Camps???

[Richard Ogg]

Back to camps....

I've been to a couple and they were GREAT! I do High School, and most of the attendees do as well. Very few have done high school for more than 3-5 years. Some attendees are just starting.

The camps always begin with us expressing our goals for the camp. It may sound corny, but it can help the instructors get a good feel for where we are skill wise. Next it is to the court, where each referees at most one quarter (generally, and in some cases much less!). The point is for the instructors to now watch us and really know where we are in our development.

After this the topics start being modified. (One ref at this year's camp ended up getting mostly individual attention -- he was just beginning and need stuff the rest of us did not.)

A key for the video taping is to get an instructor on a wireless microphone for the audio track. This person can roam the gym for different views and make comments on plays as they happen. This enhances the value of the take-home video a lot! Generally we only spent 30-45 minutes reviewing the video after the game. The instructor would choose a couple of particularly important plays/calls and we'd talk through the sequence.

A schedule is posted for who ref's and who videos (another student who is then very focused on the game) and assignments may change during the camp as the instructors appraise strengths and weaknesses. Generally you ref every game with a different partner.

My sense is there is a lot of work organizing these camps. Still, I gain a lot from the 7-8 games I work over the 2.5 days.