First Time on the Floor

[LRZ]

When you go to games, especially involving officials from your association, ask if you could sit in on their pre-game and half-time. If the opportunity arises so you don't interfere with their game mind-set, ask questions about why they did things you didn't follow.

[RedAndWhiteRef]

Originally Posted by LRZ

When you go to games, especially involving officials from your association, ask if you could sit in on their pre-game and half-time. If the opportunity arises so you don't interfere with their game mind-set, ask questions about why they did things you didn't follow.

My football association actively encourages rookies who wouldn't be getting varsity games to ride along with a varsity crew on Friday nights to soak it all in.

[ChuckS]

So I survived my first week of scrimmages, and all of your advice and encouragement played a big part in that! Felt a little more comfortable each time out.

Avoided any major issues. . .but obviously still a LOT of minor ones!

-My first jump ball was perfectly straight up. . . .but WAY too high!
-As trail, called an illegal dribble, had all my signals correct and in order, but stayed to administer the throw-in
-As Lead, ball-watching reduced to almost never...but I know it has to be never
-Still sometimes have trouble visualizing my PCA..."free throw line extended" means I feel I need to glance at the FT line to get my point of reference, but that can't be correct, if it takes my eyes off of where they need to be
-During free throws, I need it to become automatic if I see a violation, knowing if it was on the offense or defense
-All my foul calls were "pushes" LOL I need to expand my repertoire!!
-I always reported fouls on the division line, not taking advantage of the entire reporting area
-They told me at our last scrimmage that as Trail, close down when the shot goes up, and you can call any fouls you see outside of your PCA. I know during the entire game you can call outside your PCA, but they said when the shot is up, PCAs do not exist.

So once again, I thank all of you for taking the time to offer me so much valuable advice. My first real game is Dec 22, doubleheader, Freshman Girls, then JV.

[dsqrddgd909]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

-They told me at our last scrimmage that as Trail, close down when the shot goes up, and you can call any fouls you see outside of your PCA. I know during the entire game you can call outside your PCA, but they said when the shot is up, PCAs do not exist.

Perhaps some of our vets can shed light on this? I've never heard that.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

-They told me at our last scrimmage that as Trail, close down when the shot goes up, and you can call any fouls you see outside of your PCA. I know during the entire game you can call outside your PCA, but they said when the shot is up, PCAs do not exist.

Originally Posted by dsqrddgd909

Perhaps some of our vets can shed light on this? I've never heard that.

Well, to a point, that is true since PCA is more about on-ball coverage.

In 2-person, If the ball is in your PCA, you're on ball and if the ball is not in your PCA, you have off-ball, even outside of your PCA. Example: Lead is covering a matchup in the corner, the trail has the action in the paint. It's the lead's PCA but the lead can't cover the corner action and the paint at the same time.

In 3-person, the same idea applies to some degree as well, but not quite a extensively since the Lead isn't going to get pulled into action that far from the paint. However, there are plenty of times the C goes out of their primary for off-ball action....such as when the T might have a play in the corner but there is screening action around the top of the key.

Once the shot is released and the shooter is down, there is no on-ball coverage any more....and rebounding coverage is a lot more about angles than PCAs. If the rebound comes to the Trail's side with one player behind the other (as is often the case in a good boxout), there is a good chance the Trail will be straightlined. The C has the best view to see if there is a rebounding foul there. (Likewise for a rebound that comes off the rim towards the C).

Originally Posted by ChuckS

They told me at our last scrimmage that as Trail, close down when the shot goes up, and you can call any fouls you see outside of your PCA. I know during the entire game you can call outside your PCA, but they said when the shot is up, PCAs do not exist.

Originally Posted by dsqrddgd909

Perhaps some of our vets can shed light on this? I've never heard that.

Sure, the thinking is that Lead doesn't have a very good look at rebounding coverage. It is better for the Trail to be closing down and help Slot with rebounding coverage than for the Lead to be guessing about displacement.

It's also related to the weak-side block being one of the three areas in which we miss the most plays -- both Lead and Slot have bad angles looking at displacement from their positions and despite being the furthest official from the play the closing-down Trail has the best look.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

... During free throws, I need it to become automatic if I see a violation, knowing if it was on the offense or defense ...

Somebody taught this (below) to me thirty-five years ago, and I've been doing it ever since.

As either the lead, or the trail, on every free throw, I look at the color of the shooter (let's say it's blue), and I say to myself, "Blue whistle. Blue whistle. Blue whistle ...", over and over, until the shot is released. This reminds me to immediately sound my whistle for an offensive lane violation, while also reminding me to have a delayed violation for a defensive lane violation (to see if the ball goes in, or not).

