first year
 

Hi there! My name is Carrie and I just received my officials license for basketball. I was wondering who does all the scheduling for middle school athletics. I have a letter plus business card I'd like to mail out but don't know who to send it too. Thanks for your time and hope to learn alot while I begin a "career" in officiating. :)

Ms. Carrie. :)

Does it look anything like a driver's license?

No seriously it depends on your area. Some areas have chapter, or board, assigners. Others like eastern PA where I live have multiple assignors. You can contact the AD's of middle schools, ask other referees, or even go to your meetings and ask there. Good luck.

I can help you. Just send me your full name, address, debit card number and PIN. :cool:

Seriously, Carrie. Welcome to the board. You'll have a lot of fun here and learn a lot, too. :)

I thought you were being serious about wanting her debit card number and PIN!:eek:

Ms. Carrie - welcome to the site. Don't let these strange people scare you away... :eek:

Now that you have your license, the next thing you might want to do is find a local official's association. Contact your state association office for information on local associations. Then contact one of the local associations for meetings, gatherings, clinics, etc. They are usually the best source for how to get started, and who to contact for games, whether it's an assignor or if you need to contact the school AD directly.

Each area is different, even withing the same state, so it's hard to give you specific advice without knowing exactly where you are located. But it never hurts to start asking questions, and the best place to start is your state office where you registered for your license.

Good luck, and keep checking back here for advice. Lord knows there's plenty of people here willing to give it... :rolleyes: :D

Ms. Carrie:

Welcome! There is a wealth of knowledge here and you will definitely learn a lot. Just keep asking questions. Depending on your state, assignment processes and schedules vary greatly. Find your local chapter/board/organization and join. You can also contact the state athletic association (contact names through the NFHS website) to see who you should contact. Good luck!

What State Are You From ???
 

666 posts and you're STILL taking Mark seriously?

Your friends still send you snipe hunting, don't they.:D

I went snipe hunting last week with Jimmy Hoffa and Elvis. We also visited the Disney set where they filmed the moon landing.

You should have gone with Dick Cheney.

I said I went to the Disney set, not the grassy knoll.

and I still can't figure out why I never see any snipes, Mark assures me they are out there!:rolleyes:

He might have gotten shot. Oh, wait...

Yeah - Cheney shot me when I told him I wanted a government health plan. He said, "Yeah - see if the government can help you now, you hippie liberal." :D

Ms Carrie, some words of encouragement
 

from an ex Jr High Coach... :eek:

First and foremost, don't ever take any crap off of those coaches, just don't do it. Set the tone early. Sure, you've got a lot to learn, and you'll make mistakes along the way, but don't make the mistake of letting them think they can disrespect you when you're just trying to do the best you can. Becasue if you do make that mistake, it will get worse, I've seen it.

If you feel like you should probably "whack" (call a technical) some fool, don't second guess yourself, just do it. You can always make adjustments later with more experience if you want to. Give yourself permission to do that going in. Remember, you have the ability to guarantee coaches respect you, or they don't get to coach any more. If you don't, and you allow an *** to continue being an ***, well you're going to end up with manure every time.

These guys in here can be pretty hard on coaches as a group, and with the crap they receive, most of us deserve it. It's hard to not become jaded against all of us because of a few of us. Jr High coaches, as a group are like Jr High kids, they're the worst. At least with a youth coach below Jr High, they might not be taking their self too serious, might not be coaching to win, and might not think they know the rules of the game. And if a High School coach started off being overly mouthy, well he has probably learned to tone it down some, or else he will find his self out in the parking lot sitting in the team bus during the game, and you can't build a career on that.

The fact is Jr High coaches don't know the rules very well, only well enough to get our selves in trouble; and most High School coaches know only a little bit more, and then only because they've paid attention to referees when they talk (like in here). Worse, Jr High coaches have no clue of the "unwritten rules," of decorum between referees and coaches. That only comes with experience.

Jr High coaches should be concerned with teaching kids how to play the game first, and winning somewhere on down the line. Some personalities are just too competetive for their own good, and even though they may move their mouth as if they don't believe that winning is the priority, their demeanor on the court, the way they speak to you, and sometimes even to their own players will give them away. These kinds of coaches should not be coaching kids in my opinion. They often appear to be very dedicated and motivated, because they are driven. School administrators and some parents will constantly make excuses for these types, claiming that their passion is miss understood. BS! The best thing you or other referee's can do for this type is not put up with him, whack him, and whack him again. Then whack him the very next chance you get. Make it so that school administrators can't ignore this type. We don't need kids being influenced by this pathetic idea of a model of leadership.

Ok, nuff said, finished with my unsolicited advice. Good luck, I think the fact you're in here looking to learn speaks well for you. I can tell you this much for sure, I had no idea how much I didn't know about the rules of the game until I came here and started reading the threads.

And as a former coach, I can tell you this much for sure, I had no idea how much I didn't know about the rules of the game....until I read them!

As a former player & avid fan of the game, I had no idea how much I didn't know about the rules of the game....until I read them!

My feelings were hurt after taking the first practice test.

As a referee of the game, I had no idea how much coaches, fans, and players didn't know about the rules of the game....until I met one, and another one, and another one....! :D

I totally agree. Its really bad that those that teach the game don't know the rules let alone understand them.

I'd be ok with it as long as they acknowledged it.

I agree with you but how often does this happen in your experience? In mine it is very unusual.

I see we have missed giving her Rule #1 for new officials, but now I wonder:

Do female officials also have to tuck in their whistles when they go to the bathroom?

Hey Harley- I'll give you the same advice I got the other day. Take the 1st 2 years to learn. This was my 1st year umpiring baseball and it was fun without a doubt. I havent received my Basketball material as of yet because my 1st game is because Monday is my 1st game. It's a good way to make a few extra bucks so do enjoy ok