A true Newbie development

My friend and I were discussing camps we had gone to and he mentioned that he had worked a game at camp with a guy who had never blown a whistle. The guy just paid and showed up, had never worked 2-man, and was immediately thrown into a 3-man game. I asked my friend how it went, and asked if he felt he received enough attention even with the new guy on the court. He said it was a great experience to practice leadership and to help the new guy learn the right way. He also said that the clinicians paid as much attention to him as the new guy, which was one of my concerns.

Originally Posted by jeschmit

I'm guessing this is a regional thing, cause I've never heard of school for officials. There's clinics or camps and that's about it in my area.

If there's an option for that instead of an outright camp, I'd agree with you there. In my area, I'd have to suggest a camp or clinic to learn these things.

The thing I suggest for a new guy is attending association meetings. I went to two or three meetings, met the leadership, and heard what they talked about. The leaders suggested a kids league where I could start, told me where I could buy gear locally, and explained how the five-second count replaces the shot clock. My association does have a class for new guys, but it was a few weeks before I started attending meetings. I still think that going to a camp right off the bat is not the best, because you can learn so much by attending a few association meetings.