I Was Terrible...

[dsturdy5]

Originally Posted by bc7

Last night I worked the championship game for a local AAU tournament. The game I had was for 5th graders, and it was my first game in about 4 weeks after being on the road for work. I sucked. No two ways about, I just wasn't that good. My mind was else ware, and I just don't feel that I did a very good job.

My partner didn't think it was bad, nor did any of the league officials and evaluators that were there, but I was quite disappointed in my performance last night.

Have other people felt the same way after games? I know that sometimes we all have had bad games, but I honestly felt like I didn't earn my paycheck last night.

I had a game with a partner whom I am very comfortable (we've known each other since we were little kids, played on the same teams growing up, etc) and we both walked off the floor shaking our heads at the game we called. As we were leaving, the two coaches and the AD were waiting outside our room to thank us for the job we did. Amazing...

On the other hand I had a game where I felt it went pretty well (was yelled at equally from both sides ) but I had one PC foul where, upon further review, the defender may have flopped. Well, after the game, my partner chose that one call to sum up my entire evening. Someone who had never seen me work, had no idea who I was, nor my level of experience (which was more than his) decided that one call where I messed up was an indictment on me as an official.

Be your own worst critic, and when it makes you look good, take other people's praise and wear it like a hat until your next game.

[Texas Aggie]

I agree with Rut: my guess is that you can do that game very well in your sleep. But that doesn't mean that you feel good about your performance, and yes, I know exactly how you feel. I had a football game late in the season last year that, for whatever reason -- nerves, new location, something -- I just couldn't get myself into the game for the first quarter or so. I left my down indicator in the locker room and realized it during the first play, which probably psyched me out.

The key thing is to clear your mind as best as you can. Your game was probably fine, but you didn't think it was simply because you had things running through your mind. You were distracted for a large period of time, and that's what you remember. When you walk into a school or gym, simply put everything other than basketball and officiating out of your mind. You aren't going anywhere or doing anything else until you are done, so forget about it.

I've come to find that almost everyone has one of these once in a blue moon, even some of the long time vets doing higher level ball. I had a game one night (subvarsity at that) where I felt I did the crappiest job, and my partner that night was a guy who'd worked some state tournament and small college ball, and when I confessed to him after that it was the worse game I had done all year, he looked at me and said "You need a psych eval...that was a great job!" He proceeded to tell me not to let it get me down, to "debrief" afterwards with partners to see if it's just me or if it was obvious to them as well. He said not to sweat it because everyone will have a game like that, even he did at the state tournament once, but the state association folks thought it was one of the better called games in the whole tournament. So, don't sweat it folks, we're in it together.