Basketball Officials Clinic Outline
Generals – Mechanics/Professionalism
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Uniform (White/Black Striped Shirt, Black Pants, Black Shoes, Black Socks, Whistle)
Rules Knowledge – Get “The NFHS Rules Book”
Pre-Game
o Talk with partner about how you’re going to call this game (Especially important when working with multiple
partners)
Mechanics
o Foul – Fist
o Violation – Open hand
o Court Positioning
 Lead Official
 Trail Official
 Free Throws, Throw ins, Time Outs
 Rotation on foul calls
o Communication
 With Partner (Verbal/Non Verbal Signals, Eye Contact, Communicate Penalty then report, etc…)
 With Players (Live Ball/Dead Ball)
 With Coaches (Respect is a two-way street)
 With Fans (NEVER – There needs to be a designated adult to help handle)
o Movement
 Move to improve
 Turn Shoulders towards action (Non-verbal/where you’re watching)
 Box in (Pay attention to where your partner is at)
 Transition
 Hustle (If you’re going to move… GET THERE)
Court Presence
o 3 Types of Calls
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Basic Whistle/Signal ( Everyone knows the call, you just confirm)
 Routine – Be authoritative, and confident. It’s your judgment (used 75% of the time)
 Sell – Used when necessary, but when appropriate
o Table Mechanics
 Reporting Area (STOP MOVING)
 Jersey Color, Number, Foul Signal, Number of free throws if applicable
Officials Etiquette
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Punctuality – 15 minutes early minimum. 30 Minutes is preferred and standard protocol.
Never disagree publicly with your partner (you are the only 2 people on YOUR team! Stick Together)
Pre-Game Discussion with Partners
 Responsibilities (Court Coverage)
 Communication/Signals (Non-Verbal Signals)
 How to handle a double whistle (Especially if you disagree on the call)
 Get clear of players/coaches, etc… Talk so only you each can hear, avoid head shaking and
disagreement, let the person who’s area it was make the call, then you both agree on what you
saw. EVEN IF YOU DON’T, NEVER disagree publicly. Talk about it after the game.
 Special Plays you’ve seen.
 Pick something you want to get better @ each game.
Continued Education
You will learn from each game you call from each person you work with and from every mistake you make. You will make
mistakes. That’s ok! Just learn from them. Official education never ends. Here are some tools I use in my continued education
o Get WIAA Certified – Go to www.wiaawi.org and click on “Become a Licensed WIAA Official”
o Visit www.nfhs.org You will find the following 2 links on the right hand side of the home page
 Officials Education –Basketball Education
 Official Forum – You will need to create a username/password for this but it’s free and the discussion
boards are a great place to learn rules and situations. If you can’t find the answer to what you are looking
for you can always start your own discussion.
o YouTube – There are some very good videos on here, just be careful for the ones that aren’t so good. Try
searching “Basketball rules” or “Basketball Mechanics”.
o Google – You never know where you’ll end up and what you’ll find. There are a TON of great organizations to find
free information. Don’t be fooled into having to pay to learn the secrets to be a great official. The secret is
PRACTICE!
o Feel free to call or text me with any questions you have @ 715-790-6080 or email me @
kevinhansua@hotmail.com
I look forward to working with each of you to become the best official you can be!