Brand New Official
 

I'm brand new to officiating Basketball but have prior experience with umpiring Baseball. I joined my local HS association of Basketball officials and they have a training program, which the first session included throwing us out on the court with very little prior instruction for 5 minutes of a girls JV game-- wow, was that tough, I ran home and signed up for the state basketball clinic and read my rulebook like the bible.

Anyhow, I really want to be the best official I can possibly be-- I know that there are camps during the summer for referees but that won't help me for the fast approaching session, are there any clinics in the Miami area or state of Florida that are this fall?

Thankyou in advance,
Travis

Welcome to BB officiating and to the forum. The ole' wizened ones will be along soon with the real pearls of wisdom.

A couple ideas...
First, there's a state field clinic in November you might consider. West Palm Beach area that is primarily for continuing ed credit for the FHSAA. It's a one day clinic that will be a combination of on court experience and classroom training. There's also a two day camp further north in Ormond Beach the same weekend. These clinics are not great for instruction of new officials but you need them every couple of years to stay current with the state. Check out the Officials area on FHSAA.ORG

Second, consider JB Caldwell's 3 day camp in Daytona Beach in July. JB is an SEC official that has advanced guys into the NCAA and NBA through his camp. (Google Eric Lewis, NBA official) It is EXCELLENT training for new and veteran officials. It's run during a high school boys camp with tons of on-court training by a great staff of NCAA and high school vets. It's about $300 but worth every penny in my opinion. CALDWELLREFCAMP.COM

Welcome to the board and good luck! The best advice I can give a first year guy is don't give up! There are going to be many times you wonder "What the he!! am I doing out here?" this year, but I promise if you stay with it, you will understand. Take as many games as your schedule allows...even the crappy 10U youth games and middle school girls games will build your competence and confidence.

^^^^^That.

It is probably going to get worse before it gets better. Stick with it and you'll enjoy it.

A Good Step Further . . .
 

Some who work with new officials suggest that video study along with rules study and actual on-court time can help with especially important concepts. Proper positioning in order to observe what needs to be detected at the proper time is once concept that comes to mind. Proper application of rules-based principles is another. One resource offering video that you might want to spend some time with is at: nfhs-basketball Videos. Should the clips you view portray a three-man system, don't get all caught up with their rotating and switching--identify how the best of them put themselves in the proper position in order to make the proper call. Many of these clips also include previous years' points of emphasis, which often are the basics the new official might want to master right away.
Keep us posted!

Rats
 

Just checked and found that link is only accessible to NFHS members (which isn't such a bad thing). You probably can get to them if you're on the Arbiter through their NFHS Hub. There are other links that can help you if you do a Google search. Be cautious of videos produced by individuals--they usually aren't good. FIBA, though differing in terminology and some rules, has some accessible video segments that some have found good: FIBA Guidelines for Referee Education - DVD volume 1 | FIBA.COM

Classic ...
 

Anybody remember the educational videos posted a few years ago here on the Forum in which the instructor used a closed fist signal to stop the clock for violations?

Relax... it will get better. See if you can find a mentor. Watch all the BB you can and watch as if you are Officiating. Good luck and enjoy!

Thankyou all for your comments and words of wisdom. I have 8 hours of training with my association and the state field clinic before the season starts. Fortunately my association has a mentor program and several experienced officials that are willing to assist us newcomers. And thankyou for offering up websites that contain training material, I will be sure to review them.

Always Listen To Your mentor ...
 

The key to success for a new official.

Learn from the oopsies
 

My worst first-year mistake came when I called my first T. I crisply whacked the coach, crisply went to the table, crisply reported it, and crisply walked to the wrong end of the court to administer the free throws. How could this be worse? I T'd the coach for calling me a clown.

Send In The Clowns ...
 

Where was your partner while you were clowning around? He's the one who should have got you pointed in the right direction.

Last year was my first year and I went from feeling like I was way over my head in the first game to fairly competent.

My advice would be to slow down, process the call and make your signals after replaying it in your head.

Always have something to work on each game, pick a new goal for each game and just develop your skills.

I'm looking forward to my 2nd year, incorporating what I learned and what I still need to work on.

As others have said, find a mentor, ask questions and watch others work.

First of all, welcome to the forum. And welcome to the ride. There will be days you ask yourself why you're doing it. I had a 30+ year football partner asking that question on our way to a game last night (following his game last Friday night).

1. Work with your mentor as much as possible. That means going to his/her games and watching. Sit in on the pregame, the half-time, and the post game. Watch his positioning. Watch his area (what he's watching). Ask him questions about his calls and no-calls when you get a chance. Take notes during the game and during your Q&A.

2. Your first season, try to get some video of one of your games. Ask your girlfriend/brother/sister/cousin to film at least a quarter (depending on how much memory your video has). You don't need to review for calls so much as for your positioning, your presence, and your mechanics.

There is also a free clinic put on every spring at Florida Gulf Coast University in Ft. Myers. Featuring JB Caldwell. There are some NBA guys who show up as well. Find out who assigns tournaments in the spring. Stick around for varsity games. Ask for advice and then watch it employed. Be willing to learn and willing to listen.

BadZebra is spot on (maybe he is also BadLeopard) with his observations.