Quote:
Originally Posted by Raymond
It was instilled in me early on to know what's going on.
|
Each official is different in regard to what they are easily able to remember and what they aren't easily able to remember. Different officials have different priorities based on one's ability to remember.
For example, one of my regular partners was able to remember (after introducing himself) the names of all at the table (timer, home scorer, and visitor scorer) and address them by name at halftime, or during unusual situations. "Matthew. Please get both teams and the officials with three minutes left in halftime". "Mark. Please hand me the jacket behind your seat". "Luke. Please let us know when either team has used all their allotted timeouts." Amazing!
Some officials have the ability to very accurately remember the status of the alternating possession arrow, without using any type of "crutch". Here in my little corner of Connecticut, from day one of rookie mechanics training we're taught to use the "extra whistle in pocket" routine, and doing otherwise is frowned upon, although a few guys successfully use the memory-only approach.
Some officials are able to very accurately know, without consulting the scorebook (we have only a few scoreboards that show individual fouls), how many fouls "star players" have.
As for me, after over twenty-five years of working a Catholic middle school games, and now, in the twilight of my career, a few years of working public school middle school games, middle schools that, for the most part, don't show team fouls on the scoreboard, and often with students at the table, I've developed a "Spidey-Sense" of knowing when to ask the table after reporting, "Team fouls?" (usual answers, six, seven, or ten), "Bonus?", "Double bonus?" to avoid correctable error (or noncorrectable error) situations.
Over forty-plus years, I don't recall any disqualified players trying to reenter any of my games (however, how would I know if it did happen, I don't purposely keep track, leaving it up to the table), but I have had about a half dozen occasions of players not "sitting a tick" trying to reenter too early (usually involving free throws, often for technical fouls, triggering my "Spidey-Sense"), with me unilaterally (no table involved) stopping them (however, how would I know if it did happen more times, I don't purposely keep track, leaving it up to the table).