How Do You Slow It All Down?

In addition to the jewels you have already received, try to work a higher level of ball in the off-season. Working summer Pro-AM & NCAA leagues has really help the HS games slow down for me. When you work bigger, faster & more skilled players, everything under that seems slow.

[beachbum]

Watching your POA is big, but when i leared to watch the defence in my POA, i began to see lot's of things i was missing.

I got a tip from Eric Lewis (NBA) at the Caldwell camp this summer, that I use continually.

"call out in your mind the color of the defence, and whichever end of the floor you are on, and that will make you watch the defence." I started going...red...red...red..or which ever color the defense is. After a while it becomes ingrained to just come down the floor looking for defensive players.

I find it more difficult in the lead to slow down the action as lot's is happening. In the trail, I do mainly 2 man, I continue to move to get good angles. You might find me down by the freethrow line extended or almost to mid court when out past the 28 foot line. This seems to slow down the action out there.

[Kelvin green]

My advice..

Officiate the game, dont watch it....

I can hardly watch a game anymore.. I watch off ball, look at picks etc. Once you think about the mindset it will help.

-Referee the defense

You need to pay attention if a team plays zone, zone matchup or man-to man. Once you figure it out, you have a better idea of what the teams will do.

This helps you get in better position and watching the matchps or plays that make it seem slower.

-Focus on your primary

Know who the matchups are and when it is coming in... The off ball play tells you wheer the ball is going....

-Relax--- the more nervous you are, the more jittery you are, the more it feels fast..

-Watch a lot of games on TV, break them down, Although TV angles are terrible a lot of times. See if what you would call compared to what the ones on the floor did, analyze why T/L/C called the play, look at where they spin, curl etc....Curls to youyour call, curls away maynot be your call...

-Referee the game, dont watch it... (get the point?)

[CMHCoachNRef]

Originally Posted by KJUmp

First post. 1st year (older) official. My question to the veterans is this..what do you do (maybe it just comes w/ more experience) to "slow the game down". I don't mean the actual game going slower..but just how do you learn to see all the action at a slower pace in your mind and eye? I sometimes feel as if I'm getting "overun" by the action and not seeing all the things I should be seeing...to the point of losing track of what team is going in what direction. I know this probably sounds like total incompetence. I'm sure a lot has to do with being a rookie... but sometimes it just seems like a blur. I feel like I'm doing an OK job...but I'm certainly not kidding myself as to how much I'm either missing or just plain not aware of. I am in a state association as an applicant, so I am geting classroom and some floor training etc. But at my level we have to get our own games, and to date have yet to work with a partner who is board certified veteran who can give me some constructive feedback. Advice? Tips?
PS I've learned a great deal already from reading pertinent (to my experience and level) posts on this Forum...so my thanks to all of you.
Thanks.

A number of folks have given some very good feedback, here. I will give my own $.02 some of it identical to others, some a little different view.

I think that the MOST IMPORTANT aspect of getting the game to slow down for you is to get COMFORTABLE with ALL OF YOUR MECHANICS. Get comfortable with your positioning, your rotations (if you are doing 3-man), your violation reporting, foul reporting, switches after foul calls, etc. The BEST way to do this, in my opinion, is to get tapes of a few games you work -- get a girlfriend, spouse, friend, etc. to go and tape the game for you. Have them keep the camera going during the entire game. Have them get the widest angle that they can. On each call, quickly envision (and even mimick the call in front of the TV) how you would make the call and where you should go as the calling official and as the off official. Do this for a few games. I think that this can compress the learning curve.

Once you are comfortable with your mechanics, they become second nature.

As has been pointed out, KNOW THE RULES. Knowing the rules -- virtually no official knows ALL of the rule and ALL of the interpretations -- will help immensely, as well. If you are comfortable with your mechanics and you are comfortable with your knowledge of the rules, you can focus on the game. If you can focus solely on the game, you can begin to pick-up the offenses teams are running and where to concentrate your efforts looking for illegal activities.

I have spoken to officials who claim that this process took them 7 or 8 YEARS. For me, the process was much more compressed. Partly because I was so accustomed to watching game tape that watching a game that I officiated was a "typical" activity. The other part was that since I had coached for so long, I was able to quickly identify a team's offenses and defenses -- this allowed me to better anticipate where the action was gong to occur in my primary area.

Finally, don't put pressure on yourself to be perfect. When you do, you tend to fret over a call you did or did not make. Meanwhile, the game is still moving. If you can't forget about a call you made or didn't make, the process is more likely to repeat itself. Make the call or don't make the call and move on.

Good luck!!!