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Thank You, Coach E!

The 2011 Summer Evaluation Program will come to an end this week and I feel great about my chances for promotion. When I reflect on all that has transpired to get me to this moment, I think of Coach E, a mentor and friend who began preparing me for SEP from the time I became an official seven years ago. This week marks his birthday, and this blog is my birthday card to him.

Officiating Report Card - July 20, 2011, Final Grade

Feeling Good about last night's semi final game!  After 40 minutes of play, team "white" was victorious over team "red" by 12 points. Everything I had learned in the 10 previous SEP games, I now OWN. 

Clock start / stop correctly?  Check!

Foul count balance? Check! At the end of the first period, 6/6;  at the end of the second period, 9/10

Evaluator happy?  Check!-- all six of them!

Act like a CREW?  CHECK!!

Officiating Report Card - July 15, 2011, Getting Ready for the Semis

Ever since I was assigned a prestigious semi-final match for next week Tuesday, I have been mentally preparing to make it my best performance ever.  SEP Games 9&10 on Tuesday followed by three Boys JV summer league games last night, let me focus on three major areas that I hope to nail by Tuesday:

1) Situational awareness:  players, score, fouls, clock. Know the numbers and the tenor of the game and  manage accordingly. 

2) Communication with coaches and players:  Answer questions, not comments, by coaches and players, politely, firmly and without emotion.  Effective communication here keeps coaches in check and the game moving.

Officiating Report Card- Interim grade

Received email notice today with an assignment for an SEP play-off game next week!   YAYLaughing!   This is the closest to getting an interim 'grade'- and i clearly made enough of an impression to merit a semi-final game!   The Semi-finals can be more exciting than the Finals and often more intense.  This will be a true test of my ability to learn, apply, and consistently perform. I have the benefit of 4 practice games this week.  Two tomorrow; and two on Thursday.   Wish me luck!

Fast Forward 235 Years

A fellow official and good friend of mine, "Julia" recently sent an unusually emotional email advising that her partner of 19 years, "Danielle", had been removed as assistant scout leader for their son's Boy Scout troop. The Boys Scouts of America informed Danielle, that the basis of their decision was that her sexual orientation was" a detriment" to the scouts.

Officiating Report Card- July 4, 2011

SEP games 7&8 took place June 30th.  I have been mulling over my performance and that of the crew for days, trying to sort through my feelings. My goal at the outset was to merit an "A" performance by game 5-- and sustain that through games 9&10.   Before June 30, I was at an A, but after last week, I took a step backwards and I don't feel really good about it.  Why the set back?    I was the more experienced person on the crew.  I knew that from the time I got the assignment that this was a chance to step up and take care of little details that influence crew performance. I knew what to do and I knew what to expect from the players and coaches and yet, I still fell short.  Why?

Officiating Report Card- June 21, 2011- *post-script

I forgot to share one event that stood out in last night's games-- a "NO CALL".   A "no call" is when an official makes a judgement that the contact made between players A1 and B1 was incidental and legal.   This is the hardest call to make because many coaches and almost all parents believe that any contact constitutes a foul.  "No calls" draw jeers and boos by onlookers especially when the contact involves a shooter.

Officiating Report Card - June 21, 2011

SEP Games 5 & 6 can be summarized in one word:  communication.  Like any team sport, communicating with your teammates is key to success.  As the third team on the court, my partners and I communicated from the opening tip to the final buzzer ending overtime. The referee, or the "R",  before the opening toss, established eye contact with the U1, who is near the table and "chops the clock", and the  U2, who is opposite one of the team benches.

Officiating Report Card - June 17, 2011

SEP games 3 and 4 took place last night, and what a difference two days make! In addition to absorbing Monday's critiques, I spent hours studying the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials (IAABO) manual - the Bible, so to speak, on officiating rules, mechanics and procedures. It was like studying for a final exam, and the pressure I was putting on myself was enormous.

At the end of the two-game set, I gave myself a B+; a big jump from Monday's grade. Why? Two reasons: partners and confidence.

Officiating Report Card - June 13, 2011

Each summer, my officiating organization evaluates non-varsity officials for potential promotion. The event, the Summer Evaluation Program (SEP), is by invitation only. Three-person crews officiate highly physical and intense boys' varsity games. We are evaluated on game management, crew/coach/player communications, call accuracy and quality, court demeanor, physical fitness, and ability to apply suggested changes. I will be evaluated over a ten game, five week period. A decision to promote me (or not) to officiate high school varsity games will be made by end of summer.

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