President's Message

 

On behalf of the Executive Committee of I.A.A.B.O. Brooklyn Board 37, I want to extend my sincere gratitude for your hard work and service during the past 2022 – 2023 basketball season.

We were able to provide parochial, private, catholic and public schools with a superior product by all of our officials who endeavored to work this past season. The executive committee is grateful for your dedication and continuing efforts to improve upon your officiating skills.

In addition, I want to take a moment to remind all of our officials of the availability of teaching and college tryout camps being held throughout the tri-state area as well as other parts of the country. Camp experience is essential in a referee’s development as well as providing an opportunity to gain exposure and notoriety amongst NCAA supervisors. The newly minted I.A.A.B.O. University is a helpful online tool available to all members and we also encourage our officials to take advantage of this resource.

With the onset of summer/AAU basketball, we are fortunate in this part of the country to have a plethora of venues in which to work and also observe officials work. I strongly encourage our younger officials to inquire about refereeing some of the tournaments that are just starting their summer 2023 schedule.

Time flies when you are having fun. Make sure you are enjoying refereeing basketball games. It should not just be about making money but there should also be a sense of accomplishment in improving your craft. Find one or two things that you know you should improve upon and attempt to focus on improving that specific area. Note: Rules Knowledge, Play Calling, Mechanics, Game Management, Appearance and Conditioning are the cornerstones to becoming an excellent basketball official.  By focusing on these specific areas, this will give referees greater confidence entering the upcoming high school season. We are fortunate to be in the center of the basketball universe. The tri-state NY area continues to be the hotbed for basketball talent. And we are fortunate in having some form of basketball played virtually all year round.

Finally, the executive committee wants to strongly encourage our first through five-year officials to seek out and inquire about obtaining a referee mentor within the Brooklyn Board 37’s rank and file or any other of the metropolitan I.A.A.B.O. Boards. Mentorship provides necessary and important feedback to officials who are intent on improving their craft and advancing to each official’s desired level. 

We will continue to publish notes throughout the year that we consider helpful to the membership of Brooklyn Board 37. If you have any questions/concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out via the Brooklyn Board 37 website.

Regards,
Joe Thompson, MBA
President-Elect