First game... trial by fire

[jTheUmp]

So I officiated my first basketball game ever last night. It was a 9A/9B girls doubleheader.

Gametime rolls around, and my partner is nowhere to be found. Fighting off the internal panic, I decide to just roll with it, do the best I can, and make it a point to forget about any mechanics as far as lead/trail positioning.

Made a few mistakes... called a foul on a shot, reported it, positioned the teams for the free throw, announced that there would be two shots, and immediately heard the coach scream "The shot went in!". Oops.

Missed a few traveling calls, probably let the players get away with way too much physical play in the post, and got caught in the middle of the floor on 3 or 4 occasions. I think I even messed up a few alternating possessions (the scoreboard operators weren't exactly the best and brightest).

My partner showed up with about 6 minutes left to go in the first game. Turns out he had mistakenly gone to the visiting team's school. Upon discovering the mistake, he had to travel about 25 miles, past the heart of downtown Minneapolis, in the middle of rush hour to get to the actual game location. He was quite apologetic, naturally.

I just hope I don't have to go through that again any time soon.