[ChuckElias]

Here's a story I posted a couple years ago from camp. I worked a game and was observed by J.B. Caldwell.

The tap was stolen and neither of partners called it. I thought it was stolen, but didn't have the best look from right underneath, plus I didn't have the whistle in my mouth.

So after the game, J.B. comes in and says to me, "The tap was stolen. They should've blown it dead, but I put the responsibility for that on you." He then gave me some good tips for keeping the jumpers from getting a quick read on the toss.

He said that no matter where the two jumpers are positioned, he asks both of them to back up a couple inches. This give him a little space to get between them, but more importantly, it takes them out of their comfort zone. He talks to them as they're repositioning. He says, "Let it go all the way up; I'm gonna give both of you a fair shot to get to it." Then he varies his rhythm for the toss. Sometimes he'll bounce it first, sometimes not. Sometimes he'll toss it right away, sometimes he holds onto it for an extra second or two. He basically doesn't want anybody to get too comfortable with timing his toss.