[Raymond]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

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From where the Trail official is positioned, it is difficult to be sure exactly when the ball was released to start the dribble. Red #22 moves away from the Trail official, who is in a straight-line position. Before ruling any violation, officials need to be 100% sure a violation has been committed. In this play, if you are unsure if the pivot foot was lifted before the start of the dribble, it should be ruled a legal play.

The Trail does a pretty good job getting an angle as Red #5 dribbles the ball toward the opposite sideline. Red #5 picks up his dribble and passes to Red #22. This was an opportunity for the Trail official to position adjust toward the sideline and possibly be in a better position to have an open view between Red #22 and his defender, White #32. Had this adjustment been made, he may have also had a better view of the start of the dribble.

Working the Trail in a Crew of 2 is challenging. To be effective, we need to be active and adjust quickly when opportunities present themselves. There was no chance the pass between Red #5 and Red #22 was going to be intercepted in this play. If/when the Trail recognized Red #22 was uncovered, he could have quickly wrapped back toward the sideline and been in a very good position as Red #22 received the ball. Ruling accurately on plays comes down to proper angles. Therefore, officials need to constantly be working hard to get the best angles available on every play. [/I]

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I always advise officials working 2-man to work a Center position whenever possible when in the Trail, especially if they are speedy enough to keep pace with fast breaks.