Quote:
Originally Posted by Clark Kent
Varsity Boys Game. I'm an up-and-coming official who after a few years of hard work, camps, watching film, attending games and listening to everyone's advice have made it on the varsity list. Both my partners are experienced guys. I've learned to keep my mouth shut when needed and to just do my job.
We start the game with the toss and on the first dead ball after the toss I realize the home team is in black and the away team is sporting the white. (I know it is something that should have been caught in the warm-ups but I missed it. In the post below by IndianaRef they caught it in the JV game, but our game didn't have a JV game prior Home Team wear Dark). I know the rule 3-4-1c and the penalty 10-5-4.
So here is my question? What do I do?
A. Do I do what by rule I should do. Double T sit both coaches and move on with the game, possibly ruffling a few feathers of my partners, but doing what the rule book says.
B. Do I go talk to the R inform him of the situation and pass the buck onto him and willing to live with the decision he makes.
C. Or Do I just ignore it all together. No Big Deal. Both teams are happy. Move on with life and the game? |
We have several referees in Central Ohio who call EVERYTHING by the book -- literally, by the book. We have several other referees who follow the "Spirit of the Rules", but not necessarily EVERYTHING by the book.
It has been my experience as a coach and referee that the EVERYTHING by the book guys hit a glass ceiling well before the State Tournament level (they get Sectional and District games, but seldom do you see them in the Regionals or the State Final Four. The higher level games seem to be dominated by the "Spirit of the Rules" guys.
In this case, if you look at "advantage/disadvantage", the VISITING team may have been put at a disadvantage by allowing the home team to have their "Blackout" crowd get more into the game. But, the visiting coach was OK with it -- perhaps, the two teams had even agreed to change roles when they met for a second time later in the season.
In my experience, the guys who continue to move up are NOT the guys who show up their experienced partners (Option A definitely would do that). Guys who continue to move up are also typically NOT guys who want to show everyone in the crowd that they know every single rule in the Rules Book LITERALLY. If a player tragically dies in a car accident on a Wednesday and a parent of one of the players sews a small patch with the fallen player's number on it, that patch is illegal. YOU KNOW the penalty for this. What are YOU going to do?
High School sports are to be fun for the participants and fun for the students. Such an event ("Blackout") likely made the game more fun for all.
From what I have witnessed, if you want to be doing games at the Regional and State levels (and, perhaps, beyond that), I would suggest you inform the referee in your game. If he or she chooses to do nothing, that is his/her choice.
I would mention the situation to your assignor at some point to get his/her view on how to handle the situation in the future. If you want to continually move up, you tyically have to have the help of a number of folks -- ADs, assignors, fellow referees and coaches. It has been my experience that going out of one's way to look for trouble generally is not the best way to get there. There are several referees on this forum who are very successful and are very much by the book (Nevadaref comes to mind, very quickly). There are others on this forum who are also very successful and are in the other camp (JRutledge, for example). You have to decide how you want to be known within the basketball community. Good luck in your travels.