I am a newbie.
In two scrimmages over two days with two different senior supervising guys I have had two very different answers to that question.
Note: I am using your facts, defender is 5 feet away, in a defensive stance, but not playing particularly agressive defense, but is inside 6 ft.
Day 1: I was told to call it and to call it right at 5 seconds.
Day 2: I was told that just inside 6 feet isnt enough, it has to be more agressive and that I should wait a second before starting my count, and not blow it until at least my hand had come back to my chest after the 5th count.
Frankly, to me, I liked the second bit of advice better. If the concept is to reward good defense, it seems a bit harsh to count and call it in the first example but seems entirely appropriate to call it in the second (particualrly when you tack a half a second "bring the hand back to chest" lag time to the count).
But I dont want to learn bad habits early. I'd love to hear the consensus of teh board (if there is one
) about this from a newbie's stand point.
Clark