Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin W
You could have a player that dove for a loose ball that had not gotten up quickly enough to set up to defend the inbound pass and this would be a huge advantage to the offense.
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I'm not going to put the ball in play if he's still on the floor. I'll give him time to get up, but no more than second or two, because if it's longer than that, I'm beckoning the coach to tend to the injured player. If he gets up in a second or two, I'm putting the ball in play as soon as I check the table for substitutes, check time on the clock, and make eye contact with my partner.
If this is happening when substitutes are reporting, which could be a confusing time for players, you're going to get a few extra seconds anyway, because in addition to doing all of the above, I'm going to be counting players to make sure each team has five. If this is happening after a timeout, or intermission, don't use the entire 30 seconds, or 60 seconds, in the huddle, get your kids set up at the first horn, not the second horn.
For a regular throwin, no possibility of an injured player, no timeout, or intermission, no substitutes, I think that you need to teach your kids to watch the official to see where he designates a spot, get to that spot, and set up the play, as soon as possible, which shouldn't be more than a few seconds.
This is most likely a coaching problem, not an officiating problem, and this is coming from an official, who besides having 28 years of officiating experience, at all levels, from third grade, to high school varsity, was also a middle school coach for over 25 years. The only way this could be an officiating problem is if the official is not designating a spot (poor signals), or is not putting the ball in play where it is supposed to be put into play (poor mechanics). If this is really starting to bug you, then send a substitute to the table every time there is a throwin situation, it will give you a few extra seconds.