In this episode, we are honored to have NCAA Men's Basketball Coordinator Gerry Pollard, a seasoned official with over two decades of on-court experience, joining us. Gerry shares his remarkable journey starting as a high school referee and advancing to 21 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, culminating in a Final Four appearance in 2021. Now a coordinator for multiple conferences, Gerry brings a wealth of knowledge and real-world officiating wisdom, making this a must-listen for officials at every level.โฃ
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๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ & ๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ง๐ผ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐:โฃ
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1. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐น ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด: Gerry recounts how he got started, the steps he took to reach the college ranks, and his memorable experience working his way to the NCAA Final Four.โฃ
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2. ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ & ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐: Includes the story of managing cross-country travels during a hectic schedule, like officiating in Central Florida on a Sunday and Gonzaga in Spokane on Monday.โฃ
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3. ๐ฃ๐ต๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ถ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฒ ๐ข๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐: A SWAT officerโs approach to keeping in top physical form even during intense officiating seasons.โฃ
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4. ๐๐ฑ๐ท๐๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐: Gerry discusses the impact of rule changes like the LGP (Legal Guarding Position) Block/Charge and shot clock introductions at the high school level.โฃ
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5. ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด: From handling angry coaches like Bill Self to navigating the complexities of replay reviews.โฃ
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6. ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด: Gerry shares his experience juggling the demands of officiating with family life and why attending significant family events sometimes meant skipping high-profile games.โฃ
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7. ๐๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ฟ: Gerry talks about his approach to mentoring young officials and the importance of developing a strong support network in the officiating community.โฃ
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8. ๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฝ ๐๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐ต ๐๐ผ ๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐: Insight into attending camps, receiving feedback, and earning respect from veteran officials and coordinators.โฃ
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9. ๐จ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐: How to handle the faster pace of play as you transition from high school to college and beyond.โฃ
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Special thanks to Erik Steffenson for hosting this episode and guiding a powerful conversation filled with practical insights and memorable stories.
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