5 Best tips for New officials
 

Trying to shake some liveliness into the boards....

In the vein of the "spouse support group" discussion, what are your top 5 off-the-court (preparation, administration, etc) tips that can go a long way for new officials? I'm hoping to come up with a top 10 for our association's training this year.

Here are some that have been passed along to me that have stuck:

1. Family comes first, Job second, then officiating
2. Always keep a full uniform with shoes packed in your trunk.
3. Black underwear and cell phones are a must
4. Learn how to say "no" to an assignment
5. Rules, rules, rules....you can never study enough

...and one more below



[Edited by pizanno on Aug 7th, 2002 at 08:35 PM]

Re: 5 Best tips for New officials
 

6. Don't take your game home with you.
7. Calling T's on your kids doesn't work!

How long will it be before Mark chimes in with "Bananas for the Howler Monkeys?".......

<b>7. Calling T's on your kids doesn't work!</b>

Works on mine, Juulie--especially when I have a Fox40 handy! It gets their attention fast.

Of course, my 8-year-old has called a couple on me, as well... ;-)

Apparently - not too long.

However, my best tip remains: tuck your whistle in your shirt before you take a leak.

1. If you want to advance, <b>treat officiating as a business, not just a vocation.</b>

2. The best officials does not just know the rules, they know how to apply them.

3. Officiating is more than blowing a whistle.

4. Look the part and you will be precieved that way.

5. People skills is probably the most important attribute in officiating.

Peace

Uhhm, it's avocation. A vocation is your occupation. An avocation is what you do apart from your occupation - hobby, part time business, pastime, etc. While I would agree that at some point you need to treat it as a business, I would strongly disagree that it's ever more than an avocation for 99.999999% of us who do it. Also, (and I hesitate to ask) how can you know how to apply something without knowing it? Kinda like saying a doctor doesn't have to know medicine, he just needs to know how to apply it. (And please, please don't ask me if basketball refereeing concerns life & death, OK?)

Somewhere along the line, I believe that a group of us that post here were perceived to say that rules knowlegde was not important. I don't believe that is what was said (some would rather have great game management skills), but it is not posible to know how to apply rules without knowing the rules, but you can know the rules, but not know how to apply them.

Hmmmm.
 

This cannot be. Can it?
If we cannot apply a rule, I think we do not know the rule.
mick

Re: Hmmmm.
 

Agree with mick.I think a better statement might be "you can know the rules,but not know WHEN to apply them".That tells you that judgement still needs to be developed.Is that what you were trying to say,Stripes?

Dan-ref is right, for most of us officiating is something we treat as a passion and not like a business.

The question had to do with <b> new </b> officials. IMHO, the last thing they should be worrying about as a brand new ref is advancement. It's kind of like a brand new entry-level employee trying to get promoted before they learn their current job. They should be worrying about becoming proficient at their craft.

1) Listen to the veterans. 90% of what they say is helpful and correct. Ignore the other 10%, but don't argue about it.

2) Don't just read or browse the rule book, study it. Once you know the rules inside and out, you can progress to more advanced things like game management, projecting confidence, and becoming a great partner.

3) Don't accept verbal abuse, but also don't ref with a chip on your shoulder. Only call a technical foul when you think it will make the game better.

Z

Talking about knowing the rules without knowing how to apply them is silly. If you "KNOW" the rules you understand what they mean and how and when to apply them.

It is one for me. Vocation that is.
 

OK, you disagree. STOP THE DAMN PRESSES, STOP THE DAMN PRESSES!!!!! :D

I did misspeak. It is not just an ADVOCATION, you better treat it as a vocation.

Officiating is a business. Now one said anything about life or death (but you of course). No one ever said that it applies to everyone. But if you want to move up to the college ranks and the HS varsity level, in MY AREA you better treat this like a business. If you do not, you will find yourself at home instead of working. Now to me treating this as a business or more of a vocation is to your benefit. You will go to more camps, return calls quicker, take care of your paperwork the way it is suppose to be taken care of and just approach officiating with the seriousness the coaches and players take it. If that is not the case, I would just blow off games if I do not want to attend that night or afternoon. If the players and coaches are spending the off-season getting ready for the season, you better do the same. Whether that is leagues or rules study or simply going to an association meeting.

The football season is starting on August 30 of this year and I have attended two weekly meetings this week. I will be attending another one tonight. So I spend as much time if not more getting ready for each season as I do. So 3 days a week I will be attending meetings for football alone up until the season starts. I will be attending one meeting every week during the season and with all the rules study and discussion I will have with other officials. So if this is just a hobby, I am spending a lot of time with a hobby.

Peace

You might not be able to work on any craft.
 

People do not become officials without setting a goal, realistic or unrealistic. You will not even have a game if your first one you never show up to a game you have a contract for or if you get off one game to do a better one (better by level or money). Kind of hard to work on a craft when no one gives you a game at all.


Peace

Re: It is one for me. Vocation that is.
 

Maybe you'll reread my original post where I did say at some
point you need to treat this as a business. That point
comes not when you decide that you want to do D1 ball but
when you discover your scheduling, billing and outlays
has to be well-managed and documented. BTW, not everyone
wants to do college, or even HS, and just because a hobby
is time consuming does not mean it's anything less than a
hobby (avocation). I can't figure out the rest of your rant.

