Quote:
Originally posted by Smitty
Quote:
Originally posted by Nevadaref
As a group exercise have the class draw a scale diagram of a HS basketball court on the blackboard. Have them put in the correct lengths for everything (FT line, width of the lane, 3 pt line, front face of backboard from the end line, etc.)
For example, give them a yard stick and make 1" = 1 ft. (Or make it 1/2" if you have a smaller blackboard.)
You will be stunned how much they didn't know and how much they will learn!
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Call me crazy, but what exactly does that do for you? That just doesn't sound like a valuable use of time to me. Shrug.
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Smitty,
While I do understand your thoughts, I have found this exercise to be tremendously helpful in a teaching environment for new officials. I'll expand a little bit on my reasons and perhaps you will see some value here afterall. Also remember, cingram stated that they only have a classroom and no gym, and under those conditions one can only do so much.
The main thing that making a precise drawing of the court does is to show some of the incoming people with a chip on their shoulder that they really don't know as much as they think about the game.
When they struggle to place the free throw line the correct distance from the end line, it really opens their eyes and makes them more receptive to LEARNING. At this point they can be taught much more effectively about those things that you feel are valuable.
Basically, there is more to this exercise than just drawing the court. The instructor must use it as an aide to teaching the rules.
For example, some bits of helpful knowledge that are gained by knowing the court's dimensions are:
1. How far six feet is (useful for closely guarded counts) because they now know that this is the distance from the top of the key to the free throw line and can use that as a rough guage while on the court. I do this myself, especially when the ballhandler is near the top of the key.
2. Where the coaching box should be located. Very helpful for dealing with a problem coach or coaches who like to stroll up and down the sideline. Just knowing that the coach should not be below the FT line, if a six foot box is being used can give the official a good preventative tool.
3. The point that all the lines on a court are part of that area. A cutesy phrase is OUT-of-bounds lines are OUT, lines withIN the court are IN. For example, the lane lines and FT line are part of the lane (but not the lane-space marks) because they are within the court, stepping on the 3-point line means the player is INside the 2-pt area, stepping on an OOB line during a throw-in is OK because that line is OUT, and it should be mentioned that the division line is part of the BACKcourt (can be thought of as a temporary OOB line once crossed).
4. Most people don't know that the backboard is a full four feet inside the end line. When the class comes to this, the instructor should make the point that when the ball hits the BACK of the backboard it is ruled OOB even though it is still within the boundary of the court. This then provides a nice transition for talking about how all the sides (top and bottom included) of the backboard are inbounds and when the ball passes over a rectangular board it is OOB.
Most importantly:
The rules that are learned through this tangible exercise will stay with those people far longer than if they are just told the rule or read it in the book.