How does your state rank?

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by johnny d

You are right, just because they are working D1 doesn't mean they are good. However, regardless of whether or not they are good, they would not last at the D1 level if they were intimidated or overwhelmed by the experience. Therefore, the young official can be as good, better, or worse than the more experienced official and be just as capable of working the state final game.

It does not matter how good you are, you just do not all of a sudden work the State Finals. Just like you do not all of a sudden work the Final Four. And there are many more not working the Final Four than working a State Final in Illinois.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by johnny d

But it doesn't matter how many games you work in front of small crowds you will not get better at working in front of big crowds. You will never know if you can or cannot handle working in front of big crowds until you are put in that situation and if you cant handle it, all the experience in the world will not make you any better at it. The ability to not care or worry about the stuff that is going on outside of the game on the court is innate. You either have it or you don't.

I'm not sure if I agree, or disagree, with you.

(Full disclosure: I've never worked a state tournament game, conference playoffs, yes; public high school state tournament, no.)

We work all kinds of games here in my little corner of Connecticut. One night we could be working a "big" intracity rivalry game, in front of thousands, and the next night, a small rural school game, in front of a crowd of dozens, with their John Deere tractors parked in parking lot.

Over the years I have been able to completely "tune out" the crowd. My mind is on the players, my partner, the table crew, the coaches, the scoreboard, and the benches.

Maybe, as you say, I have it, or maybe, it was learned over thirty-three years. I'm not sure which.

[JetMetFan]

Originally Posted by johnny d

This is a load of crap. You are either ready to work the game or not. That might take some training and experience to get to the point where you can handle the on the court stuff. After that there is nothing one can do to practice or simulate working games in front of big crowds other than going out there and doing it. Some people will be able to handle this and others wont, but working more games in front of small crowds isn't going to make you any more prepared to handle this situation when it arises.

Crowd size may/may not make a difference to some but one thing that can have an effect is experience. Or I should say experiences. Five years in I know I couldn't have handled the opportunity I had this past March. Frankly, I wasn't sure I was going to handle it properly once I was there. Those are the times 20+ years of experiences come back to me and remind me why I was selected to do a game in the first place. That's an advantage I'll have over a five-year guy if/when the $%&! hits the fan during a game.

[j51969]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Well it is one thing to work a college game with some very decent athletes in a gym with 10 people watching. It is quite another to work a HS game with 3000 and on TV.

or this:

I'll take my cow town school on a Friday night that seats 500 (only because the fire marshal works the clock). It is 80 degrees in the gym with 90% humidity. By the start of the 4th quarter of JV game the crowd grows exponentially, and is giving those guys all they want. We arrive on the court for the Varsity game and the gym is at capacity. Half of them just spent the last 3 hours across the street at the Legion or VFW hall. That my friend is 90 minutes of pure awesome! You can't just be a good official and handle this environment either.

[Smitty]

Originally Posted by j51969

You can't just be a good official and handle this environment either.

Why can't a "good" official work these kinds of games? I like those gyms, too, but typically (here anyway) these are assigned as 2-man games. A good official can handle this easily. That is significantly different than 2 highly ranked 4A schools with thousands of people in the stands.

[j51969]

Originally Posted by Smitty

Why can't a "good" official work these kinds of games? I like those gyms, too, but typically (here anyway) these are assigned as 2-man games. A good official can handle this easily. That is significantly different than 2 highly ranked 4A schools with thousands of people in the stands.

Maybe I didn't explain myself very well. Good officials can certainly work these games (and most likely do). Certain people may, or may not have been exposed to varying levels of competitive situations. Even in a small town one's ability to manage a game and exorcize good conflict resolution can be challenged (whether its 3000, or 500 many of the same variables apply). Plus the added feature of having everyone in such close proximity IMO adds a slightly different element.

That’s all I was getting at…..

[just another ref]

Originally Posted by j51969

Maybe I didn't explain myself very well. Good officials can certainly work these games (and most likely do). Certain people may, or may not have been exposed to varying levels of competitive situations. Even in a small town one's ability to manage a game and exorcize good conflict resolution can be challenged (whether its 3000, or 500 many of the same variables apply). Plus the added feature of having everyone in such close proximity IMO adds a slightly different element.

That’s all I was getting at…..

A packed house, regardless of size, often creates a different atmosphere, which may create a problem in the performance of some officials.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I have worked 3 State Finals in sports other than basketball. I can tell you that I was not ready even close after my 5th year. I had no perspective of the games I was involved in before and if I had the same catch/no catch call 5 or 6 years earlier in my football state final, I would not have been able to handle the criticism that came with that call. There is a lot more to working State Finals than just working the game. You also have to handle people wondering why you are where you are and wondering why you did not do the things they would have done if in the same position. That is not an easy thing to handle. Calling the game is easy, but having people be openly critical in this day and age is not something everyone can or has handled well.

Just look at the 2A State Finals for example and how what happen might follow those officials for the rest of their careers. And not all the officials were directly involved in some of the crap that happened. Even we posted plays here of what took place and this place goes to the world, not just Illinois.

Peace

As much as you and I disagree here, I agree with all you said (in this post and the others in this thread). Even for my first state tourney, in 2008, I was simply not ready. I struggled. It wasn't the games...they were all at a lower level than my normal week-to-week schedule, but it was the environment and the pressure of the tourney....all eyes on you at a level of scrutiny like never before and loser goes home. In my next two opportunities, after a bit more experience and reflection on the first strip, I did very, very well and was rewarded quite nicely for it.