The Best Way to Improve Your Officiating Game As a Basketball Referee

Today we are going to talk about the single best way to improve your basketball officiating game -- hands down.

It is -- VIDEO REVIEW.

Video is the single greatest weapon in your arsenal of development.

It is like having the opportunity to referee three games for every one game you actually work. Sadly, video is incredibly underutilized. While most officials talk about video...most never get to breaking down any video. They are like a bunch of fisherman talking about what reels work best, which spinning baits catch the most bass, and where to find the "big ones"...and then never going to fish. All talk...no action.

For you, this is actually good news.

The fact that it is so valuable while at the same time so underutilized should be a great motivation for you. In other words, if you are looking for a leg up on the competition, here it is. If you want to separate yourself from the field, here is your chance.

Reviewing the video of your games will enhance your growth tremendously. I personally believe that your development will quadruple on an annual basis if you watch at least 50 percent of your games on video... within the first 48 hours after the game.

I hope you caught that... four times the improvement in one year!

Or, to put it a different way, I believe you will pack four years of development into each single season just by promptly breaking down at least half of your games on video. This is powerful stuff. And the only reason so few do it is that they lack the discipline to consistently implement this one step to enhance their performance.

You can probably come up with a million excuses why you cannot find the time to review your video. I challenge you right now to come up with a few excuses to find the time. I can think of two right off the bat: the money at the top is very good and so is the prestige.

If you could get to the top four times faster, would it be worth the effort? You tell me.

So...your first step is to get video of your games -- get every game if you can. Be creative. I can personally name at least 10 ways to get a game on video (even a J.V game!). You can too if you think hard.

Next, you've got to come up with a very disciplined method of reviewing your videos. Most officials only look at their videos to review them for "play calling". In my system, play calling review comes well after we've covered positioning and position adjustments. There are three main categories to video review: Positioning, Play Calling, and Intangibles.

Finally, when reviewing videos, you should always take a step back and look at your development as a whole. Find your weak point...find your strong points...and then pick the areas that you are going to focus on. Take those specific areas to your next game, watch them that next night on video, repeat...

Next thing you now, you have sky-rocketed past your peers. And all you did was get disciplined about video review.

Now you don't have to go to camp to learn how to do video review...you can actually learn the nuts and bolts of professional video review in the comfort of your own home.

Back to the point...and I will summarize this in one sentence: Learn to Break Down Video!

Until then, keep running the court, blowing the whistle, and having fun!

Ed T. Rush, Former NBA Director of Officials spent 40 years in professional basketball and is a veteran of 33 NBA Finals Games and 5 NBA All-Star Games.

If you have ever pictured yourself refereeing in the NBA Finals or the Final Four, Mr. Rush can teach you how to get to your goals faster and easier with his extensive e-mail course on becoming a top-level referee.

This free course is designed to help teach you the many requirements to reach the game's highest levels. You may be surprised at how a few small changes in your approach can make a world of difference in whether you succeed or fail to reach your basketball officiating dreams.