[Mark Padgett]

Worked a 6th grade boys "competitive" game last night. I had a partner with whom I'd never worked before in all my years. He had a "method" of making calls that was unconventional. After he blew his whistle for a violation or a foul, he didn't raise his hand or give a mechanic to indicate what the violation or foul was, but pointed in a direction and yelled "blue ball" or "white ball". He would then state if it was a foul or a violation and what it was for. IOW - he reversed the order of reporting and used no indication mechanics.

When I asked him about this at a break, he said he does it this way only for "little kids games" so that the kids will know what's going to happen to the ball and will start to get into proper position quicker. I'd never heard of that before but I understand his logic. However, when I asked him why he didn't indicate the infraction with a mechanic (which would help his partner) he just shrugged.

Just curious, do any of you think this (the order of the call, not ignoring mechanics) is a good idea for kids rec games? Why or why not? Thanks.

Oh yeah, on shooting fouls, he would just point to the FT line and say, for instance, "Blue 21, two shots". I wonder if the scorekeeper thought the foul was on Blue 21. I never thought to check.