New Ref Advice
 

I am a new member to your board so if this issue has been addressed, then I apologize in advance. I did read over the thread about mentoring new refs (noobies) and it was helpful. The question I pose here is this: What advice can you give me as I start out this season? I have NO experience, never played the game, and only coached it a couple of times at the YMCA. (Yes, I hear the groans from here). Having said that, I do love the game and have been "working" at the local Y as a ref. I have been studying the rules book, attended all the county training & meetings, and have watched games (middle school mainly as the season isn't underway yet), but short of actually getting out on the court, which will come in time, what can I do to help myself and the refs who dare to call games with me? ;)

Thanks for any help you can give me....

Fellow newbie here. Sees like you have the right attitude and a willingness to learn.

What I've learned this first year:
1. Practice your signals in front of a mirror or while being videotaped.
2. Get a Fox 40 whistle and practice blowing it.
3. Get your hand up EVERY time you blow the whistle (Surprisingly hard to remember).
4. Get good shoes -
5. Read the rule book especially Rule 4 definitions. Get the case book and Illustrated Rules as well.
6. Pick one or two things to work on every game.
7. Keep a game log on what went well/poorly, things to work on.
8. Slow Down

Welcome! You'll Get a Lot of Help Here!
 

A few more:

- WYP - Watch Your Primary area
- TYP - Trust Your Partners to watch their areas
- Hustle
- Be consistent
- Be firm
- Know the rules
- Look sharp (uniform and physically - it helps)
- Communicate constantly (know where your partner(s) is/are)
- Develop your pre-game ritual, and ALWAYS do a pre-game with your partner(s)
- Be ready for everything and anything.

Most importantly, HAVE FUN!

I think dsqrddgd909 covered it pretty well. That’s a good solid list to start off with. The only thing that I would add would be to watch and ref as much basketball as possible. Study the game.

Good luck and have fun!

I'll add to this.

When you go to a game, watch the officials. Most of us watch the ball. In particular, watch the off ball official to see what he/she is doing and where he/she is looking.

One other thing I did a lot of when I was new was to watch the game as if I was the trail official. It is a different view when you are watching a game without watching the ball.

Other than that, enjoy it and good luck.

Easiest way to deal with coaches: Eat sardines before the game and don't bother to brush. :D

By the way,

Welcome! I have found the games can really be a lot of fun. This forum is invaluable to me as a newbie. Great search function here as well.

garn05, welcome to the world of officiating.

Since your OP said that games "will come in time", I assume you do not currently have any games scheduled. Some things to do to prepare without being on a court are:

As stated earlier, practice your mechanics in front of a mirror. Even practive reporting fouls, speaking out loud and reporting in the proper sequence. The report needs to be clear not quick.

Practice putting air in your whistle. A timid whistle looks bad. Know how much "blow" it takes to get a good sharp whistle. Then in a game you will be prepared to use it when needed.

Play a sequence out in your head while you go through the motions. As an example; call a foul as the lead, report it, make any switch that may be required, resume game. It would be great if you had a court to practice on.

Most of all, relax and have fun. You obviously are looking forward to reffing and making an effort to be good at it. That effort puts you well on your way to being a good ref.

Good Luck!

Since you're not getting game assignments yet, I suggest you attend as many games as possible at the level you will be working. Take notes. Find a friendly guy or gal who is working those games and ask him or her your questions.

Also remember - the rules you will be using are not what you see on television when you watch the NBA.

You will learn a lot by watching games, and especially by watching other officials work. Whether what you learn is good and useful depends a lot upon which officials you choose to work. Find out who the good ones in your area are, and go watch them. At whatever level they work. And if you can, ask them not just what/where/how/when questions, but why questions too.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Last year was my first year and one of the most helpful things I found was just coming here and reading through the posts. Reading the different situations people wrote about and how different the interpretations can be really helped me.

I also used, I think someone may have mentioned it, the Simplified and Illustrated Rule Book too. It broke things down a bit for me and helped out.

I once was a newbie, and gained valuable experience from mentors and other officials who have helped me along the way. Now, in my sixth year of officiating I got picked up by a college assignor and I can feel those butterflies coming again for some games, but enough about me.

A few points of advice I can give you is work your best everytime out on the floor. Always be open to advice that people will give you, sometimes it is good advice sometimes you can just disregard it. Another thing is that if you area does a Varsity/JV double header where the JV plays first and you are working that game hang around for the Varsity game for a little and watch what they do and see how they handle situations. Also, if you are still there at halftime go in and listen to what they have to say, some officials will allow it and I have seen some where they have not.

Finally, just go out and have fun and work games when asked to. We all have commitments that come up, but honest when they do. In the long run, once you get working a few games and start talking to fellow officials you might wind up with a mentor, or in some cases five mentors, don't ask me how that happen to me it just dd.

Overall, enjoy yourself and welcome to the forum. Everyone here is great about rules and plays that arise in the game. Also, there is a little humor that comes with it so that is what makes this a great place to learn. I read some of these threads a few times a day to stay focus or just to have some fun.

Once again welcome you should do well!

JB

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.

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the humor as well as sharing your insight as to what works. Just reading the posts made me realize that I am not so foolish to want to do this thing right while trying to have some fun in the process. I will check in to let you all know how i am doing without trying to bore you with my rookies stories. In the meantime, I'll continue to read your posts so I can learn as well as pick up the book mentioned in one post. Thanks again....

Sardines; that was a good one! :D

As a fellow newbie last year too...what MikeK said goes double for me. I learned a great deal reading the posts here (always with my Rule Book, Case Book,&Simplified Rules Book at my side) and on occassion posting a question regarding either a game sitch. or a mechanics question....and finding the replies invaluable in helping me develop as a first year official.
Good luck in your first season, and welcome to the forum.