, "This is only a [whatever kind] of game, let's not call anything, let's not bother with mechanics, let's not deal with coaches. Just get this over with so I can collect my check and go do [something else] tonight."

4. Proficiency is an elusive and ever changing goal. It took me about three seasons before I was "proficient enough" to handle most sub-varsity games with no issues. I'm in my sixth year now, and I'm still actively working on officiating some aspects of the game. I have plenty to keep me busy for a long time to come. I worked a game earlier in the year with a 40 year veteran. I'd be willing to bet lunch that he's got things he's working on too. I'd also be willing to bet that the things he's working on won't even appear on my radar for many years yet.

Then again, if it was easy enough that you could learn to do it all in a year or two, where would the challenge be? ;)

Who You Gonna Call ???
 

That's why we have the Mythbusters.

I got into after age 50. The feeling of total authority is not to be taken lightly, especially among those of us married for a few years -- we get to exercise authority we don't have, and never will have, at home.

Also, take lots of kids travel team games. Most are on weekends. It will get you out of all sorts of weekend chores. Remember, since if you're not doing it for the money, you can toss the spouse the extra cash, and this combined with the absence required to bring her/him the extra cash is a wonderful way to justify not spending Saturday morning re-grouting the tub or some equally tedious nonsense.

Perhaps we should be discussing what age is too young to start.

I've never agreed with making someone so close to the age of the players the game official. The ability to control the situation just isn't there.

But he's from Cali. This is a very slow progression for him. If he weren't 19, he'd be doing D1 by now. ;)

You should be pleased to note that I keep a copy in my pre-game notebook along with the top reasons to give and not to give a T.

Agreed.

Nevadaref your blanket statement is wrong for many very good teenage referees. In soccer I am a referee assessor. I routinely assess teenage referees working games of players within 1 to 2 years of their own age and doing an excellent job. "Ability to Control" is a function of personal ability and training, not a "group" characteristic.

I'm a well-known soccer referee on the west coast. I've done literally hundreds of HS contests, including state finals, and youth soccer games at high level tournaments, including regionals.
I have seen lots of youth referees, and I have seen lots of youth referees doing a great job of calling fouls, throw-ins, goal kicks, and corners. These kids may someday turn into excellent referees, but right now are lacking in the people skills area. They are merely robots running around on the field blowing the whistle. There is next to no management going on. That's fine for a U12 or U14 game, but when the player reach HS age, especially for HS varsity matches, that's just not enough.

I have yet to see a youth referee CONTROL the environment at a game.

Perhaps you and I are not thinking the same thing when I say control the game. So let me attempt to define it. It encompasses all of the following.

A. Command of the field: Taking charge of problem players on the field and get them to fall in line by having a word. Using their voice as a tool during the game. If a card has to be shown, that's the way it goes for some knuckleheads, but a strong referee can get the majority of the players, especially kids, to behave as needed without using the cards. Most youth referees can't do this because they don't have that parenting ability/experience. Dealing with injuries.

B. Bench decorum. Is a hollering coach being dealt with? Is the adult on the bench showing proper respect to the young referee on the field? If not, is the referee demanding that from the coach? How are the substitutes behaving? Are they remaining in the team areas or are they up wandering around where they shouldn't be? Are the coaches bickering with each other? Are the substitutions being handled properly or are they doing it however they please? Using the captains to help.

C. Spectator situations. Are the parents acting in a proper manner for a youth or scholastic game? Does the referee know where the game/site administrator is? If there isn't one around is the referee capable of handling a situation with a fan? What if a fan has to be removed? Are the spectators where they should be? Do the ARs have enough room to operate? Do the ARs have to clear people out of the way themselves or does the Referee look out for his crew?

D. Awareness of upset players/people and potential problems. Knowing game time remaining, knowing which players are fouling frequently and dealing with that, knowing which players are the captains. Knowing the score, knowing who is in the book, knowing that a card will result in a send-off before looking in the book. Ramifications of bad blood from from previous games/seasons/or years.

E. Partner disagreements and over-zealous assitants. How does the Referee handle these? Can the referee tell an adult partner that his call is incorrect or unnecessary and isn't going to be accepted? Can he tell an over-zealous one to focus on his own area?

F. Odd situations. Does the referee have enough experience to handle the strange situations that sometimes come up? Has the referee seen that before and know what to do? Is there enough wise judgment in this person to make a quality decision? Can the official think out of the box?

G. Applying the spirit and intent of the rule vs the letter of the law. Was the person even around when the rule was written/changed/clarified. Does the person understand the history of the development of the rule?

