[Paul LeBoutillier]

I've been officiating since 1999 and have never had a kid lose his shoe until last week. There was a tussle for the ball which resulted in a break for the other end of the court. I was on trail and as I ran along there was a shoe lying on the court! (I didn't actually see it come off.) I was definitely taken aback, but when I looked up and saw one of the players making his way down the court with one stocking foot I blew my whistle and gave him a chance to get his shoe back on. Kinda strange.

When stopping the clock for my own reasons (such as a shoe coming off, or a bloody nose, etc) is there any hand signal that is necessary beyond the open hand "stop the clock" gesture? (I usually just point to myself and say, "My time out.")

Also, if this were a fast break situation and the offense looked to have an easy two points, would it be appropriate to wait to stop play until after the lay up so as not to ruin an easy score, or is there a requirement to blow the whistle right away for a lost shoe?