I had a couple of good games last night and just wanted to brag a little.
I worked a boys Freshman / JV doubleheader between two district rivals. Both games were pretty clean with little in the way of whining from neither the coaches nor the players. Good sportsmanship all around really.
Both games were not very close but the pace moved quickly and we were done with each game in under an hour. We had over a half our after our game before the varsity game started, so I took the time to grab a shower and chat with the varsity officials during their pre-game.
Not only did I have a partner show up (which is a treat in and of itself) but he was also pretty strong. We meshed well together and didn't step on each others toes too much. We both whistled a few things on the border between each other's primaries but they were things the others couldn't see.
A couple of highlights from the JV game:
* Both teams ran a fast paced offense and didn't slow down until the last few minutes of the game. Despite the frantic pace, the game stayed pretty clean.
* Called my first violation for a player leaving the floor. Visiting team had the ball in their front court near the sideline. The dribbler picks up his dribble and gets trapped. A teammate of his comes from behind him and steps out of bounds to try and clear a defender. I picked up on that right away.
* Had my first 20 second clock after a player DQ. My partner called the foul. After the table notified us it was 5 on that player, I move towards the table to facilitate the subsitution. Coach wants to argue about that foul call and I try to get him to move along and give me a sub. Still wants to argue, so I turn to the table and ask for a 20 second clock. Timer isn't quite sure how to handle this and is fumbling with the clock. Coach finally gives me a sub, so I tell the timer nevermind, we're good now.
* I picked up a team control foul on a pass-crash that got me some kudos from my partner for staying with the play. That felt pretty good.
* Home coach started in early in the 1st quarter about his perception of us missing some fouls. His first comment "I counted three fouls on that one play!" was ignored. His second statement of similar nature got addressed when I was in front of his bench. "Coach, we're on it. Don't worry, if we have a foul, we'll call it." Heard nothing else from him the rest of the night.
My partner that works this school district quite a bit told me at the half that the coach was being unusually quiet.
A couple of general observations:
* I've come to realize that I will officiate to the level of my partner. I tend to personally have better games with strong partners. This is probably not news but an interesting trend I've noticed.
* It is becoming easier to keep up with faster paced games.
* I think I missed a couple of travels after jump stops where the players would start pivoting. Need more work on this.
* My mileage fee for this game will be more than a game fee.
All in all, a good night.
