1st 3 man game tomorrow night.
 

I am going with a couple of verterns from our association tomorrow night. They are going to allow me to work the JV game 3 man with them. I have done alot of reading on the subject, especially the roations. However that doesn't mean I can actually apply what I have read. Any advice on the roations and how to keep them straight? Either way I am excitied to be able to work with some veterens as I'm sure they will give me a ton of great advice related not only to 3 man but also to officiating in general.

If you have never worked a three-man game, and you are going to be doing so for the first time in a JV game, I don't think that is fair to the kids. Even though it is JV, it is important to the players.

Have you worked scrimmages three-man at least? Doing a lot of reading on the subject is not enough IMO.

A good pre-game is essential.

Communications will be very important. By seeing globally (calling locally) peek at your partners to see where they are on the floor so you know if you need to move.

Knowing when to "go" as the L took some getting used to for me.

Ask for advice and guidance as the game goes along. Am I too high as the C? Did I miss a switch or rotation? Was that in my primary? Was the double whistle ok there?

Enjoy and have fun!

I have never worked 3 man. I agree it is important to the players and will do my best. Do you think 3 man with two vets and me would be worse than 2 man with one vet and me? Not trying to sound like a jerk but honestly wondering as I have done some jv games already.

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.

No i have not worked 3 man ever and haven't ever worked a scrimmage. Honestly I have worked 11 nights all double headers. Some middle school, some freshman, and one jv varisty night. As for having the game worked two man that is what most all games around here are other than championship games and district and on games. We did call and clear it with the school first.

The point tome is trying to make is that working 3 man effectively is not simply adding another body on the floor.

I agree as well. However I need to learn before being thrust into the position in a high pressure situation. The main reason for me going with them as the 3 of them were already going and they are allowing me to due the jv game in order for me to improve. It just happens to be night at one of the few schools around that do 3 man.

Does that mean 11 JV games and one varsity game? What level do you do predominantly?

If your association doesn't do much three-man, how much experience do your partners have?

I did full three-man games for the first time over the summer at ref camp. It was quite an adjustment, to say the least, especially after you've been "locked in" to the two-man mentality for several years.

My advice is to pay close attention during pre-game, and make sure they take their time with you. You're going to be looking at a PCA that will seem foreign to you at first, but in time, it'll come.

My toughest adjustment was instantly going from a center to a trail without warning. While you're focused on your PCA, pay a little attention to the endline. The lead can and will cross the basketline to the opposite corner, and suddenly, you're the trail with a new PCA. Someone here can explain when to expect this better than I can.

11 nights total all double headers, one night was jv/varsity, several were freshmen, and some were middle school.

Predominantly some of everything but more of lower level. For example tonight I have Middle School boys, tomorrow night I am going with them to do JV game, Monday freshman boys and girls, tuesday jv and varsity girls, thursday jv and varsity boys.

They have quite a bit experience as they do most of the tournament trophy nights as well as post season. It is just most alot of the smaller school won't pay the extra for 3 man.

Thanks and good points!

Do you feel it is tougher to adjust if you have done two man for a long time?

Certainly. Like anything else, you get locked into a certain method. You also just getting used to looking at the floor within a center's PCA, and suddenly, you're not the center anymore. That was the toughest part for me.

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.

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?

focus on play calling
 

Jeremy-
The most important thing is to remained focus on plays, and not distracted by the dance steps. The teams won't care that you're in the 'right' position if you miss a call. Whistle the obvious in your area, and your partners will cover the rest.
Have fun and let us know how it goes!

Great advice! The only other thing I would add is: GO HAVE FUN and SMILE.

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.

Good point.

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.

This is my first year of officiating after crossing over from the dark side (coaching) :p. 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.

Thanks for the advice!

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. ;)

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.

It was one partners idea and the other partner I work with will be the assignor. We have about a one hour ride together so this is where I expect to learn alot as well.

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.

