[BktBallRef]

At the same time, I don't think the coach and I are too far apart.

Just because it is a "steady push in one constant down and sideways direction" does not mean it is not palming. What happens many times is that the ball is cupped just before the push. That's where the palming comes in.

But more evident is that if the dribbler is dribbling the ball sideways, he's carrying the ball. It's impossible not to carry it. He's not batting the ball to the floor. The hand is staying in contact with the ball for an extened period of time. Sideways, by defintion means from the side. If there's more sideways than down, you're going to see palming called. That happens when the hand is on the ball on the dribble is less than 45 degrees to the floor.

Unfortunately, it is up to the individual official as to how much he let's the dribbler get away with, since the call is so loosely interpeted. If they aren't going to change their style, the best thing to do is to tell your kids to ignore it, and just accept the turnover when it's called.

Our crew is basically calling the hand under the ball. When I say under the ball I mean 3 o'clock to 6 o'clock. We're also calling the "Rocking Dribble," the cupped dribble that goes back and forth, and "Carrie Baby Dribble!", the dribble that starts out on one side of the body, never touches the floor or leaves the hand and ends up on the other side of the body. But believe me, we're passing on more than we're calling.

[Edited by BktBallRef on Feb 21st, 2001 at 12:02 AM]