Issue 2, February 1, 2000
Welcome to the MACBOA E-mail Newsletter

The MACBOA E-mail Newsletter is a periodic publication of the Mid Atlantic Collegiate Basketball Officials Association (MACBOA). The Mid-Atlantic College Basketball Officials Association provides basketball officiating services to several colleges and universities in the Maryland - Washington, DC area. The Association has a membership of approximately 150 men and women officials. Our membership consist of men and women who work Divisions I, II and III basketball. We pride our Association on providing quality and professional service. The Guiding Principles of MACBOA include taking pride in the quality of our work, teat people with respect, focus on customer needs and expectations, encourage improvement, embrace change, and act with integrity.

The usefulness and survival of this newsletter is going to depend on the participation of subscribers and professionals alike. Please help by submitting personal stories, experiences, and articles of general interest to the MACBOA community.

Online subscriptions to MACBOA E-mail Newsletter are free and currently there are over 100 subscribers to the MACBOA Newsletter throughout the country. Paper subscriptions are also available in the U.S. at a modest cost for printing and shipping. The MACBOA E-mail Newsletter is made possible by the kind support of our sponsors. I thank our sponsors for making the newsletter possible. Please visit our web site at http://www.macboa.org. As always, please visit our sponsors and thank them for keeping MACBOA operational.

Donnee L. Gray, Coordinator of Officials
Email: Donnee.Gray@macboa.org

---------------------------------------------------------------------

From the Coordinator of Officials to Officials
*As everyone knows, severe weather have either cancelled or postponed assignments. This office appreciates your professionalism and diligence in contacting this office concerning an assignment. As always, keep your phone numbers current with this office.
*Call the game! Let the play develop and finish before you make a decision.
*You are not responsible for how a team plays. Call the foul, the players and coaches will adjust. Stay focused and finish strong!
*Please take a moment to read the contribution from George Toliver as you prepare for the rest of the season.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FAQ's
Where can I get information on the forms, policies, and procedures of MACBOA?
Please visit the ‘Policies' section of MACBOA.ORG at http:www.macboa.org.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Heat

Here is some food for thought as you enter the final two-thirds of the basketball season.

There are really three important things to remember about your officiating responsibility:

1. Your first obligation is to the "game" itself.

2. Your second obligation is to the administrative level to do the job, which protects the integrity of the game. See the play, make the decision (whistle or no whistle) . You must trust your instincts.

3. Your third obligation is to PROPERLY PREPARE yourself to do the job to the best of your ability on each and every assignment that you accept. Be prepared mentally and physically to work.

How to handle: your preparation, or an officiating slump (oh yes, you can have them).

Don't get caught up in philosophy. There are a lot of those all with varying degrees of differences. Instead you must rely on the tools (the basics) that give you a sequence for the task at hand each game. Think about this! The constant you have every night is A basketball game. Don't make it THE game of the week, or THE game of the month or THE anything. It is and should always be approached as A game, and on every night, A very important game. I assure you that to the players, coaches, and schools involved, each game is viewed as important. Therefore, each and every game needs the best that you have to offer as a referee. Now, what can help you be the best you can be every game.

Consider the following basics:
1. Have a meaningful pre-game conference. BE PREPARED TO MANAGE THE GAME.
2. Hustle, move for and with a purpose. REMEMBER THERE ARE NO MAGIC SPOTS ON THE FLOOR.
3. Work to get good angles. REFEREE THE DEFENSE.
4. Call the obvious.
5. Don't guess.
6. Referee the game from the beginning to the end with a high level of concentration. THE CREW SETS THE TEMPO OF THE GAME.
7. Officiate post play, hand checking, screening, and shooters in
the context of the rules. THEY WILL PLAY AS YOU ALLOW THEM TO PLAY.
8. Referee your primary, ASSIST in secondary areas.
9. Communicate with your partners, the players and the coaches
when necessary. Communication when needed is not a
sign of weakness, it is a sign of humanity.

Reprinted with permission from George Toliver, NBA Official.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Ecetera
FUN & LAUGHTER (Ike Relacion)
Nothing beats it. James Autry, in his business autobiography, Confessions of an Accidental Businessman, relates that Ed Young, a copy editor, would join a group at work and exclaim, "Let us put aside the cares of the day and let mirth reign unrestrained". Try using that line the next time you need to lighten up the workplace!

Don't take yourself or your work too seriously. I'm not suggesting the work isn't important, but I believe that you'll feel better and be more effective if you tackle the challenges from a positive perspective. Hard work, solving difficult problems can be fun. It may not be side-splitting yucks all the time, but looking back on a project well done where people were engaged and respected, and culminating the project by celebrating each individual's contributions is great fun for all. I'm not joking!

Want to be the best loved leader in the workplace? Cancel a meeting. People will love getting the time to do their "real work". Meetings sure have a bad reputation in so many organizations, and I challenge anyone, anywhere to tell me that their organization has perfected the art of meetings. While I won't offer advice on holding successful meetings, (there are books, magazines, consultants and talismans galore), I offer a few succinct points that relate to improving work/life balance by making necessary meetings successful...thus saving each participant time in future activities.

*Never meet without an agenda.
*By the end of the meeting have a one-page summary for participants and for the folks who couldn't make it. This must include who is going to do what, and by when.
*Workgroups should meet frequently but for short duration.
*Don't ruin the meeting by scheduling it at the beginning or end of the day when people might have other conflicts (elder and child care issues come to mind)
*If you decide to schedule a lunchtime meeting, make sure you get group consensus/buy-in, and provide a nice lunch (check for food allergies, ok?)

Call for Contributors: We would be pleased and honored to include contributions from our readers who would like to share tips, techniques, resources or opinions on appropriate topics which focus not just on officiating, but on balancing life and work issues. If you or someone you know would like to contribute, please email irelacion@aol.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Letters from the Members
Please send in your personal stories, experiences or questions; other readers can reply to you via this newsletter or directly (provide your contact information). Contributions should be sent as e-mail, attachments to e-mail will not be accepted. Please take the time to reply if you can help someone.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

To cancel your subscription to MACBOA Newsletter, reply to this e-mail with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the Subject Line.

----------------------------------------------------------------

MACBOA Newsletter Information
The MACBOA, INC provides the MACBOA newsletter. MACBOA is a nonprofit organization providing information about membership news. The MACBOA.ORG Newsletter's contents may be quoted and reused as long as attribution is included with the reprinting and/or posting.

Neither MACBOA nor its guest contributors shall be liable or responsible to any person or entity for any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be have been caused, directly or indirectly by the information or ideas contained, suggested, or referenced in this newsletter.

Return to Home Page MACBOA Post Office Box 98 Bryans Road, MD 20616