The New School of Referee Development = REF SKOOL 🏀

PRE-GAME

Today’s lineup:

• Referee Recognition: Ref honored during game after 50+ years of service! 🫡

• Awareness In Crucial Situations 🔍

• Cadence Whistles on Obvious Plays 😮

• Free Throw Funnies 😂

• Option to Advance 👉🏼

• Game Report 📝

TIP OFF/JUMP BALL

I’m not crying, you’re crying… 🥹🥹

In a world where many officials are constantly being abused during games and leading them to quit at alarming rates, a Pennsylvania high school made this referee’s last official game one to remember.

Officiating is a thankless job and we get that. Between two teams that think you [referee] are working for the opponent, and passionate fans who argue about rules they don’t know, it’s a wonder how and why any of us still do what we do.

Moments like this make it all worth it and prove that there are still decent people in society.

Who knows how your career will pan out, or how much money you will make from it. But for all the time, sweat, and effort we put into this profession, it would be nice if we could all leave the game with at least this much…

A thank you.

PRIMARY COVERAGE AREA

Awareness In Crucial Situations

Our training as officials area key foundation piece in how we perform and improve. The good (and bad) fundamentals we build along our journey, ultimately become our routines and processes.

Poor processes can result in a lack of judgement or decision making at the most crucial times. Below is an example of an honest mistake we may have all made at some point…

Granting a timeout that a coach did not request. 😬😬

We are all taught to be aware of coaches requesting a timeout in tightly contested games. However, we should remember to still visually observe who is calling the timeout before we grant it, or if they are even calling one at all.

The saying goes, “tired legs, tired minds”. When we get physically tired, the next thing to go is our focus. Late game situations require us to be at our best, because that’s all the coaches, players [and fans] remember.

Let this be a learning moment…

If it can happen to the best officials in the world, it can happen to you too!

MEDIA TIMEOUT

Cadence Whistles on Obvious Plays

[REF SKOOL Group Call Clips] We discuss a great example about having a cadence whistle from secondary on OBVIOUS plays.

Understanding what your partners can and cannot see will be a big help to your crew. It can also help your judgement and recognition of those "when to" moments. When do we need to help out? These can be crew saving plays.

Look back at some of your most recent games. Can you identify situations that you should have had a cadence whistle in?

Want to 10x your growth as an official, by receiving exclusive information shared in our group calls? Click here to receive access.

Free Throw Funnies: A Fan Experience

OPTION TO ADVANCE

GAME REPORT