Advice for a VERY young official

[stir22]

Originally Posted by Nikki

Thanks so much for all of the great advice. It has given me some great starting points!

A lot of tremendous advice already given...I would only add this.

1- Have him practice mechanics in front of the mirror, or you. He'll feel stupid, but, better to feel stupid in front of the mirror than look stupid on the court.

2- Have him pick one or two- no more- just one or two things to work on each game. Anymore than that and he'll get overwhelmed.

3- Have him start a journal. After every game encourage him to write down what were the positives and negatives of that game. When you write it down, it becomes real- and stays with you. If you don't, the games will blur into each other after awhile.

And, good for him and good on you!!! Good luck, and we'll see you on the trail.

[swkansasref33]

Originally Posted by stir22

1- Have him practice mechanics in front of the mirror, or you. He'll feel stupid, but, better to feel stupid in front of the mirror than look stupid on the court.

This is huge to boost self confidence.

[justacoach]

As the guiding force behind 3 teen aged officials I would like to share a few of my secrets:

1- Keep your young refs steadily occupied on the weekends, working at least 8-10 games. They will be so tired they can't get involved in any troublesome shenanigans.
2- Throw them to the wolves, no mollycoddling. Let them take their lumps and learn to be assertive, self-sufficient and responsible.
3- Make sure they have a solid foundation in rules and their proper application. I can't recommend a better venue than this forum.

Also make them bank all but a small fraction of their earnings. As time goes on, uniforms, shoes, camp fees and etc can get expensive. All 3 of my sons are proudly driving 'refmobiles'.

Good luck and stick with it....

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by justacoach

As the guiding force behind 3 teen aged officials I would like to share a few of my secrets:

1- Keep your young refs steadily occupied on the weekends, working at least 8-10 games. They will be so tired they can't get involved in any troublesome shenanigans.
2- Throw them to the wolves, no mollycoddling. Let them take their lumps and learn to be assertive, self-sufficient and responsible.
3- Make sure they have a solid foundation in rules and their proper application. I can't recommend a better venue than this forum.

Also make them bank all but a small fraction of their earnings. As time goes on, uniforms, shoes, camp fees and etc can get expensive. All 3 of my sons are proudly driving 'refmobiles'.

Good luck and stick with it....

Page 79 of the January 2014 Referee Magazine confirms this man knows of what he speaks.