Trial by Fire, FT, TO, Blarge
 

I will never criticize a fellow referee again.

First HS F/JV Boys games. Class A schools. Freshman game went fine.

JV game....let's see...
1. Blarge, partner came in and had block. I then went to report it, could not remember who to call it on.
2. OOB play that my P helped me on, where W came from OOB and had not established himself inbounds before touching ball.
3. Both Teams in bonus in first half, both in 2nd half, one being double bonus.
4. Took a ball off the ear while administering FT and joked to the kid who innocently threw it.."You must be the point guard," (trying to make light of MY goof.) He thought I was talking trash to him. (Forgot the "Can't quote silence.")
5. My mechanics on OOB made me look like a traffic cop or a crazed windmill...take your pick. :(
6. Blue, down by 8 with 14 seconds left calls time out, but the official book and clock say they don't have any. The visitor's book has only 4. I call the T and we administer the free throws.
7. Game took about an hour and 25 mins to play.

You should have seen the look on the V refs when we went back to our dressing room afterwards.:o

I still feel sick. I really thought I'd be ready.

Well, next time will be better! :)

It happens. Main point here is to slow down. Hold your preliminary signal on double whistles until you can come together. Take your time and gather your thoughts before you report to the table. Slow Down.

You can't blame yourself for bad basketball. You have to call what you see. Don't fall into the trap that you need to hurry your game just to please some big time Varsity Official who has a date at a bar at 9:30. The assignor has arranged for you to be there and you are being paid for your service. You don't owe anyone an apology for doing your best.

Don't worry about that. You have to let your personality come into play a little. If you try to stifle it, you will end up working too hard on controlling you and that just leads to burnout.

Even if both books have 5, if the team asks for a time out, you need to grant it an then assess the T's.

See my note on point 3.

JV basketball will never be confused with Duke/UNC. Its hard to look pretty when the basketball is ugly. Put it behind you an look forward to your next assignment. You can't get better sitting in the stands. Get on the court and keep working on your game.

How was your effort? Did you hustle on every play? Did you give the kids the best that you had that night?

Of course, you did. Don't worry, you'll get more comfortable as you do more games.

You are disappointed because you care, which is a good thing.

My advice- don't let it get to you.

Take your time. Don't anticipate the foul, but anticipate the play. Once you see a foul, call a foul. Once you blow your whistle- replay it in your head for a fraction of a second telling yourself who, what, where, when, and how... many times officials never figure out the " why" a foul occurred. Tell yourself the # of the offender, the nature of the foul, and the results ( OOB, FT, bonus etc) on your way to the table.

Who cares if you're in bonus. Bonus often means bad coaching, not bad officiating.


Learn from your mistakes- refuse to make the same mistake twice!

Most of all- get out there and have fun. I doubt the guys doing the NCAA final 4 were perfect their first games... or season... or seasons. Do as many games as you can. Watch your partners. Watch other games. Call your assignor and ask who their top guys are and when they are working and go watch them work. It's a valuable tool.

Also, goto camps!

At least you realized that you made some mistakes. That's better than a lot of new officials I have come across lately.

As far as the Varsity official, fugg him unless he had something constuctive to pass on to you.

You've just done what I think is the single most important thing you can do. You took some time after the game to sit down with (electronic) pen and paper and evaluate your performance. This will do more to hasten your improvement and to set you up for success in the areas you've just identified in your next game than any other thing I've found.

Bring on the next game! :)

The next time someone complains about this forum, I am sending them this entire thread.

You guys don't know me from Adam's left Ox, I can't possibly do anything to benefit you, but you offer terrific advice and encouragement.

I actually had tears in my eyes. Thanks!

dsqrddgd909 - another piece of advice.....never forget your beginnings.

As you gain experience, develop, and become a more senior ref, always remember how you started - the good and bad games. Then, when you see that younger, inexperienced official struggling or having a bad game, give them the same little push and encouragement you're getting.

We've all been there!

Continued good luck!

No wonder you had a blarge -- you couldn't see the play. ;)

As these guys have already said, move on and get back on the horse. I had a bad boys JV/V night last night. My partner and I really didn't do all that bad, but the play was pretty rough and the players not all that talented. When the games are that bad, it makes you think you didn't do a good job though. My next game isn't until Friday and I'm ready to get back on the court so I can forget about last night.

I had a girl's varsity game Monday night that set the game of basketball back 25 years. One team was baaaaaaaad, and tey won by 20 so you can imagine how bad the other one was. (Actually, you might not) Like I said before, its hard to look pretty when the game is ugly. I can't wait to get back on the court tonight.

This is great advice. I'm in the middle of my progression from sub-varsity to varsity and often get partnered with first year officials on sub-varsity. I make a point of telling them we all have been there and done that.

You Mean Like This ...
 

One Word: Hot ...
 

Hey. You don't know what she looks like.

Doesn't really matter what she looks like, after a few she'll look like a super model. What is that old country song, "I went to bed at 2 with a 10 and woke up at 10 with a 2"?

Hey! The one at 8:00pm was my junior prom date! What can I say? I went to an all male jesuit high school

C'mere, give me hug big guy!

As previously posted, you took notice of mistakes filed them away. Nice.

I'm guessing your 52?

Just turned 53 last week. ;)

Went out on a limb and guessed St Iggies in Cleveland class of 75.

Good guess. Where are you from Fullor?

Chicago area

How do you know about Cleveland St Ignatius?

Isn't that Desmond Howard's high school?

who are you and what have you done with Nevada?:D

God NO!!!!! That traitor went to Clevelan St Joseph High School. A clearly substandard Catholic high school on the east side of Cleveland. IT was also responsible for foisting the Golics (Big Mike from Mike & MIke) and Bob from that stupid High school show saved by the bell.

I believe it was a college show when Mr. Golic was on it.

Even if I knew that, I'm not sure I would admit it. :D

10pm is still pretty hot, or I am already drunk:confused:

The whole picture process looks like a billboard for the combined effects of meth and alcohol.

Depending on which direction you view the series. If both were in play (meth-head girl, drunk guy)...the next morning could be quite a shock! :eek:

Hey, It Was 5:00 p.m. Somewhere ...
 

Agree. and I haven't had a drink since 11:00 a.m.

So glad I found this thread today. I've got a game tonight for a team that I haven't worked in 3-4 years. That game went about as badly as the OP. Anything that could rattle me, did, and it showed. I think back to that game often and remember my mistakes and what lead me there. I was in over my head with a false sense of security. I expect tonight's game to be much different in how I handle myself, my calls, and my relationships with the coaches.

Everybody has got to have a first game, and it is generally a huge wake-up to those who have been critical of officials as mere spectators. The trick is getting to the second game with a clearer picture and some confidence.

Sounds like you have made some good steps--obviously watched some tape of your performance; verbalized your mistakes; recognized shortcomings. I hope you haven't ignored the probable hundreds of things you did right.

It's a constant learning journey. Part of my pre-game whenever I do a JV game (many times my association assigns a varsity official to a JV game to help the newbies out) is for each of us (myself included) identify what we need to work on or are trying to learn that particular outing. I've found that if you try to learn/fix it all in any particular game you accomplish little, but if you address things one or two at a time you learn a surprising amount.

Good advice given earlier in this thread: slow down. Work on ridiculously crisp mechanics (slowing down will help you with this). You do not want partners, players, coaches, or even fans guessing at what you're communicating.

Enjoy the journey.