Quote:
Originally posted by Smitty
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I only work high school games. I don't work college games or pay much attention to college mechanics. I know that the best games I have are with a partner who is on the same page as me and I know exactly what he's doing whenever he blows the whistle. If my partner starts using mechanics I am not familiar with, it's only going to cause confusion and hesitancy on my part trying to figure out what he's got. I don't care if a guy is new or has dozens of years experience, if he uses funky mechanics it's only going to hurt my game as his partner.
[Edited by Smitty on Dec 8th, 2003 at 04:31 PM]
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I'll admit that sometimes I don't put my hand up before pointing on an out of bounds call. When I work with my one partner that works mainly college games, I'm even worse.
The purpose of mechanics is to be able to communicate to the participants and the people watching. When I get a bit excited and bang my hips on a block, can anyone honestly say that they don't know what I'm calling?
When I blow my whistle and point downcourt, how many timers don't stop the clock? It's an idiotic, extraneous mechanic that has no usefulness at all.
HS mechanics are different because some official or administrator LIKES being different. There's no reason a college crew couldn't work a HS game with HS rules and use ALL college mechanics. Most observers would know EXACTLY what was called by those officials.
If you guys want to hang your hats on this garbage, feel free. I want a partner with a patient whistle and sound judgement and outstanding communication skills with mechanics good enough to let me know what he's calling. Whether he puts his hand up before pointing down the court means precious little to me.
Rich