I'm with you Bainsey
 

A little exercise should help us. Also, and I'll be careful how I say this..nothing wrong with seeing stuff from a playing perspective. I really think in some ways it can be helpful.

Concur, knowledge & experience in the game assists with officiating!
The excitement sometimes get to us while playing/coaching & SOME of us forget that we too referee. That is my only problem with some people doing both.

You know what my problem is? Remembering that I can back-track when I play!

Way too Dangerous
 

Like a lot of things in life you can only control so much...there is always that one guy who feels like he can slide in and take a charge. So, I also stop playing ball about two weeks before the season starts. Instead I started playing ice hockey - way less physical and your joints don't take a pounding. And, it is a brutal workout!

Ice Hockey
 

less dangerous...man what kind of pick up ball you guys play up there? I guess you can have legalized fights:D

Nope, don't really play anymore and not because of injury concerns (though that's a pretty good consideration). Pretty sure I've played only one or two pick up games in the past 2-3 years. I don't want to have to deal with the guaranteed argument about some rule they're mixing up between high school/college/NBA.

Bainsey,
The statement "You have got to make a decision! Which side of the whistle do you want to be on?" was from my assignor to me, not from me to you or any other official.
Two points, I think we agree on:
1: Knowledge of the game from a playing viewpoint is very helpful as an official. When I work with a new partner, I can usually tell if they played at an organized/coached level, mostly because of their ability to anticipate the plays. That understanding often puts them way ahead in their progress and performance in our craft.

2. In a training setting, two years ago, with 140 officials, I asked for a show of hands, of those of us who had played at least Jr. High, High School, or College ball. There were eight of us. The starting point for training differs considerably for most of the 132 others - terminology, game strategy and our reactions to it, etc.

In pre-games, I tell my partner(s) that we should understand the basic execution by the teams, after the first two or three times up and down the court: Is their big a black hole, a relay, or a decoy? Zone, vs man-to-man. And during warm-ups, I ask them to try to pick out the real leaders/shooters on the teams.
Sometimes, I get a blank stare.

Several of the younger officials whom I have mentored play on a regular basis. They are among the better officials in our area, not only in physical conditioning, but in game awareness. At my age, my conditioning for officiating takes a different path.

I like playing basketball and tennis. I will continue to do both if I am not injured.

If I was a a race car driver who started selling cars; I think I would still drive the race car.

You might from me, too. I'm not sure that's ever been discussed in any pre-game I've ever worked. We pretty much stick to the officiating basics.

Still, it's an interesting approach. In some ways, we already take this approach by reacting to action on the floor. I just never thought to put it like that in pre-game.

Thanks, Rob.

Its much easier to know when to flex if the crew understands what the teams are running, offensively & defensively. And the sooner we figure that out, the sooner we can do away with unneccesary rotations.
It's nice to know whats going to happen before it happens!

Played until I was 40 - then tore my left ACL and meniscus. Tried it again, but was just asking for more trouble. Now, I'd hate to hurt it and lose my officiating assignments.