Partner Help

[TNZebra44]

I am new to this board but not a new official. This is actually the first time this has happened to me.

I had a middle school boys and girls game Monday evening. This was a 2 person game. My partner was a newer official, was a super guy and asked for suggestions after each quarter.

What is the problem? He kicked and missed obvious calls. Some of the calls were no where near my primary but I could see they were missed. Others were much closer to my primary and I did see all of the action. I only corrected one of his calls that was in my primary, we talked about calling in your own primary. Most of his "misses" seemed to be incorrect mechanics. He was calling what seemed to be violations and fouls but used incorrect mechanics and signals. He was nervous and had indecision and hesitation in his mechanics. The coaches started chirping at him on every call. They could smell the blood in the water especially after we talked and changed one of his calls. I felt bad for him because he was trying his best and wanted to do a good job. The coaches then started in on me to watch the entire floor.

When you see a partner make a mistake do you correct it with them each time? Do you let certain things go? Some of his calls changed the momentum of the game.

[deecee]

best thing to do is first time you can get together just tell him that you have noticed some calls are very questionable to just wrong and that he should blow the whistle unless he is 100% sure. And dont make it obvious what the coversation is about. At half time just go over some of the things you have seen and why they were wrong and offer to cover more of the court and for him to really work on a patient whistle until he improves his judgement.

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by TNZebra44

What is the problem? He kicked and missed obvious calls. Some of the calls were no where near my primary but I could see they were missed. Others were much closer to my primary and I did see all of the action. I only corrected one of his calls that was in my primary, we talked about calling in your own primary. Most of his "misses" seemed to be incorrect mechanics.

First, welcome to the forum.

Now, help me out because different things require different answers.

Is he making the wrong call or is he making the right call but using the wrong signal?

[mick]

Originally Posted by TNZebra44

... My partner was a newer official, was a super guy and asked for suggestions after each quarter.

What is the problem? He kicked and missed obvious calls. ....

When you see a partner make a mistake do you correct it with them each time? Do you let certain things go? Some of his calls changed the momentum of the game.

Your job is easy since he requests help. Assist him during dead balls like you were doing.

I let most [99.99%] of my partner's calls go during a game, until/unless he requests assistance.

When a newer partner [of mine] is struggling, I will suggest getting together, at a local restauant or watering hole, to talk over things I noticed and questions that he may have, right after the game or during amother convenient time.

[TNZebra44]

Mainly he was missing and kicking calls. When he did make a call he would occasionally give the incorrect signal. Once or twice he would give two signals, i.e. a double dribble. He would give the travel signal then double dribble. He was trying so hard. I advised him to "swallow his whistle" and not get so "excited" when he saw a violation or foul. It was just very difficult for me to see those kicked calls and improper signals during the game. Coaches and players pick up on these things quickly. I felt if I started calling out of my primary then all hell would break loose with the coaches and players. I wanted the game to be called accurate and fairly, I just was unsure how to handle correctly and still keep control of the game.

[BktBallRef]

It's not uncommon for newbies to make such mistakes.

On the court, there's only so much you can do. You seemed to have done a few of those things. Most folks aren't going to know what your primary is so if you have to go get an obvious one, do it.

Off the court:
Urge him to practice his mechanics in front of a mirror.
Urge him to study the rules more, offering any aids you might have.
Offer to mentor him if you feel led to and you think he's got what it takes.

But realize that not everyone is cut out to do this.

[derwil]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

But realize that not everyone is cut out to do this.

Maybe Soccer?

[ODJ]

At least he's trying and open to advice. I'd rather have wrong signals and the right call, than nothing.

Tell the coaches to shut up. Like their kids are so polished at that age.

[DonInKansas]

Him asking for help is a good start. Lots of us had the same nerves during our first few games. I know I did. Asking for help shows he cares and wants to do well, and I applaud the guy for that.

I'm not so sure about telling him to "swallow the whistle" though. I didn't blow the whistle enough my first year. I'm still not blowing it enough in this my second year. Maybe he's seeing the play correctly but not blowing the whistle. This is something I still struggle with; recognizing fouls/violations and blowing them dead right there instead of hesitating, saying a bad word to myself and not blowing it because I feel I let it go too long.

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by TNZebra44

My partner was a newer official, was a super guy and asked for suggestions after each quarter.

Look, we were all new officials once (ok, some Forum Members may not be able to remember back that far).

Bottom line - treat others how you would want to be treated in the same situation. He seemed open to correction and suggestions, so give them to him in a constructive, helpful manner. Talk to him at timeouts, halftime, after the game, etc. Give him some things to work on. Yes, everyone's not cut out to do this. But, if he has the desire, studies, watches, learns, practices and has more senior, experienced officials help him along - he can only get better.