Do you love your job?
 

Some people love their job, others do not. Just because I say treat this as a vocation does not mean you do not love it. But if you do not keep track of what you accept or who calls you, you will not be working for anyone. But if you want to work or maintain customers in your "real" job, you better return calls and send the proper paperwork to the proper people. If you do not, you might not have a job or a business. That is the part that has to be treated like a job or vocation. Just because it is a hobby, does not mean it will not take you a great deal of time an energy. And considering that we do get paid money and have to file taxes based on our officiating, it is a vocation. It might not pay all your bills or make you rich, but it is income.

Peace

college, or not.
 

Sparky,
It's a fact not everyone wants to do college ball.
As you know, I don't do it much, but given the chance, I would work any Men's ball in a blink.
It is the most fun I have ever had on a hardwood floor.
But, of course, lower level CCA is very different from DII and DI.
mick

Re: Do you love your job?
 

WTF? You can manage your hobby as a business but that doesn't make it anything more than an avocation. This differs from your real job (your vocation) in that your real job takes priority over your hobby.

I give up...

This is what you should do Dan.
 

If the information does not apply to you, then move on and look somewhere else. I am sure if you attend camps, you will hear several different views on what officiating is to them or what it should be. I am just <b>one</b> voice, with <b>one</b> opinion on <b>one</b> issue. If you treat this as a hobby and only as a hobby and that works for you, GREAT. I look at this as a second job because of the time committment and because of how it affects my other life. If I did not look at it that way, I would blow off every game I could no matter what happen. When my aunt died on June 30, 2001, I had to think of my officiating schedule and how to work around it or give back games. I could not just blow the games off just to worry about my life for that time. I had to think of what affect my absence or even attendence was going to mean if I had a conflict. That to me is more than a hobby. Because if I did not call anyone to tell them I would not be around and why, I might have not gotten any games the following season. Fantasy Football is a hobby too for many, but if participants blow that off for a day or two, who does it ultimately hurt?

It is just the way you look at it. If that is not your way, it is not your way.

Peace

Re: Re: Do you love your job?
 

I give up... [/B][/QUOTE]Is this where I get to jump in and holler "I TOLD YA SO!"?:D

Re: Re: Hmmmm.
 

Semantics...To me "how" will include "when". Said another way "when" is a funtion of "how". "How" to apply a rule, to me, means understanding what the rule's intent is and where it fits into the game. Better clarity on my position?

Re: Re: Re: Do you love your job?
 

Is this where I get to jump in and holler "I TOLD YA SO!"?:D [/B][/QUOTE]

Yeah, go ahead, I have it coming. Where the heck is Tony, fer gawds sake???

:confused:

I'll toss in my two cents. I think everyone left off one of the most important things...HAVE FUN.

God, if you don't enjoy what you are doing (don't care if it your vocation or advocation) for Pete's sake quit. Life is way to short to be doing things you don't enjoy.

I will study the rules, work on game management, complete the proper paperwork for my association and the state, etc. I'll even send in the paperwork to get paid...but won't call and check the status of the payment. I do this because I enjoy it. Any money is a bonus. I don't worry about tracking mileage, meals and the small stuff (I will keep the receipts for thing over $50). If I was that concerned over the money and advancing I would have started much younger. The way I look at it, the kids in grades 5-8 need someone to call their games as well. If you want to focus on the bigger students so you can advance to the next level that's great, I'll take your rejects.

If this approach makes me a bad official, oh well...someone has the be the worse at every vocation and advocation.

That is great advice LarryS.
 

No other way to state it. Everyone has to find their own way to why they do this. I am sure if we ask the board why they started officiating and why they continue to officiate, you will find 100 different reasons.

Peace

Larry, you are obviously one of the good guys!

(BTW, if you're claiming this stuff on your tax forms then
I would encourage you to track your expenses closely. And
I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only guy who is still owed
a few bucks by some school or league!)

Re: Re: Re: Hmmmm.
 

Semantics...To me "how" will include "when". Said another way "when" is a funtion of "how". "How" to apply a rule, to me, means understanding what the rule's intent is and where it fits into the game. Better clarity on my position? [/B][/QUOTE]Much better clarified.I was pretty sure that you meant something like that,but the "how" can be interpreted different ways,as some other posters(including myself) did interpret it.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Do you love your job?
 

Yeah, go ahead, I have it coming. Where the heck is Tony, fer gawds sake??? [/B][/QUOTE]RutBuster?He's out walking his pet rat!:D

[Edited by Jurassic Referee on Aug 8th, 2002 at 05:18 PM]

Mark - either your a midget, or you use a lanyard that is way too long :)

Re: Re: Re: Hmmmm.
 

yer fine. ;)

Apparently, you're not aware of the "splashback factor".

At your age?

Re: Re: Re: Re: Do you love your job?
 

Yeah, go ahead, I have it coming. Where the heck is Tony, fer gawds sake??? [/B][/QUOTE]

I'm disciplining myself. I'm staying the **** out of this one! http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/smilie/chatter.gif

He11, I didn't even look at it until it got to the 3rd page! http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/mica/cavy.gif

Re: Re: Re: Hmmmm.
 

Are you sure you're not a mathematician? :D

Re: Re: Re: Re: Hmmmm.
 

Not a mathmatician, but I'm sure I'm just a geek ;)