Quote:
Originally Posted by eyezen
What is your hangup for starting a game with a coin toss determined throw-in? Every time a jump ball is brought up you bring this crap up time and again. Can you not make a good toss? You know you can designate if needed.
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Thanks for asking. I believe that you're the first one to do so. Finally.
I can make an excellent toss. I was tossing jump balls back when we were tossing jump balls more than a dozen times a game, especially in girls games. Jump ball tosses to start each period, at the center circle, and jump balls tosses for every held ball, at the nearest spot, which included circles around the center of each foul line. I was tossing jump balls when coaches actually had jump ball plays, plays when they thought they would win the toss, plays when they thought they would lose the toss, plays near their own basket, and plays at the opponent's basket. I was tossing when coaches taught their players the rules regarding jump balls, making our job as officials easier. I would practice my toss, as we all were instructed back then, by standing under a basket, and tossing up into the basket.
The problem today is not that we're tossing too many jump balls, it's that we're not tossing enough jump balls since the introduction of the alternating possession procedure. Officials, especially younger officials, who only toss a few times a week, don't know how to toss. As the umpire, I hate calling a jump ball back due to a bad toss, I don't want to embarrass my partner. Back in the day, I never had to call back a bad toss, we were all proficient, but today, despite my reluctance to embarrass my partner, I will call back several each season, including two in a row to start a game last season.
The players don't understand the rules, because they're not taught by the coaches, who also don't know the rules, so we see all kinds of weird things happening in a varsity game, that we only saw in a youth level game back in the day.
And this is the most important reason. Because officials no longer administer lots of jump balls, we don't know the rules as well as we used to, and these jump ball rules are difficult, jumpers, nonjumpers on the circle, nonjumpers not on the circle, marked spaces, ready to toss, ball is tossed, ball is touched by a jumper, ball touches the floor, or a nonjumper, etc. Now maybe you have no problems with these rules, but I've seen many officials, especially junior varsity officials, who have no idea what the rules are, and I've seen a few varsity officials who are just as bad, including me. I don't spend as much time studying these rules as I used to because I only get to be the umpire a few times a week, and I just hope that nothing really weird happens, and if it does, that it's obvious enough for me to blow my whistle. Also, interpreters don't spend as much time teaching the rules as they used to, because, we don't see a lot of jump balls anymore.
Other sports use a coin. I know for a fact that they use a coin in football , and soccer. Many officials, and interpreters, agree with me, and this change is presented to the NFHS almost every year, but for some reason, maybe for "tradition", it never passes. On the other hand, to support your viewpoint, I understand that they experimented with coin tosses in Iowa girls games a few years ago, and went back to the jump ball. I don't know why, but there must be some problem with coin tosses.
Again, thanks for asking. Now, please go and pick on Mark Padgett and encourage him to stop saying that he tries to avoid having overtime games. That gets my blood boiling as much as my anti-jump ball stance gets your blood boiling.