Put me in coach, I'm ready to play

When I first stepped on the court to try my hand at this whole officiating thing, I came up with a metaphor to describe what I was going through. Picture a freshman basketball player. He's never played organized ball -- not at the local Y, or in a church league, or even in junior high. He's just hooped in the 'hood, in his neighbors' driveways and at the local playground. Said freshman basketball player tries out for the team and makes it, but then his head is spinning as he tries to learn all of the offensive and defensive sets of organized basketball. That's about what I felt like as I tried to learn on the fly how to officiate. You're constantly thinking. Am I doing this right? Am I in the correct position? Is that my zone? Should I blow my whistle for that, or is that my partner's call? Too much thinking, not enough reacting and officiating.

So, I went through a few practices. Showed the coach I had a little skill. Can handle the rock a little. Make a slick little pass or two. Run the break. Knock down the open J. But that's all in practice. Does it translate to the game? Get a couple of games under my belt. A little tentative at first. After all, I'm new to this whole organized basketball thing. Much different from hoopin' in the hood. The more games I get under my belt, the smoother things go, and suddenly I'm called up to the JV team. One game there, where I play my best game yet, and all of a sudden coach says he's got a uniform for me on the varsity.

So, yeah, that little freshman hoops player is stepping up to the big leagues on Friday night. My first varsity action. I've got two things going for me -- it's B/C ball, which should be an easier pace than jumping straight into big school ball, and I'm calling with two veteran officials, one of which has been sort of a mentor to me from the very beginning of the year and who actually requested that I call this game with him.

I must admit, I'm very stoked about this. I was warned from the get-go not to expect any varsity action this year. For first-year officials, those games are hard to come by. Plus, there was an influx of new guys this year, so the body-starved association I'm with now has quite a few guys to choose from. Some of the "new" guys aren't new at all. A guy I called my first JV game with on Tuesday is a five-year veteran who missed the past two years because of his service in the military and a hip surgery. So he's technically new, but not a first-year guy, and certainly ahead of me on the pecking order. My goal was to work on my craft during junior high games, take as many JV games as I could get, and hopefully earn a shot at a varsity game late in the season. To have one this early is a blessing.

Now I'm also very nervous. Am I ready? I believe so. I've worked really hard on my mechanics, and I've gotten compliments from every official I've worked with or who has observed me. I hustle. I try my best. I know I miss some calls. I'm still learning about what type of official I want to be. Some call things very tight. Others let the kids play. And you have to be a little flexible depending on the level you're calling. Of course, I'm going to be a little more lenient on sixth-graders than I am on varsity players. That's only natural.

But this is my chance to prove to myself, and more importantly, two veteran officials who can pass their observations along to the man who makes the assignments that I'm ready and willing to be an official he can lean on the rest of the year. This is a great opportunity, and I'm ready to take advantage of it on Friday night. But first, of course, is my junior high assignment Thursday night. Just another opportunity to get better and improve. Time to go to work!