Day 26 -- A New Experience

Today I got to do something I have never done before.

I was the meet referee at a major gymnastics invitational.

This made me nervous because it's a big deal.  Essentially you're the head judge at the meet.  Your decision on all questions and disputes is final.

My mentor asked me yesterday if I was willing to try it.  I figured that this would be the best meet possible for me to have my first crack at it because the panel of judges was so strong.  This meant that (a) there would be very few mistakes to correct and (b) I would have a lot of "backup" for any tough decisions that would have to be made. 

I was excited and anxious at the same time.  We've already established that I am non-confrontational, so I naturally fretted about run-ins with angry coaches.  I worried that I wouldn't know my rule book well enough.  I was concerned that I just wouldn't know what to do when a situation presented iself.

I was wrong.  There were some incidents, but I handled them better than I thought I would.  And I knew my book well enough to get by.  I had fun, I learned a lot, and I would definitely do it again.

I was thankful that I had the courage to try something new and scary...equally thankful that it turned out to be a positive learning experience.

Me...The Meet Ref!
Thank God for a New (GREAT) Experience!

Lord, thank you for giving me the courage to try something new.  I am so grateful that you gave me a chance to learn from this positive first experience today.  Thank you for watching out for me and for giving me confidence to do a good job.  Thank you for a good group of friends to judge with and for a safe and fun meet.  In your name I pray, Amen.

Comments

Anonymous said…
You were great, Al! I always enjoy serving on judging panels with you. Sorry I helped create one of the few incidents you had to deal with today! Hopefully we can get some vindication from the state office.

Angie
January 15, 2011 at 11:11 PM
Jim said…
That's wonderful - I'm so glad that it went well!
January 16, 2011 at 7:53 AM
Suzanne Gibbs said…
I'm so very proud of you.
February 12, 2011 at 7:02 PM
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