Advice for a VERY young official

[Nikki]

Originally Posted by Toren

I like your dad's advice.

"Have fun"...sometimes we can overthink these things and anticipate problems that don't come to fruition. So deal with issues as they happen, I wouldn't plant the seed of what might happen.

Well it did get me where I am today

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I think everything Bob said was good solid advice except for the first part. I see a kid his age getting sometimes more crap because he is very young. I can see coaches and fans acting like he is not knowledgable about the rules or the game. That does not mean that is true or that he cannot become knowledgable or do his job well. Unfortunately that seems to be the main thing I would be concerned with because people bring all their prejudices and sometimes bigotry to the table when they deal with us. It is much more than our uniform they yell at sometimes. I think it is good you work with him and you can protect him in ways others would not be willing to do in some situations. I think he will be fine and it sounds like you have the right idea. Just watch him and do not push him so that he does not find a love or if he chooses not to officiate he does so for the right reasons. Good luck with this, and keep us informed. I would like to know what kinds of things he deals with and how he succeeds in the future.

Peace

I think you are correct to some extent...I think that people have a predisposed "hate" for the uniform, but also bring their own prejudices and bigotry...it's a double whammy sometimes. I am not pushing this on him, it was his decision (that I am very happy and proud that he made). My daughter tried her hand at officiating once and walked off after the first game saying "never again"...so we'll see.

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

1) Blow your whistle and raise your hand. Loudly. Wait. Wait some more. Then signal.

Tell him that the role of the official is much like (insert favourite play-by-play announcer) -- you see what is happening and then tell people what it is.

That's a great analogy that I will definitely share with him.

I think he will be fine and I actually think he will do very well. I truly appreciate all the advice.

[MD Longhorn]

My son started at 15... and the hardest thing was getting him to stop being afraid to put some air into the whistle.

[SE Minnestoa Re]

My son started at 14. For the first couple of years, I worked with him at youth tournaments on Saturday mornings. I usually had worked the night before but really wanted to be out there with him.

He had a couple of advantages--first he was a big kid and coaches likely thought he was older than he actually was. Second, he had me watching his back. Even the youth coaches figure out really quick when a varsity level official is working their games and I think they behaved better than typical.

I always stressed he had to know the rules and had to work on proper mechanics.

Now that he is grown up, lives two hours away, is a lawyer, and married with a small child, I will always cherish the days we reffed together.

[Nikki]

Originally Posted by MD Longhorn

My son started at 15... and the hardest thing was getting him to stop being afraid to put some air into the whistle.

I've talked to him about this and he acts like he gets it, but we'll see that first time he's actually on the floor

Originally Posted by SE Minnestoa Re

My son started at 14. For the first couple of years, I worked with him at youth tournaments on Saturday mornings. I usually had worked the night before but really wanted to be out there with him.

He had a couple of advantages--first he was a big kid and coaches likely thought he was older than he actually was. Second, he had me watching his back. Even the youth coaches figure out really quick when a varsity level official is working their games and I think they behaved better than typical.

I always stressed he had to know the rules and had to work on proper mechanics.

Now that he is grown up, lives two hours away, is a lawyer, and married with a small child, I will always cherish the days we reffed together.

My son also has that advantage, he's tall for his age. I used to be so annoyed when my dad would call me to work the 8th grade championship game at st. so and so, but now I get it. He loves every chance he gets to work with me and he's very proud (if you asked him about me, you'd probably come away thinking I worked a final four ). So no matter how this turns out, the time we spend together on this will be invaluable to me.