I remember my first game 30 years ago. My partner was also the assignor and association president. He had been around likely 30 years already and decided he was going to show me a thing or two about hustle. YA RIGHT! He told me that because he was the senior official he stands at mid-court and I was to run with the play baseline to baseline. I did it for the entire game, and then found out after in the locker room that it was all an initiation and there were 4 other "senior" officials there watching taking bets on how long I lasted. We ended the night by them taking me out for some wobbly pops. That was my first impression of on court officiating.

Maybe not to this extreme....but you'll do something you will always remember.

Me? First game, everytime the coach wanted a timeout I would make the "T" signal. My partner asked me twice why I issued a technical foul to the coach. Me - duh! Lesson learned!

I had a good partner the first time out and hope you do too. Thank goodness it was a B10U game at 0900 and everyone, including one of the Refs (me), was apparently sleepwalking. :p

Now THAT is classic! Hmmm, come to think of it, maybe I'll use it! ;)

Pregame, pregame, pregame.

I am in my first year right now, with things going well so far. But, I did this the first time a coach requested a time out too. I made the "T" signal and instantly knew what I did.

Same for me. Coach asks for TO, I signal "T" , she yells "What did I do?", and I reply "you wanted a TO" (thinking to myself- whats her problem?- dumb coach)...the irony.....

I suppose one of the great things about getting older is that I can't remember all the embarrassing things that happened when I was a newbie.

It seemed like I had some of my most embarrassing moments after I thought I had gotten good, including:
* As I stepped in to toss the ball as we began a boy's regional tournament game, one of the players said, "Are we going to play with a girl's ball?" oops.
* I remember getting ready to put my whistle in my mouth to start a game and... no whistle. Another quick trip to the dressing room.
* During a boring girl's V game once, the horn blew and I made my way to the dressing room, which was just off the end of the court. My partners didn't come in, so I looked out to see where they were. They were out on the floor ready to start the fourth quarter!
* Girls JV game. I called an foul on a shot and looked up to see if the ball went in the hole. When I looked back down, there were four girls standing there who all looked alike. I didn't have a clue who fouled. Neither did my partner. So I walked in the lane and said, "Who fouled?" One of the girls raised her hand, and that was good enough for me.
* After a walking call, a coach yelled, "Dang it, (my name), you've gotta do better than that!" WHACK! Then I realized his player has the same first name as me.

I guess in some ways, I'll always be a newbie.

Let me say this:
I enjoy working with young guys who want to learn. We laugh about mistakes, and work to get better.
I was lucky to have some understanding partners when I began, and I try to help young officials who will hopefully be around long after I'm gone.