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Beginner questions
Hey everyone,
I started refereeing in May this year and finally earned my stripes (Australia has a green-shirt system for new referees) in September. I've since become competent and independent enough that I can start properly working on my areas of weakness, so I'm hoping someone can help me with the below.
1. Memory. I imagine this will develop in time, but I have difficulty recalling play to defend judgments - I see it, I call it, then I tend to forget the situation. My memory is also an issue when remembering which team is going in which direction; the ball goes out of bounds, and I'm often not sure which way to point (despite knowing the colour). I've resorted to using landmarks around the court (e.g. "green plays towards the sign on the wall"), but this is pretty slow and rough.
2. Rebound contact. I'm good at calling individual fouls on shooters and on the floor, but not great at calling fouls in the rough play following a rebound. I often don't notice if players are fouling (vs. just reaching up), and don't want to over-impact the play. This usually results in me calling a pretty weak foul right near the end of the scuffle (because it's slower and easier to identify), and the player getting angry that the play wasn't stopped earlier when it probably should have been.
3. Consistency. I am often paired up with more experienced partners, who don't tend to take some rules (e.g. 3 seconds) very seriously. Sometimes I notice a 3-second violation, but then decide that, because 3 seconds hasn't previously been called at all in the game, it's unreasonable to call a player out on it unpredictably. Should I call it in this situation?
4. Spotting travels. Since May, I haven't called a single travel (which doesn't seem to be a problem, as I'm good with fouls and other calls). One of the supervisors where I work says it takes time to develop, and not to worry about it. I'm just not good at noticing when a pivot foot is moved. Can you think of any advice?
I would also like a rule clarification on post-shot fouling; as I understand it, once a player returns to a position on the floor after a shot, any foul on him is assessed as "after the shot", thereby resulting in baseline possession instead of free throws. But, in the NBA and other leagues, it seems that fouls on a player even a second or two after landing is still considered to be during the act of shooting. What would you do? We use FIBA rules.
I would appreciate any help with the above questions! I really love reffing, and want to take it as far as I can (I'm already aspiring to the NBL). Thanks for reading.
Cheers,
SplitInfinitive
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