The championship nets have all been cut down, and for the last several weeks you've been getting reacquainted with your family after another hectic basketball season.
Enjoy this well-earned break in the action, but if you haven't done so already, now is the time to look at what officiating camps best meet your needs for skill development and career advancement.
Today in Part 1 of our camp series, "60 Seconds on Officiating" will offer some food for thought to pack in your bag that will help you survive - and thrive - in your camp experience.
Evaluation AND Education
Challenge yourself to not fall into the trap of attending a camp just to be evaluated for a move up the officiating ladder...
You can do both.
Showcase your talent and come away with something that will improve your game for the coming season...Successful veteran coaches attend clinics looking to pick up one new teaching drill, or a variation to a familiar offensive or defensive play that will help make their team better.
We should hold up our end of the game by taking the same dedicated approach...
It's the lessons we learn after we think we know it all, that prove to be the most valuable.
First Impressions
It's been said that, 'you are only as wise as others perceive you to be,' so make sure your best is always on display while at camp.
Dress For Success: Now it's not written anywhere that showing up at a camp wearing flip-flops, a tank top, and a baseball cap on backwards will keep you from a Final Four assignment, but if you're an unknown trying to make your mark, you may want to present a more professional and more mature look.
Timing Is Everything: Arriving late for registration; scrambling to find your game assignment; and strolling into a classroom session after the discussion has begun, will not inspire confidence from the watchful eyes you are trying to impress.
Auto-matic Judgment: Is your car stylish, or just a sty? This may seem to be a nit-picking point, but if a conference supervisor you're trying to impress, asked you for a ride back to the dorm or to the restaurant up the road, would you be embarrassed?
During the season, your vehicle is a mobile home and traveling office that speaks volumes about how you live.
What you do and how you conduct yourself, speaks louder than anything you could say on the matter.
Two Ears, One Mouth: While at camp, listen twice as much as you speak...
Camps are great venues to catch up with old friends and a chance to make some new officiating relationships, but be very mindful of conversations that turn into gossip sessions...Don't add any fuel to the fire, and separate yourself from the back-stabbing pack as quickly as possible.
Also, don't challenge feedback you receive from a camp evaluator....You won't be the first person to get what seems like conflicting advice from two respected officials about a certain aspect of your game....
"Yeah, but John just told me to get deeper, and now you're telling me to move up..." is not the appropriate response...Process the well-intended suggestion and try to find a balance in the two critiques that will improve your game...
In closing, if you treat camp as a business trip with specific goals in mind, and are conscious of the fact that everything you say and do is being evaluated, you will no doubt have a more satisfying camp experience...
As a camp survivor at officials In postion camp, your information is right on target espicially feedback from other experience officials that are there to help improve your game. Take the knowledge and adapt the recommendations to your game style, it will only improve everyone game style, and skill level.
Posted by: Bob Teeling | April 24, 2009 at 10:35 AM