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Originally posted by Hawks Coach
At the lower levels I believe kids get bad habits because things are not called and explained. They think it is OK because they get away with it 95 percent of the time.
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Technically true jrut, no rule says you have to explain. But we are in the elementary teaching business here at the lower levels. Frequently, referees are explaining calls at the these levels, to the benefit of the young players. And it usually doesn't matter the level of the official, because we are not talking about elaborate interpretations of subsections of rules - we're talking double dribble, travelling, and 3 seconds (which is usually 10 seconds) in rec leagues. Above the lowest levels, make the call and get on with it. Let the coaches teach their players.
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Again, you are missing the point. I understand that officials explain more at the lower levels, but you can only explain so much. You cannot explain every travel, every carry, every out of bounds calls. It is the responsibility of the coaches to know the rules and teach the rules to the kids that play for them. It is not the responsibility to stop play or not continue play because a kid cannot understand why he/she carried the ball. Officials in a basketball game make so many decisions, are you expecting us to explain all none calls too? I am an official, not a coach. You have coach as your title, use it, I just call fouls and violations and manage the game. I am not there to teach.
Obviously if I have a young person whether I am doing varsity or 5th and 6th grade game, and one of those players comes up to me an asks a question about something, I am going to talk to them. If they come in the right tone I will answer their question, regardless of if it is the captain or not. But I am not going to call a travel and because I have to go down court, stop doing that and explain in detail why the kid travelled. We need to keep the game moving, and explaining everything is not going to help.