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JMN Mon Aug 02, 2004 01:03pm

Guys,

With the season fast approaching, we are focusing on our new high school officials to help them get up to speed. We want to balance rules info, mechanics, and philosophy as they begin their officiating career. Our mentor program is aimed at first and second year officials. They are linked to experienced officials with good rules knowledge AND a personality and skill set that fosters helping others succeed.

Question:

1)For those of you who are mentors, what have you found most effective in helping new officials? How often do you contact them? See them?

2)For you newer officials who have had a mentor, what has your mentor done that helped you the most?

Thanks for the feedback.

PSU213 Tue Aug 03, 2004 02:16pm

Quote:

Originally posted by JMN
1)For those of you who are mentors, what have you found most effective in helping new officials? How often do you contact them? See them?

2)For you newer officials who have had a mentor, what has your mentor done that helped you the most?

I had a mentor, so I can answer question (1) from that perspective. In terms of contact, email works best. As for "seeing them" and also contact, we have weekly meetings during the season, and I had contact with my mentor there.

To combine parts of (1) with (2), I got the most help from being on the sidelines during the game. I knew the rules, but it was invaluable to see how my mentor (and the other offcials on the field) communicated with players, coaches, and with fellow officials (both those on the field, and the chain crew, etc.). There is no "script" to follow with this, but I think the most effective way for a young official to learn is to be on the sideline.

Also, it was very helpful to be in the dressing room with the officials. I learned quite a bit seeing the pregame, the halftime discussion, and the post game wrap up.

BigJWalt Tue Aug 03, 2004 02:36pm

I will help you with #2. Generally there is no mentoring program in the association I am with. You have to be aggressive and network, then hope things fall in place. I was lucky enough to hook up with an official with 17 years experience for my rookie year. Off the bat he was impressed and was in disbelief I was a first year official. So he helped me fine tune my game. When we would work together, he would take the line, I would umpire. This would allow me to specifically watch him. Then we would switch and I would try to perfect my technique. After 30 games or so, you don’t have to think about the little things. I also would go to varsity games and record seasoned officials then watch the tape at a later date so I could learn from them. I think confidence played a big role in learning. If you are timid, you could get left behind. Another method he used was constructive criticism. When he corrected me, he always did it in a positive way.

This was a good question. I really think more organizations need this if they want to produce quality officials.

Bob M. Mon Aug 09, 2004 03:23pm

REPLY: We are in constant contact (phone, in person, e-mail) with the new officials that we mentor. The best way I've learned to help is to either work sub-varsity games with them or observe and evaluate them in sub-varsity contests. We also have them accompany us to varsity games. We have them work on the field for our pre-season varsity scrimmages.

OverAndBack Mon Aug 09, 2004 11:39pm

I want a mentor!


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