Anyone ever experience this
 

So tonight I had one if those nights. I did middle school games last week and this past weekend. Back to high school tonight. Has anyone ever had issues adjusting to the type of play after week off from HS ball. Usually by the 2nd QT I'm fine, but not tonight. Could not get it going. Called a bad game. Felt bad about it. Luckily my partner knew it and he picked up the slack.

Maybe a really long time ago, but I do not work a lot of JH games in the middle of the HS season. Maybe you need to put away the JH games during the season. I know you want to work an get experience, but there comes a time when you have to focus on one or the other until you can mentally deal with the back and forth. Either that or cut back on one verse the other. It also could be you are working too much.

Peace

Adjustment ...
 

My biggest adjustment is in getting use to being "challenged" by coaches in a high school game, whereas, in my Catholic middle school games, the coaches are unbelievably quiet.

I also have a problem going from a girls high school varsity game on one night, and doing a boys high school varsity game the next night. It's takes me a large portion of the first period to "catch up". I do not have the problem going the other way, boys to girls.

I feel more comfortable with the changes now. The biggest difference is the intensity of the players/coaches more than anything else. Plus I have to constantly talk to myself about what rule set I'm dealing with for a specific game.

Same transitionary concerns for me going from GV to BV, or going from the occasional JV game to V the next night.
A) Concerted visualization of the speed and physicality of the game while on the way to the site has helped somewhat. I turn the radio off and really put what I'm about to experience to mind. That's helped somewhat.
B) But what really makes it a non-factor is a good, indepth pregame. Even more indepth and detailed pregame if you feel you're not "there yet" in your mental state prior to the V game. The extent to which the pregame considers the increased speed of play, tactics of players, and likely situations and scenrios makes the transition a lot easier, often not even an issue.
Works for me. Am open to ideas from others.

imho, the best "cure" is to have a patient whistle. If you see the play start, develop, and finish, then you'll be able to determine if the contact was incidental (no whistle), marginal (maybe), or contact that warrants a foul.

The problem people have in adjusting to different levels of play, is that they're blowing the whistle too soon and guessing/assuming that a whistle is needed.

Just be patient and wait....I think you'll find that plays that need a whistle will be easier to see if you do.

I worked about 20 straight boys games and then filled in on a girls game in late December - my first girls game since the previous March.

I know the feeling -- it took me 2-3 minutes to adjust. Have worked 2 girls games since then and neither of them did that to me. They did feel a bit different (because they are a bit different), but I just forced myself to be better prepared mentally.

Honestly, I find it harder going the other way - in pretty much every sport. 10 solid HS basketball game, and then a weekend doing youth ball --- I'm usually too tight on the calls and take too much coaching nonsense in the first couple of games. 10 straight HS softball or baseball games (or 16U / 18U etc) and then suddenly working a 12U or 10U game, my zone is too tight. 10 HS football in a row, and I'm way too tough on wiggling at the line of scrimmage in that 8th grade C game.

I know this is the hoops thread but I echo this x1000, I find there is an adjustment period with a major level change but the strike zone can be a killer.

I do grade school, Jr HS, Frosh and JV. Downside to grade school is that it gets to the point where we just can't call every violation. If we did we would be there 3 hours. Plus we tend to be lenient on 3 seconds in the lane, or 5 second count. When I go to higher grades I have to get into the mode to be strict on rules enforcement.

After a week of HS girls& boys I find myself not taking any drama from MS coaches. I tend to give HS coaches more wiggle room

In these parts some schools play GV & BV same night in same gym. Its not uncommon to be assigned both games back to back or to be assigned a JV & V back to back. You have to just accept the fact that you will have to run faster from the get go, make sure you get into position, and be patient enough to see the play through. This makes the transition easier. In any given week I'll work 8 - 12 games ranging from 9/10 rec up to 5A varsity. Working a variety of games also makes the transition easier.

This

I think we all have one of those nights where we can't get it going or seem off track. Besides the speed and level that some games vary on do you find it a bit of an adjustment going from 2 man to 3 man?

I do a variety of games during the course of a week or two and I try to use the pregame warm ups to focus on the game at hand. I try to watch the teams warm up, picking out their shooters, finding their lefty’s (they cause unusual situations), seeing who takes an extra step on a jumper or who can’t make a layup. So no matter whether it's the girls MS game or the boys varsity game, warm ups help to mentally prepare me ...then the running starts! ;-)