Demo, a nine-year veteran of the Lane County Basketball Association, which coordinates officiating for the Springfield middle school league, college teams such as Northwest Christian, and all high school games played in Lane County, typically works three varsity games a week. However, some referees officiate as many as a dozen games in seven days between the three levels of high school basketball, KidSports, YMCA and adult recreational leagues. For varsity high school referees, game night generally begins an hour before tip-off with a meeting of officials during which they go over specific concerns for that evening. During halftime the officials meet again to analyze the first-half play as a whole and discuss specific situations that arose. After the final buzzer they reconvene to break down the game and write up evaluations of their partner's work.
Movement is the key to officiating basketball.
You have to be on a rubber band, always moving and looking for windows. It's all about angles. The lead official, working the baseline, monitors the other eight players. After each possession the referees' jobs are switched, as the trail official sprints to the opposite end to become the lead official and the baseline official moves to take up the trail position. And while a referee can read all the books and take all the courses on officiating in the world, the best way to improve is practice.