Perfect.

turn on EPSN and watch some NCAA guys work or even better get in a gym near you and watch a varsity crew work. Don't just key in on where they move but "see why" they move. For instance if you are trail (ball on your side) and the ball swings to the other side...begin to close down and anticipate a rotation. Bigger than that though is having a patient whistle as lead and be aggressive as center. People will rarely notice that there are two trails/centers but if there is a double whistle every call when you are on lead it will make the whole crew look bad. Good luck!

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.

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!

If your assigner and partners are on board with everything that’s one set of worries out the window. Look in your IAABO manual and try to absorb as much as you can. Watch some NCAAM games to get an idea of the rotations and switches (they’re the same as IAABO if I remember correctly) but also focus on certain areas. When the ball is in the frontcourt, pretend you’re the L/C/T and look at the action in that person’s PCA. Just try to get yourself as comfortable as you can before you step on the court.

Then, when you step on the court, officiate the game. Don’t get so concerned with where you’re supposed to be that you miss a call (though you’re going to miss a few calls for that very reason…we all did it when we started so don’t beat yourself up for it when it happens). Just deal with what’s in front of you. If you handle your segment of the world properly (i.e., have a good game in your primary) you’ll be way ahead of the game. If your partners are truly versed in the Art of Three-Person they’ll be able to compensate. Regarding switches: when in doubt, fill in the hole on the court. Again, your partners will know – hopefully – where they’re supposed to go. Once they get to their spots, you go to yours and everyone will be fine. As was said earlier, the three of you are the only ones in the building who are going to know you’re in the wrong spot.

Once the confusion dies down and you get a decent amount of games under your belt I guarantee you a few things: you’ll become a better two-person official and you’ll never want to do two-person again. ;)

Assignors make mistakes too sometimes. I agree that is a hard way to do your first game in that system. And just because you have two veterans on the game does not mean that there will not be problems. There is only so much partners can do unless they are helping you with the coaches. I do not see anything wrong with pointing out some issues doing this. I know I would feel uncomfortable working with someone with that little experience in a real game. But I would deal with it. It is just so easy when you have experienced people working with you as you do not have to worry about basic stuff.

Peace

Great conversation everyone but we will have to revisit it shortly as now the assignor called me and needs me to fill in a game tonight due to an official having a knee injury. However I have about 6 more night I can go with these guys with 2 or 3 of them being 3 man. I understand the reservations people have about just jumping into the game, however to the best of my knowledge there are no camps near that cover three man and none of the early preseason scrimmages are done 3 man. Due to these circumstances how else could I learn other than being thrown to the wolves? I'm actually asking. I have done a lot of film/game watching, and reading. What else can I do for when this night comes in the next month?

There are camps around. Seeing how earlier you said guys in your association don't camp, you probably need to do some of your own leg-work in finding them.

As I said earlier, don't let the "no camp" mentality drag you down.

I did find a couple 2 to 7 hours away but they didn't say 3 man. Perphaps more will pop up closer to the offseason and I will be able to find one then.

Find a crew of two and ask them if you can go work 3-man in a preseason scrimmage. You may not get paid, but it's a good way to learn.

Good idea.

Check your PMs

Friday night I was a replacement brought in to work 1/2 of JVG, VG, VB games. The two guys I worked with were older and I know have worked some state playoff games. Normally we take turns with each official setting out one game. However the one vertern said that He and I would knock out the 1st half as the 3rd partner had just arrived 20 minutes prior to tip and then we will do the other 2 games 3 man. I told them in the interest of fair reporting I had never done 3 man but I feel that I probably have a better idea than most rookies as I have done alot of book reading, watching of games, etc. They both said that they would show me the way.

Overall I feel it went very well, only missed one rotation as my partner rotated late which moved me from the C to the T. Fortunetly I caught it late and make it as the New L before anything could happen. It probably did help that my partners did not rotate much. It was a very interesting and eye opening night on how much easier it is to cover the court.