For HS, the key appears to be the size of the metropolitan area in which you reside. This is my 8th year. My first year was in the Dallas Metro area, and I was assigned several JV games at 5-A schools. Did I belong in those games? No way. I was horrible and I still feel bad for my partners that year. But it's simple supply and demand. The larger the area, the more games and more supply. Large metro areas (like Miami) usually experience a shortage of officials relative to the number of available games.

My second year I moved to Wichita KS (uggh) and found myself doing YMCA youth, bitty basketball and 6th grade catholic league stuff, which is probably where I belonged. I had to attend a camp the next summer to be "picked-up" by the JV assignor! Go figure. My third year I was in St. Louis MO, and was back to doing JV and some Varsity.

Colleges are different. Most have to attend a camp to get in. It is harder to establish yourself in lower college conferences if you constantly move, but it can be done. I am not the best official at any level, but I am adaptable, and willing to listen, and college supervisors are looking for folks who can call it the way that league wants and not your own brand. Good luck!

This is my first season in basketball. My first game, tomorrow night, is 5A JV Girls. The association to which I belong doesn't schedule any games below freshman. So, rookie officials start out with freshman and JV games. Do I belong there, probably not. But that is where the entry level is, so that is where I will start. It's just how the association works. No bragging, no appologies, just reality.

Good luck .
 

Sleeper,
Don't forget to have some fun. ;)
mick

I am a second year ref so I would like to add somethings that worked for me.

Try to call some scrimmage games. Find out if your association has some to offer. If not find a mentor, call some schools and offer to work some. My mentor and some other veteran officials worked with me in 6 or 7 scrimmage games before the season started. Sometimes they mirrored me and told me where to look, what to watch for, etc. Sometimes I mirrored them. Very valuable and I felt very comfortable by the time my "first" game came.

Keep a journal of every game. Write about good points nad bad. At the end of every entry, list 3-5 things you want to work on for the next game.

Read this forum everyday. Note things you learned.

Read your rules. Find the test questions and answers and go over them often.

Get in front of a mirror and practice your mechanics.

Good luck! I hope you have a great and fun year.

For what it's worth, the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area has NO shortage of refs! This year, we have a huge first-year class (due in part to a certain newspapaer article that appeared last spring), and the second and third year classes have not shrunk. It is fiercely competetive to get the "good" varsity games (fortunately, I'm not at the point where I have to worry about it, yet) and we actually had more people sign up this year to be mentors, than mentees. Amazing, but true!

The photos accompanying the article must have been quite glamorous to attract so much attention!! :)

Chuck

[Edited by ChuckElias on Nov 15th, 2002 at 08:38 AM]

Also as a second year official let me add somethings that you old folks forgot:
1. Listen to what a more experienced partner says. He may be off base, but if you listen, and don't talk, you make a good impression.
2. Understand why you called what you called.
3. DON'T DO REC league. If you want to move up, stay away from rec league. What will happen is that if you are doing Rec League every Monday and your assignor needs someone to fill in on a Monday, you wont get the call. Also, not all rec league ref's take it that seriously.
4. Do as MANY SCRIMMAGES as possible. That is the time where you can pick the brains of experienced ref's. They will be able to give you a few things to concentrate on for the season.
5. Finally, get yourself in front of a mirror and practice your mechanics. It feels dorky, and if you leave the water running souds suspicious, but how else are you going to know what you look like? It is awkward, but it is EXCELLENT practice.
Go get em! My first year, I did about 8 scrimmages and off they sent me. What a treat!

I know Rut is going to agree with you on rec leagues. I will put my two cents in on it. In my area, rec league and HS refs are 85% the same. Our rec leagues are at times that we wouldn't find another basketball game like Saterday morning. I treat them as scrimmages. They are fun as long as you stick to the younger kids. You get into adult league and then I agree with Rut. Stay away. I am glad you did this many scrimmages. Your assignor will find a way to thank you.

A few thoughts
 

I did a few years of jr. high rec ball before my first year of HS ball (this season). Our first year class had its first scrimmage this week. You could tell a huge difference between the few people who had rec experience and the many that didn't. I recommend youth rec league for practice.

One other thing that hasn't been said is to Slow Down. I'm still working on that. I make the signal then start walking to report it. One thing about the rec league is that the clock doesn't stop at the whistle so I am used to being fast. I have to work on that.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Man this site is awesome, seriously folks. Being a first year with no experience, and having so many people post their responses with advice is great. I feel real comfortable coming on here every day and reading about the respnses to my post and all the others. I can't stress how much that helps me get a real grip on what to expect and what to work on prior to getting it going. I just got my initial schedule and it is mostly private school girls' JV. I don't care I just want to get it going and gain some experience and develop my mechanics.

Is there anything different to expect from a girls game to a boys. I know the basic differences tempo, skills, the game is probably more of an outside game I would imagine. I mean what are some things to look out for as far as calling the game. I have not seen a girls jv, however I have seen girls games and they tend to make alot more violations(traveling,double,etc.) Are we supposed to call it any differently or blow the whistle until we are purple.


Thanks again guys, great feedback and alot of fun checking the responses in general.

I'm going to disagree here. I think new officials should do as many games at any level that they can get. The more games that you do, the better you get as an official. My experience has also been that you will see all the weird and unusual stuff in the rec league games. Once you see it, then you will know how to handle it.

Get ready to hear
Ball, ball, ball, ball, ball...... all night long! :D

Andy, I am going to sort of disagree with your disagreement! I am coming at this under the assumption that there is some BB background here. In rec league you will not have as much pressure to get your mechanics right. You have the clock usually running etc. You can pick up a lot of bad habits. If you stick with low level games, I.E. MS Boys and Girls, and/or JV, you will see plenty of weird stuff. Also, there will be an added pressure to make the right call, the right way. Now, I DO agree that if it won't conflict with a regular schedule, then by all means get some rec in and get the experience if you want, but understand that not everyone will take it as serious.

I still like to do some rec games. I am a second year ref so my games on the court are usually as the ref with the less experience. That is good because I am always learning but tend to follow instead of lead.

In rec, I work with people usually not having much of a clue so it allows me to lead more and try to help those people, so I think both levels serve a good purpose.

Speaking in generalities –
The speed of the boy’s game vs. the girls will be a real eye opener.

Girls tend to have less body control, so you will find a lot more bumps than with the boys. Then again, the boys have a lot less fear of taking a hit or crashing into someone. A joke I have heard is that under Advantage/Disadvantage with boys you decide when to call a foul. Whit girls you decide when NOT to call a foul.

Girls tend to be apologetic if they commit a hard foul (not the flagrant type of hard). Boys are either macho or arrogant about hard fouls.

It is said that white men can’t jump. Well it is really true that white girls can’t get off of the ground to save their life.

With boys I can’t tell you how many times one of them has come up to me after the horn and thank me for doing the game – because there were so few times. With the girls it is just the opposite. Heck, in a rec league game a few weeks back I had a girl come up to me after the game and apologize for giving me a hard time about a call. This was one of those leagues where everyone on a team is from the same high school and the HS coach just happens to be in the bleachers or doing the clock/book. ;)