New Offical
 

I am new this year doing Jr. High and Freshman, JV.
Does anyone have any advice?
I have done 3 scrimmages and still not real comfortable.

Find a mentor, study the rules, practice your mechanics, observe as many games as possible, take your time on the court ... just a few for starters. The more games you work, the more comfortable you will become.

Thanks
 

Seems kinda hard to find a mentor right now but I do ask alot of different refs alot of questions.....I study alot both books and videos.....thanks for your reply

I also practice mechanis and view several games both in person and on you tube....I do have trouble with taking my time on the court and alot of the time I get the direction messed up when signaling out of bounds.

Watch as many games as you can...... when my son plays (HS) I am constantly watching the officials and try to add certain elements to my games that I feel are good and remind myself to eliminate those that I feel are not good (that I find myself doing).

Been doing this for 10 years and constantly trying to improve.

Recently went to watch a college game where my son is going to play and I really got a lot from watching those officials. Their calmness during the most stressful situations blew me away. Their ability to slow things down and seemingly never get in a rush was pretty amazing. My goal this year is to try to incorporate their demeanor into my game.

Good Luck.

I have been watching several games and I watched years of my Son and Daughter playing.....now that they are out I decided to obtain liscense.
I also go to alot of college games, as a matter of fact I was at one last night....Marshall University....college officals are pretty cool to watch but their signaling sucks.....I can seldom just from their signals know the call.

No Need to Be a Quick Draw McGraw!
 

Just on that one point, here's something maybe valuable. You decide.

Don't rush the signal, the point. Rather, when an out of bounds call is required...
1) Blow the whistle with an...
2) ...Upraised arm with open hand, then
3) Verbalize the color of who gets the resulting inbounds.
4) Then, having given yourself a moment to decide which way the play is going to go, then...
5) In a relaxed manner, point the proper direction.

Too many officials (many new, some veteran) seem to want to do the point first, like immediately pulling a gun out of a holster to touch off a shot as soon as possible. I admire the veterans who can do that and be correct every time--I can't. Gotta be aware of my target first. I'd bring it out and shoot in the wrong direction sometimes, if not often.

Make the direction point the last thing you do of the five above. You'll get the direction correct on a regular basis then.

I will do that.....thanks

Study time
 

My wife long ago gave up with asking, "Who's playing?" when I'm watching a ballgame. She knows I'm studying the officials:
What did he/she call, from where?
What was the game situation?
How did he/she communicate - with the players, partners, table crew, coaches (when needed)?
What did they not call? (with the same qualifiers as on the calls they made)
College games, for me, are most instructive, with understanding of the different rules sets fro HS.

I do study refs as well.....I study NFHS books constantly and go over what could be's in my mind but for now I am just uncomfortable with being new.....lol....

Great Shot ??? What Great Shot ???
 

I was just talking about this with another official at a scrimmage this morning. I used to be a great basketball fan. Now I don't watch the players, I'm only watching the officials. Am I ruined for life? Will this ever go away? Should I end it all now?

seohio, check your PM, your Private Messages, for some resources.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that" :D

You usually find mentors by just being around different officials and figuring out who you trust. A mentor is not always someone that tells you that is their goal or expectation.

My suggestions are simple.

1. Works as much as you can.
2. Watch as much as you can.
3. Ask questions of people that see you work or ask to be evaluated by those that see you work.
---If you do this, do not "ya but" them with what you think they want to hear. Just listen.
4. Go to camps, trainings and meetings as much as possible.

We all were in your place at one time, so you are not feeling anything we have not experienced. Keep working hard and things will get easier. It is like riding a bike, we all had training wheels and then got off of them after we felt like we would not fall and get hurt. Well officiating is not much different in that respect.

Peace

Thank you....good advice

too much thinking going on....
 

Wouldn't be shocked if I'm alone on this.

I find that when I am "overanalyzing" myself during a game, I am uncomfortable. When I simply call the game in front of me and critique myself later, I am both a better official and much more comfortable.

Me too. Good idea.

I am still in the "why are you watching a ball game?" phase. "Shouldn't you be mowing the lawn?" "Take the garbage out." "Change this diaper" Dangit woman!! :D

Work as many games as you are able. Try to connect with a local association or find a few fellow officials who could help you out.

As a rookie last year myself these are some of the things that got me through last year and are part of my goals for this season.

1) Slow down, yes people are waiting for your decision but it's not nearly as long as it feels

2) Give a strong whistle and a signal on a foul, get the arm up but at least givea whistle that sounds like you know you have a call

3) Make a strong decision. Even if you're wrong, be strong on it. The moment you rule an out of bounds call on a close play with blue? You appear to be deciding the call and it sounds like, maybe it's blue, maybe it's white's ball, I really don't know.

If you whistle and firmly announce the team getting the ball you'll get a lot less grumbling.

4) Get in position or at least get in the area where you could make the call

5) My mentor told me this "Call the game but don't call every little thing. Just because you've studied to be able to rule on all the fouls in the book, doesn't mean you have to call every one of them each time out".

Another thing I did last year was make a journal with the top 3 things I did well each game and the 3 things I missed or did wrong. Looking back over it, I fixed the little things and it becomes a better experience.

After my first games last partner evaluation included that I had a lot of work to do but he could tell I wanted it. From a partner later in the year I got, has some work to do but many bright spots in his game, needs to polish a few things and will get better. So keep at it!

My last pieces of advise, smile and have fun

Welcome!!!
 

This sounds familiar. Sounds like me a few years ago! Until you get it down, just go with the color. Shout "blue", and there will be no doubt. In my fifth year, I still do this, albeit a lot less than i use to.

Good luck! Have fun! And welcome. If you work hard you'll be amazed at how fast you improve.

Thanks everyone for your replys....sounds like there is alot of experience here...a great place to visit and Im sure I will have lots of questions as we go on.

A lot of great advice here seohio...sounds like you really want to be a good official.

Here is my advice...

You want to move up the officiating ladder? Don't tell a veteran official he/she "SUCKS" (or even have that attitude)...especially when you have ONLY done 3 games in your life.

Just do a lot of listening your first year.;)

JRut mentioned in his reply..."work as much as you can."
Working any level of game will help you get better. Try to get some youth rec league games in your local area. The speed of the game is generally slower (especially with the younger age groups) and provides a great opportunity to work on things like:

1) Getting OB calls correct relative to team color and direction.
2) Reporting fouls
3) FT and throw-in procedures and mechanics
4) Your whistle, your signals, your voice and your overall court presence.
5) The discipline of focusing on your primary calling area and not being a "ball watcher."
6) Anything that a partner, observer, or evaluator pointed out to you in one of your Frosh/JV games.

Even if you just work on one of these things in each rec game you'll begin to see the difference in your officiating when you work a higher level game.

Good luck...sounds like you're getting off on the right foot.