[mplagrow]

Originally posted by M&M Guy

You may be right that no one will complain, but this just reinforces bad behavior by us officials. If one of the girls bounces the ball above her head while keeping her hand on top of the ball, and we call a carry, no one will complain. If a player dribbles from the backcourt to the frontcourt, takes one step into the frontcourt, then steps back again, and we call "over and back", no one will complain. But these are all wrong calls. The same with two girls having a hand on the ball - that is not the definition of a held ball. So we need to be careful about applying the "nobody will complain" saying to how we base our calls. I know exactly what you mean when I see one of those scrums on the floor - I cringe as I get in closer, hoping nobody's going to come out of there with blood all over their face, and the coach is calling for some sort of foul, and parents are screaming that their little girl got hurt, and two other players start flinging elbows, and all hell is breaking loose...so, quick, we have to call SOMETHING to avoid this mess!! But calling something that isn't there just to avoid the possibility of saving something messy is wrong. The primary official needs to get in there to see what's really going on. Did the girl travel going down to the floor? Get that call. Is the girl with the ball excessively swinging her elbows so the other one can't grab it? Call that. Did the defensive player jump on top to try and get the ball? Then call that. Is the coach or one of the players trying to ask for timeout before the defense does get ahold of the ball? Then grant the TO. But let the play happen, and call what's REALLY there; don't make up something just to avoid watching a messy play.

OK, let me redeem myself here. Obviously, whether people will complain or not doesn't matter in how you call the game. If it did, you may as well hang up the whistle. I will admit that my whistle comes a little more quickly in a scrum in the interest of protecting the players and keeping the game under control. Nobody has ever criticized a quicker whistle in that situation. Maybe you disagree with that philosophy. My point was that I think coaches, parents, and players all understand, and even expect you to be watching closely for the first reason to put an end to the mess. I've seen games get out of hand when there's a series of out-of-control plays. Frustration runs higher and you can lose control. Do I invent calls? No. But I'm looking a little more intently at those plays.