New Ref Advice

[Fathertime]

The one thing that really helped me is that my first couple of years, I would find varsity games that had officials that I really respected assigned to it. I would call one of these officials in advance and ask if I could go in their locker room to hear their pregame, then also at halftime and after the game. I would watch the game, then I could hear their discussions in the dressing room and ask questions about conversations on the court with each other or coaches. I asked why they either made or passed on certain calls during the game.

Calling a game is the easy part. Game management is what really separates the good from the great officials, and this spending time in the locker room really helped me improve my game management. Remember to ask permission first though. Every official was in your boat at one time, and the good ones will try to help you when they see the extra effort you are making.