[zm1283]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

Others here have said that "why can't you have both" proper mechanics and good play calling?

I've seen evaluations (I've lived in states where there was a central assignor and there are evaluators) and they spent so little time on play calling and judgment and so much time on stuff like mentioned in this thread that it was disgusting. It didn't matter if an official was wrong as long as they looked like the pictogram robots in the book when doing it.

I think you can have both proper mechanics and good play calling. I also agree that there are people in charge in some places that are more worried about precise mechanics than their officials getting things right. I was more pointing out that college assignors seem to be less worried about perfect mechanics and more worried about getting calls right, so I think we're all in agreement here.

Let's face it -- these mechanics are mostly unimportant from a practical standpoint. The stop clock is rarely looked at -- clock operators stop the clock on the whistle. The chop is unimportant, really -- I've watched clock operators and they aren't even looking at me when I administer a throw-in.

I completely agree, and I mention this to partners on a regular basis. There is no real reason to stop the clock with an open hand every time there is a violation.

Around here I hear how important it is to use high school mechanics and then I turn on the TV and watch college officials use college mechanics when working the state high school tournament....more important to get people in those games that primarily work college games than it is to get people in those games that call plays well *and* use the proper mechanics. Those kinds of things are noticed by officials, trust me.

I see it the same way, although I think the people in charge here do a good job of stressing good mechanics when officials are just starting out. It is good for 1st-3rd year guys to learn the right way IMO. I have noticed that as I have moved up a little bit, evaluations tend to be more about play calling and judgment and less about mechanics, although we are still expected to use "high school" mechanics.

I'm with you on the state tournament thing too. I haven't watched much of the state tournament here lately, but it happens in other games as well.