Introduction to Officiating and
Knowledge of the Game
A. Professionalism
B. Importance of blowing the whistle
C. Game management
D. Working with players and coaches
A. Professionalism





Come 20 to 30 minutes before the game and
be dressed properly.
Do NOT horse around or shoot baskets while
you are waiting or at quarters or at half time.
Make sure coaches have their scorekeepers and
timers in place and trained well before game
time.
Always hustle, the players are running so we
should also be moving to get to our new
positions.
Look interested and excited about being there.
A. Professionalism






(Continued)
Be friendly and courteous to players and coaches.
During the game when making calls you can still have a
friendly face, but be firm in your decisions.
It is important to have in your gym bag a notepad and
pen, so you can write down the one or two comments
the supervisors gives you. This will be helpful to watch
your yearly progress.
Be confident from the time you arrive; the coach will
respect the official that seems to know what they are
doing.
Always have proper posture and facial expressions
when talking to someone, and use eye contact. As an
official you must never make a call in anger (we are
suppose to be the ones under control when the game
gets a little out of wack.)
Practice Signals & Voice looking into a mirror
A. Professionalism



(Continued)
When talking to the coach always address him/her as
coach, never by their first name, even if you know them
personally.
The coach can pick out the official that is out there just
going through the motions, so make every effort to be
alert and sharp at all times.
You must trust your partner, so from the beginning
make sure you are both calling the same things, then
when they make a call support them.
B. Blowing the whistle:

As an official you can learn the RULES (travel,
double dribble, out of bounds).

As an official you can learn the MECHANICS
(signals and movement on the court.

BUT, as an official good judgement (making
the right call) is learnt by observation (attending
clinics) and experience (refereeing games and
having an evaluator help).
B. Blowing the whistle:

(Continued)
Basketball is a wonderful game, it flows along smoothly
with players dribbling, passing, and shooting, the fans
and the coaches are all watching the action, they are all
focusing on the play WHEN SUDDENLY a whistle
from an official sounds, everything STOPS, all attention
is towards the official who made the call (the whole
world is watching you). Now what you do in the next
few moments will help make you a better official. You
must be clear in your communications (by voice and
signals) to let your partner, the players, coaches, scorers,
timers and yes the fans know what infraction has
happened and how it will be resolved. So that is a lot on
your shoulders as a young official, therefore, it is so
important that make a sharp blast from the whistle (so
everyone knows that you have confidence and you
know what you are doing.)
C. Game Management

This means it is the part of the game that we as officials
have the power to control.
 The usual RCBA game lasts about 80 minutes

The situations (before the start of the game, time
outs, subs, shooting fouls, violations) are times
that we can manage and keep to a minimum by
getting things done efficiently and quickly
(without rushing) and have the game move along
more smoothly.
C. Game Management:
(Continued)
1. Before the start of the game: Make sure
scorers and timers are ready, make sure players
are ready to come on the floor quickly for the
jump ball. It is your job to see that the game is
started on time.
2. Quarter and half breaks: This is the time to
check the score book, then discuss any
concerns with your partner, then one moves
quickly to where the ball is to be put into play
and the other gets the players out and ready.
C. Game Management:
3.
(Continued)
Time outs: These are short breaks for the
coach to discuss things with his players, not
you. One official should be available for the
table, while the other one goes to where the
ball will be put in play. After time outs get the
player out and the game going.
4. Subs: These are NOT time outs for the coach,
the new players should be brought out and
ready for action. One official only is getting
the subs ready, the other one is where the ball
is to be put into play.
C. Game Management: (Continued)
5. Violations: The official that makes the call
follows the procedures and gets the ball into
play, have good communication with your
partner, so they know the direction. Keep
things moving quickly.
6. Shooting fouls: One officials calls the fouls and
reports while the other one gets the players
lined up for the free throws.
C. Game Management:



(Continued)
NOTE: In all these above situations, it is
important to keep the dead ball time to a
minimum.
Good officials pride themselves in putting the
ball into play without unnecessary delays.
Remember the longer it takes you to put the ball
in play the longer the time a coach is
concentrating on you and your partner, so get
the game going smoothly so the coach can
concentrate on the game.
D. Working with players and coaches


There are situations in a game that if handled early will
save you and your partner a lot of grief later on. The
players want to play and the coaches want to coach, so
we must give them every opportunity by calling the
game consistently and to the best of our ability starting
from the beginning of the game.
If a player pushes someone early in the game – CALL
IT. If they do it again – CALL IT. If they do it again
– CALL IT. By this time the coach should take the
player aside and explain that they must stop fouling. If
this is not call early and is left uncalled it will become
more serious and dangerous later in the game. Calling
the little pushes early eliminates the problem later.
D. Working with players and coaches

(Continued)
In conclusion, work hard, be confident,
blow your whistle, hustle, be friendly but
firm and continue to keep the LIZARDS
under control.