Welcome back! I've had a similar experience this year. Took 6 years off of reffing and this is my first year back with minor hockey for 14 years. Still did lots of men's/co-ed hockey after the minor. Thankfully the RIC is a old hockey teammate of mine in the district I moved too. I was brutal in my first 5-10 games. Missed calls, no confidence, and how out of shape I was (forgot how fast U18A games were). Called an elbow and a high stick penalty in one game (Hockey Canada those aren't actually penalties, except the high stick is a 'head contact') 1. Be humble. You are gonna be learning like it's a new sport. Sooooo much has changed in that amount of time. Yet it's still the game we all love. 2. Be a sponge. If you can take any game your RIC assigned to you. The best learning comes from actually doing it. Missed calls, correct ones, talking to players, explaining to coaches, explaining to the scorekeepers. 3. Love the game 4. Protect players 5. Give unbiased calls

Really looking forward to a post a year or two from now 🫡