The first time I walked onto a basketball court with a whistle in my mouth and a bright yellow referee shirt on I had exactly 0 hours of practice or training.
I knew the rules of basketball. HA! So I thought.
Having never officiated before I didn't know a raised closed fist meant foul, raised open hand meant a violation, or even which way the teams were supposed to go to start the game! These are BASICS - but I had no experience. I played pickup, never any organized basketball, and just wanted a way to stay close to the game, make a little extra cash, and not sprain my ankle every few months.
Soon after I started I realized I wasn't very good. But I was enjoying it so I decided to take a 10-week rules class.
Holy eye-opener, Batman. There were rules I had never even considered. Correctable errors, administrative technicals, intentional vs. flagrant, even the definition of traveling has an entire section on it! A passing grade meant I'd automatically be certified for varsity so I studied hard. And passed. Duh, I'm wicked smaht, kid. I still needed to do prove myself on the court, though. And I still didn't have enough practice! My only experience was on the court knowing nothing for one season of adult rec and then a class.
So even though I passed the exam with a high enough grade to automatically be considered for varsity I didn't get what was promised because I couldn't yet translate it to success on the court.
I kept going with the adult rec leagues. Put my new knowledge to work! Watched YouTube videos of the pros, guys like Zach Zarba and Monty McCutchen, as well as high school training videos. I worked to understand the calls they made, why they made or didn't make certain calls.
The next year I joined a new association and got assigned games! Actual games - from middle school up to varsity! I was stoked and did my best to make it work. I traveled from downtown DC to places like Nokesville, VA in rush-hour traffic, an hour or hour and a half away. I paid $30 in tolls to get out there and earn $70 - sometimes less.
It was exciting and I got much, much better. I made some mistakes, learned some things, but I took in every bit of knowledge from the older, more experienced officials, and talked through the things I did to make sure I understood why I made that mistake. Was I ball-watching? Did I not move to the right spot fast enough? Did I make a call too quickly and not let the play finish?
It was after this season that I realized one thing that I had for sure learned. I thought I was just going to learn the rules and have some fun officiating a sport I enjoyed. But that wasn't it.
I had learned how to communicate, how to manage people and expectations, and how to de-escalate - how to effectively diffuse situations with hot-headed kids, coaches, and - of course - parents (why are parents the worst offenders?)
I have never been the best public speaker, but you have to be an effective communicator as an official. You have to project your voice and make sure you can inform people of what's happening at any given time. When a coach believes his player was fouled or not, violated or didn't, or wants to understand what is happening during a crazy situation - you have to be prepared to calmly and clearly explain what's happening.
"Sorry, coach, your player was not in legal guarding position." "It was a close play but the defender got there first and took the charge." "Your player's hands were up but their body was moving toward the other player; they can only go straight up, not forward."
"Do it again and you're out of here!"
No official wants to say that. We all want to have a good, competitive, fair game and go home safe and sound. But, dammit, it feels good to be able to put someone who is being rude, demeaning, or just generally an asshole - in their place.
In the heat of the moment, people can say some awful things. I've heard coaches say things that wouldn't be uttered in an R-rated movie - in front of high school boys and girls! And I learned quickly to deal with it. Whether talking to players or coaches, some are fine with a calm explanation of what happened and why you made a call. Some need a stern look or statement like, "hey, cut that out." And sometimes you gotta go full throttle and send them packing!
There are some weird rules in basketball. There are weird rules in the world. There are things people don't understand until forced to learn and adapt.
If there's anything I'm good at it's adaptation and learning something new. Whether it's a work process or basketball rules I am really good at taking the time to understand why the rule is in place, how to work within it, and combine my knowledge and experience in a beneficial way. Working with other people gets me going and I'm glad that I found out a new skill that I have.
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