Each time you step into a gym with your officiating partner(s) and take your position along the sideline to observe the teams warming up, you have a choice to make...

You can use these 15+ minutes to idly chat with courtside acquaintances; or perhaps go through a mindless routine of stretching exercises...

The question you have to answer for yourself is, do you SPEND this time trying to kill the clock to get to tip-off, or do you INVEST these pre-game minutes in specific activities that will help you as the game unfolds?

After you have shared an accurate team headcount with the REFEREE on your crew, spend these precious pre-game minutes observing the following:

Jewelry -- any player wearing earrings or a necklace?

Armbands -- anyone sporting a wrist bracelet or wearing a sweatband above the elbow?

Headbands -- If a player on your watch has a headband it can only be a solid color of black, white, beige, or single solid color similar to the players' jersey...and from this color pallet, all of the players must wear the same color...

Also, one company logo is OK, (NIKE, ADIDAS, UA...), as is a school mascot or logo, but no league trademarks (NBA) are permissible...  

Splints or Braces -- If you have to deliver bad news to a player wearing a medical aid on or below the elbow (or on the knee) made of a hard and unyielding substance, now is the time to do it...  

T-Shirts -- undergarments must be the same color as the team jersey...If the team you're observing is wearing a warm-up, be sure to mention this in your meeting with the captains, and take a peek at the team as they are waiting to be introduced during the starting lineups...

Fouls & Violations -- "Warm up" your eyes and watch your players make their moves to the basket and raise up for their jump shots...Focus on the pivot foot of a player starting their dribble, and visualize the jump shooter releasing the ball and returning safely to the floor...

A carefully planned checklist, like a pilot before takeoff, will burn through these pre-tipoff minutes very quickly, and before you know it, you and your partner(s) will be headed across the court to meet the coaches...

NFHS Rule 3-5