[mbyron]

For a jumpy new official, remember that on the floor distraction is part of the problem. If an experienced partner is coming to him with 9 things to work on during every dead ball, that's only going to make things worse.

BBR's suggestions are good for homework. On the floor, try to identify 2 or 3 things for him to work on right now, this game, and don't mention the rest. If every partner he has for the season does that, he'll be a lot better after just one season.

With a jumpy rookie, you will have to watch the entire floor. But slow your whistle way down: give him an extra second or two to catch what's in his area. For the sake of the game, though, if he doesn't get it, then you should. Make sure that he knows you're trying to help him by doing this. Doing so will also help keep the coaches off his back (they don't care who makes the call, as long as someone does).

When he gets a borderline or better call right, make sure he knows it. Positive reinforcement is great for confidence building. Make a big deal of his correct calls, and ignore incorrect ones on the floor unless they're too bad to let stand (in which case, give him what you've got and ask him if he'd like to change the call -- but let him do that).

Remember that experienced officials make mistakes too. Treat him with respect, and make sure that the coaches do as well. He might not be cut out for officiating, but you can't know that in advance.

[CMHCoachNRef]

Originally Posted by mbyron

For a jumpy new official, remember that on the floor distraction is part of the problem. If an experienced partner is coming to him with 9 things to work on during every dead ball, that's only going to make things worse.

BBR's suggestions are good for homework. On the floor, try to identify 2 or 3 things for him to work on right now, this game, and don't mention the rest. If every partner he has for the season does that, he'll be a lot better after just one season.

With a jumpy rookie, you will have to watch the entire floor. But slow your whistle way down: give him an extra second or two to catch what's in his area. For the sake of the game, though, if he doesn't get it, then you should. Make sure that he knows you're trying to help him by doing this. Doing so will also help keep the coaches off his back (they don't care who makes the call, as long as someone does).

When he gets a borderline or better call right, make sure he knows it. Positive reinforcement is great for confidence building. Make a big deal of his correct calls, and ignore incorrect ones on the floor unless they're too bad to let stand (in which case, give him what you've got and ask him if he'd like to change the call -- but let him do that).

Remember that experienced officials make mistakes too. Treat him with respect, and make sure that the coaches do as well. He might not be cut out for officiating, but you can't know that in advance.

I agree wholeheartedly with the concept of information overload, in these situations. I have "shadowed" new officials who are on the court for the first time for the past 12 - 14 years or so.

The biggest problem the newbies face is TOO MUCH to think about during the game. Mechanics (everything from how to get the ball in play on a throw-in to counts to starting the clock to stopping the clock for a foul to stopping the clock for a violation to stopping the clock for a held ball to calling fouls and calling violations, etc.), the rules (oh, yeah, those things -- and they THOUGHT they knew them until they take the class), positioning and communicating with your partner are all things that need to be learned. And, oh, by the way, the newbie is accustomed to being a spectator NOT PART OF THE PLAY and therefore they are WATCHING the game forgetting that they have a specific role IN THE GAME.

Since 95% of the coaches and spectators do not know most of the mechanics, primary areas, etc., I have encouraged the newbies to watch for violations and fouls and NOT worry about the mechanics of calling them, initially. Just to slow them down, I have them make eye contact with their partners on each throw-in following a foul/violation, but this is the only mechanic that they focus on, initially. Not worrying about stopping the clock with an open hand in the air or an open fist in the air (the timer is stopping on the sound of the whistle anyway) allows the newbies to focus SOLELY on getting the calls right. This is most important to the coaches, players and spectators, anyway.

Once they get somewhat proficient at recognizing fouls/violations, we work on the proper mechanics of each of these items.

This method has evolved over the years. Orginally, we tried to corrrect everything as we saw it ("make eye contact with your partner", "point to the spot", "hand the ball with your inside hand", "get your hand up", "get the count going", "chop for time", "get a count started", etc., etc.). I found that by the end of the session (usually about one quarter's worth of time), the newbie had been running up and down the floor, but had called NO FOULS and NO VIOLATIONS.

As MByron suggests, give the newbie one to three things to work on -- if missing obvious fouls/violations is happening, start there.

In the meantime, you have to call the obvious outside of your area if you see it. You still have your primary, but in a girls middle school game, you can usually easily "cheat" a look into your partners area to call the obvious.

Originally Posted by mbyron

When he gets a borderline or better call right, make sure he knows it. Positive reinforcement is great for confidence building.

I had some veteran officials who did that when I was a newbie. They would actually come up to me during a break in the action (timeout or quarter break) and say, hey, that *insert play*, great call. Those comments restored my confidence so fast that I forgot about my doubts on those calls.