Becoming a Ref: I Got (Fake) Court Time

Last week was supposed to be the week I experienced my first foray into basketball officiating in any capacity, but there wasn’t enough time in class, and I did not get on the floor as a ref for our “scrimmage.” This week, though, I did.

I donned the black-and-white, held my whistle in my mouth like a champion and tried to remember everything I had been taught and read. As expected, that did not happen. The very first time I gave someone the ball on the baseline to inbound in the backcourt, I forgot to do my 10-second count: a great start to what will undoubtedly be an officiating career.

After having that pointed out, though, I did the count correctly every other time. I made some other minor mistakes with positioning, and I’m still having issues with my whistle. Who would have thought that physically blowing the whistle properly would be my biggest challenge as a ref, but here we are. I blew for an out-of-bounds first, and my whistle was strong. Then, I felt like I did the same exact thing a few minutes later before an inbounds, but it was the softest, most pathetic tweet of the night and caused the instructors to pause the “scrimmage” for a moment so I could do it again. I don’t really know what I’m doing wrong, but I think I need to get more comfortable with how to do it these next couple of days, because this week, the closest thing to the real deal is coming my way.

On Wednesday, I will work an actual scrimmage between two local high school or middle school teams that will attempt to play a legitimate game of basketball. The same opportunity was available last week, but I was unable to participate. But my NBN cohort and fifth smelliest person I know, Mark Donahue, went and was asked to ref a girl’s varsity game. What he told me about the experience has made me feel a bit better for my entrance into the officiating world, and I’m also now aware that I could be placed on a varsity game. In all honesty, that prospect is intimidating, but if it happens, I’ll take solace in knowing it’s a practice and a fantastic opportunity for me to get better. I will have the same chance the following night, so hopefully anything I mess up Wednesday (which I am very confident will be plenty), I can grow from and correct Thursday.

Wish me luck. I am in desperate need of it.