1st 3 man game tomorrow night.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by tomegun

Do you haven't even worked three-man in a scrimmage?

I think you doing three-man for the first time with two "Vets" is essentially having the game worked two-man. You are going to have so many things going in your head that you will want to make sure you are in the right position and will likely revert to watching the ball so you can determine if you are in the right position.

I put Vets in quotes because I don't think this is the responsible thing for veteran officials do. You mentioned you have worked "some" JV games already. How many would that be?

Think old bull...walk down the hill.

My first 3-person experience was in a high-profile Christmas tournament in 1995. I remember it mainly because I had to grab my grizzled vet R from going in the stands after some yahoo. Can't even remember the weird mid-90s mechanics we worked at the time.

Around here, I'd say "it depends." At some of the bigger schools / conferences, the JV games are better than small school varsity games and would be, IMO, a horrible place to break in a newbie.

A small school girls JV game? Perfect place -- little pace, plenty of time to be able to focus on mechanics, coverages, etc.

You don't get good at 3-person working only scrimmages and camps, but it's probably best to include quite a bit of that in your plan.

[tomegun]

Originally Posted by Rich

My first 3-person experience was in a high-profile Christmas tournament in 1995. I remember it mainly because I had to grab my grizzled vet R from going in the stands after some yahoo. Can't even remember the weird mid-90s mechanics we worked at the time.

Around here, I'd say "it depends." At some of the bigger schools / conferences, the JV games are better than small school varsity games and would be, IMO, a horrible place to break in a newbie.

A small school girls JV game? Perfect place -- little pace, plenty of time to be able to focus on mechanics, coverages, etc.

You don't get good at 3-person working only scrimmages and camps, but it's probably best to include quite a bit of that in your plan.

In your opinion, what is the idea way for an official to learn and get comfortable working three-man? Did you do any scrimmages or camps before your first three-man game experience? Your story may have a happy ending and the OP's may too, but what about all of the train wrecks that may have occurred in between?

You are an experienced Accountant, but new to a fortune 500 company. You are well-versed in accounting, but not in your new company's standards and are asked to participate in a meeting. Would you feel prepared to speak for the company?

You are a Mail carrier on the east side of town and have had your route for 5 years. You come in one morning and are told you need to do a route on the west side of town and your performance should remain the same. You ask what the route is and are told to just go out and deliver the mail. You know how to deliver the mail to houses, but don't know the route. Is that fair to the person waiting at the door for their check to come in the mail?

There may be 1,000 stories of throwing someone in the fire for their first three-man game, but that doesn't make it right and should not be the norm.

From the information provided, I think personal desires may be trumping our responsibility to provide the best product we can.

[Adam]

He's worked a varsity game in his first year. I'm guessing scrimmages and camps aren't a luxury where he is.

[tomegun]

Originally Posted by Adam

He's worked a varsity game in his first year. I'm guessing scrimmages and camps aren't a luxury where he is.

You are guessing, I am asking.

OP, is this your first year officiating? Do you have pre-season scrimmages in your area? If so, how many did you participate in this season? Do others in your association attend camps during the off-season?

[Adam]

Originally Posted by tomegun

You are guessing, I am asking.

Good point.

[jeremy341a]

Originally Posted by tomegun

You are guessing, I am asking.

OP, is this your first year officiating? Do you have pre-season scrimmages in your area? If so, how many did you participate in this season? Do others in your association attend camps during the off-season?

This is my first year of officiating after crossing over from the dark side (coaching) . There are a few pre season scrimmages that are help at the schools and are competing in by members of one school vs themselves. They are not allowed to play against any other opponents before the season. I can not say for sure if others attend camps but I would guess not many.

[jeremy341a]

Originally Posted by Adam

He's worked a varsity game in his first year. I'm guessing scrimmages and camps aren't a luxury where he is.

There were a handful of presason scrimmages and I was not assigned to any. There are no camps in the area and to the best of my knowledge not many in the association attend camps, although I can not say for sure.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by jeremy341a

...and to the best of my knowledge not many in the association attend camps, although I can not say for sure.

If you are serious about officiating don't follow this practice.

It's a problem with one of the local officiating association here where I live. I used to hear all kinds of snide remarks for attending camps. Don't' let other officials try to make you feel like you're doing something wrong if you are trying to improve.

[dahoopref]

Originally Posted by tomegun

From the information provided, I think personal desires may be trumping our responsibility to provide the best product we can.

I'm with Tomegun on this.

If the OP does a good job, no one is the wiser. If he does bad, everyone will notice. The only upside is for the OP. Is he doing what's best for him or for the game (and players involved)? I would NEVER allow anyone to do a 3-man game in an actual "in season" game without proper training from scrimmages or camps. The negatives far out weigh the positives.

[jeremy341a]

Originally Posted by dahoopref

I'm with Tomegun on this.

If the OP does a good job, no one is the wiser. If he does bad, everyone will notice. The only upside is for the OP. Is he doing what's best for him or for the game (and players involved)? I would NEVER allow anyone to do a 3-man game in an actual "in season" game without proper training from scrimmages or camps. The negatives far out weigh the positives.

I am attending the game with a couple of veterens and the assignor. Do you think I should tell them no?

[Smitty]

Originally Posted by jeremy341a

I am attending the game with a couple of veterens and the assignor. Do you think I should tell them no?

If the assigner is there and gives you the green light, then go for it. It's your officiating career and your association - if they want to help you learn three man this way, and you feel confident enough to try it, why not? I don't think you'll destroy the game.

[jeremy341a]

Originally Posted by Smitty

If the assigner is there and gives you the green light, then go for it. It's your officiating career and your association - if they want to help you learn three man this way, and you feel confident enough to try it, why not? I don't think you'll destroy the game.

Right or wrong this is how it is learned in this area. Like I posted earlier I would rather learn in this game then in a few years in a championship game. I hope I don't destroy the game.

[DLH17]

Originally Posted by jeremy341a

Right or wrong this is how it is learned in this area. Like I posted earlier I would rather learn in this game then in a few years in a championship game. I hope I don't destroy the game.

Don't think twice about this. As long as you have your assignor's blessing and your partners are on board, go work your butt off, have fun and soak up every single thing you see on the court and hear from your partners. Be sure to ask for feedback from your crew after the game, as well.

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by Smitty

If the assigner is there and gives you the green light, then go for it. It's your officiating career and your association - if they want to help you learn three man this way, and you feel confident enough to try it, why not? I don't think you'll destroy the game.

The good news is that he's so new that he won't have (m)any two-person habits to break.

Given a blank slate, I don't think it's any harder to learn 3-person than it is to learn 3-person.

I do agree that the most important thing is to officiate first and worry about the specific positioning / movement second. Let the others fill in when you make a mistake / miss a rotation.

[packersowner]

The arrogance of this forum sometimes....

I am wishing this "new" official the best of luck. Learn from your partners, take their criticism and get better. It will be important for the fans and the players, but they won't remember you 10 years from now when sports aren't the biggest thing in their life.

I know more than one AD who will pay for three man with a "rookie" official for a sub-varsity game to get them experience and get them interested in officiating. There are a lot of places that do not have camps to practice 3 man - in fact, I find the coaches around our area during the summer are even worse than the season. They know they there are rookie officials there and so they cross the line frequently.

My one piece of advice, is freeze and look to your partner if you get stuck. Officiate the game and let the coverages, transitions, and rotations come with time. What a great opportunity!