Gear for New Official
 

I have officiated baseball for over 10 years, and am getting into basketball this year. I want to dress sharply in basketball as I do in baseball. I have already got sansabelts and a Cliff Keen V-Neck shirt (no side panels), fox 40 whistle with a lanyard that hooks to the shirt. Already have black undershirts and socks from baseball. Also got all black new balance shoes. Is there anything else I should be concerned about or change? I will be doing about 2-3 MS and JV dates a week or so. How many shirts, etc. do you recommend. Also, any apparel do's and dont's would be appreciated. I don't want to look like the guy who has shin guards on the outside of his plate slacks in baseball. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Do basketball officials use hand signals to each other to communicate as much as baseball? I have seen officials point at their wrist when the clock is nearly expired, are there any others I should be aware of??

I try not to do the laundry more than once per week. So I have >6 pants and >6 shirts (because I work in leagues with different shirt requirements, if I get more than a few games for any one league in a week, I have to do the laundry mid-week).

IF the shirt keeps coming out (some officials have trouble with this), get a flex belt or tuck the shirt into the compression shorts.

I don't think that's very common. However, watch for the pat on the top of the head when the clock shows one minute left in the period.

Or an official holding up one finger. We don't pat our head, it looks stupid. :)

Pat Your Head & Rub Your Belly ...
 

Agree.

YouTube - pat your head and rub your belly

NYUK! NYUK! NYUK! [what he said]

So about the gear, do I seem set at least to start? Anything you guys would change/add?

You seem ready to go...basketball is one of the least equipment intensive sports for officials. The basic clothing plus a whistle and that's it.

We don't need any protective gear nor any bags, brushes, flags, beanbags, hats, etc.

I would add another shirt and pair of pants so that you have a backup and don't have to necessarily always do laundry right after an evening of games.

Do you have a jacket?

Also, check around with some local folks to see if you need to have v-neck undershirts or not. In some areas, it is frowned upon to have your undershirt showing underneath your stripes.

If you do need v-neck shirts, I highly recommend these.

Diamond V-Neck HOTSPORT® Loose Fit Shirt - Black: Ump Attire

I also recommend the Ultimate Referee shirts sold by Ump-Attire as well.

Welcome to the hardwood. I worked baseball for around 10 years, plus two years of football before starting basketball last year and I had a great time doing it.

No jacket at this point. I Plan on getting one in the very near future.

I think Bob's advice is the best if you can afford the equipment. I would not go out and buy everything at once, build up to it over the season or a couple of seasons. But I would certainly buy 2 or 3 of everything if money is not a major issue instead of having to keep washing everything all the time. Then again if you have good socks and good compression shorts/pants, you will not have to wash pants that often. I wash everything after one use except pants. Then again I do not sweat very much and the compression pants I use soak up any sweat that is there.

Yes and no. Basketball there is not much to communicate other than what our mechanics require. We do not need to tell anyone the situation other than things like we are in the bonus or telling each other where to put the ball after a foul or violation. But that is only when we make a call, not so much before a play or situation like baseball. Last second shot is a common communication as we often tell each other we have that situation and/or who has the last second shot responsibility.

Good luck and I think you will find being a basketball official will help your judgment in baseball. ;)

Peace

That's the shot-clock violation signal.

If under 5 (or 10 or 30 depending on the area) seconds are left, the official responsible for the last-second shot will so indicate -- usually one pat of the chest.

There's the signal to tell your partners that one team (or both) is in the bonus -- to be sure we get the shooter on the next foul.

A couple small additions to the gear already listed that I've found occasionally indispensable over the years:
* Extra whistle on a noose-style lanyard tucked in your back pocket.
* Small sewing kit (kept in your equipment bag)

Also, carry a needle.

No belt