H. Big game pressure and situations. Rivalry games. Dealing with bad blood from previous years? Is the required courage there to make the tough or unpopular call?

I. When the referee walks onto the field do the players and coaches think, "Good we have XXX today" or something else less positive?

I have yet to see a referee under the age of 21 who can do all of that. Most under the age of 25 don't. I'm not saying that it isn't possible for people of those ages to do a quality job, especially when they are partnered with someone who is older. However, if the adult/veteran is handling the game control/game management and the younger official is just focusing on the basics, then he isn't really taking care of business. Someone else is doing a good deal of the work for him and that is allowing him to succeed.

I'm convinced that "ability to control" has a great deal to due with age and maturity. Very little of it can be taught. I must be learned from experience. Feel free to disagree, but I am certain that I am more than qualified to make the statement that I did.

everyone is intitled to their opinion... but im pretty sure i could sell my control of the game anywhere i officiate




and i am not a "soccer ref" i dont just run around blow my whistle lookin like a "robot", and imo soccer is a much easier sport to officiate then basketball. Disagree if you like but im only 19 :p

I'm just curious, but what exactly do you base this opinion on?

There's reasons not to? :confused:

Welcome! 50 is NOT too old!

I’m 54 and now in my eighth season. For me it may have been a mid-life crisis. Looking for something different to do. My son was playing grade school ball and so my interests in the game was re-sparked.

My games are 5 thru JV. No desire to do V games.
I like being part of the game. Like the exercise and like to be a “teacher”, not a coach.

I hate, like every ref, making a mistake. But you’re going to blow a call. Learn from it. Check the rule or case book and move on. I hate the parents screaming at the refs. At least with a screaming coach, I can take care of it with a warning or T.
Proficient? Hey I learn something every year. This forum and case book always keeps me on my toes, and I look up situations that have occurred in my games or games I watch. Seems like there is always a unique situation every year that I double check the ruling in the book.

Best wishes!

The fact that he's too young to know any better.

I remember when I was that young and knew everything.

I miss that.

I'm sure I'm going to take an unpopular stance but I'm going with Nevada on this one. I was thinking about this last night after reading the first few posts of this thread. Although I consider myself a young official (only 26), I think that with age comes a lot of great qualities that official's must possess to excel. The major thing that many younger official's fail to possess is emotional maturity to handle tense situations (especially with disgruntle coaches). It's just a fact of life that emotional maturity isn't something we are innate with from birth. On the other hand, I've met many "older" adults that still don't have this skill either.

My $0.02

-Josh

yeah, maybe you should ask for youth for christmas

You should be able to start at any age as long as you can do the job. And working a kid’s game is very different than working a varsity game. I do not see many 18 year olds working games where the players are their age in the first place. If anything they might work with players that are much older. If youth is overplayed, so is how old you are. We are not in a position to get all upset if someone wants to officiate. We need all the good people regardless of age to work games.

Peace

50 is not to old at all. You have years of life experience which you will be able to apply. Not sure what type of business you are in but I'm guessing you have people skills that you can transfer over to the officiating world.

I love the adrenaline rush before during and after every game.

I really don't like it when people don't know the rules. I think many fans, coaches, players and even some officials would really enjoy this game if only they knew the rules.



Considering young officials...my 15 yo Son already has about 250 games under his belt and it's amazing to see his growth. He does a great job calling the game but his game management still has a long way to go. We discuss many situations and then he tries to apply them. He's generally in the right place and looking where he is supposed to but still needs to improve on his mechanics. I try to tell him that if he calls a good game and has sharp mechanics then people will say "he's young but he knows what he is doing". I believe this paragraph applies to all of us except maybe not the "he's young" part.

If a game could go into OT if you call a T.

That is a good reason, n'est pas?

qft

=)

Started this year at 57. Registered as an applicant with my state board...just a few years of youth league rec ball for experience. Have learned a great deal from this forum as a supplement to the Rule Book, Case Book, and Illustrated Basketball Rule book in addition to the classes/clinics my local assoc. requires for new members. Enjoying the beginining of this two year process (providing I pass my test and floor eval. each year) of getting patched to work varsity. Had first game (BJV) lastg night...went well in part to a lot of the "dos and don'ts" I've picked up on here. Thanks for the help..and here's to all the other 50+ newbies taking to the court this season.

Seems to be a lot of this going around. :eek:

If you'd like to switch to German, the equivalent is: nicht wahr?

In Chinese, it's shi bu shi?

Why would I want Padgett to think I am part French?

Too late for you.:D