Like the Alka-Seltzer commercial used to say, "Try it, you'll like it".

[Dad]

Job well done, good luck in your first game(s).

As for PCAs not existing, you may want to ask them to elaborate. It's definitely not an FFA, and doing so will result in poor coverage. Trail's coverage includes basket interference, goaltending, and perimeter rebounds. If the shot is on your side it's your job to see if the shot went in or not. IE: Lead has a call and isn't watching the basket -- I would hope.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

... As trail, called an illegal dribble, had all my signals correct and in order, but stayed to administer the throw-in ...

So you made your partner run the entire length of the floor, while you just stayed in the same place. Well done grasshopper. You're already learning all the veteran tricks.

I worked a scrimmage with a young buck yesterday. I tried to talk him into working endline to endline while I stayed at the trial the entire six period scrimmage, but he wouldn't go for it.

These young guys aren't as gullible as they used to be.

[Stat-Man]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

-They told me at our last scrimmage that as Trail, close down when the shot goes up, and you can call any fouls you see outside of your PCA. I know during the entire game you can call outside your PCA, but they said when the shot is up, PCAs do not exist.

When I went to camp last summer, one of our association's veterans/officers suggested closing down on shots as the T by taking 2 steps towards the basket. I find this keeps me more engaged with the play and not wanting to change directions prematurely like I had the tendency to do as a rookie.

I've never heard the item about PCA's not existing during rebounding. Our state's mechanics manual shows diagrams where officials should be watching during rebounding action. They may not match the PCAs exactly, but each official has responsibilities during rebounding action.

[jTheUmp]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

-My first jump ball was perfectly straight up. . . .but WAY too high!

I did the same thing in a Varsity game on Friday night... it happens.

-As Lead, ball-watching reduced to almost never...but I know it has to be never

You will, of course, be ball-watching when the ball is in your PCA as lead (well, you'll be watching the player with the ball and the defender guarding her, but you know what I mean).

-Still sometimes have trouble visualizing my PCA..."free throw line extended" means I feel I need to glance at the FT line to get my point of reference, but that can't be correct, if it takes my eyes off of where they need to be

This gets better with time... and at FTLE, when in doubt, let the trail take it.

-All my foul calls were "pushes" LOL I need to expand my repertoire!!
-I always reported fouls on the division line, not taking advantage of the entire reporting area

Most of the time, nobody cares what you signal as a foul when you report it, so don't get too worked up over this yet.
As for always going to the division line... better that than some guys who won't even attempt to get to the reporting area.

-They told me at our last scrimmage that as Trail, close down when the shot goes up, and you can call any fouls you see outside of your PCA. I know during the entire game you can call outside your PCA, but they said when the shot is up, PCAs do not exist.

Definitely close down when a shot goes up. Yes, this means that you're going to occasionally get beat on a fast break going the other way. Them's the breaks. Besides, it's much easier to officiate fast breaks from behind than it is to officiate rebounding action when you're at the division line.

So once again, I thank all of you for taking the time to offer me so much valuable advice. My first real game is Dec 22, doubleheader, Freshman Girls, then JV.

You're welcome. Sounds like you're off to a good start... Just remember the three simple rules: "Slow Down. Call The Obvious. Don't F- It Up"

[Rich]

Originally Posted by jTheUmp

You're welcome. Sounds like you're off to a good start... Just remember the three simple rules: "Slow Down. Call The Obvious. Don't F- It Up"

You're missing the most important rule, however.

[just another ref]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

-As Lead, ball-watching reduced to almost never...but I know it has to be never

This cannot be overemphasized, but it can be overdone. You can see the ball without watching it, just like a number of other things. You do always need to know where the ball is.

[ChuckS]

Thanks to all of your helpful comments and support, I am surviving my rookie season. One of the suggestions was to keep a diary, which I have done. Then, since I love to write, I made it into a journal. I thought some of you might want to read it – but I must warn you, it is very long!

Maybe it will bring back memories for you veterans. Maybe it can help a fellow rookie. I just hope it is enjoyable reading.

But most of all, I did it as a way to thank all of you for your invaluable advice. You all have helped me more than you will ever know.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...VBS--W3D0A/pub

[wildcatter]

Congrats. I appreciate how you listed out areas you wanted to improve on. It can be overwhelming. Someone else mentioned it, but I also recommend focusing on improving one thing at a time. At some point, I accepted that there was no better way to learn than experience. The more I saw, the more comfortable and better I got. YMMV, but that helped me slow down and just focus on learning and doing one key thing really well instead of trying to improve everything at once. I knew I was going to get better just by doing more games. Also, with more experience (or is it age?), you start to appreciate hot moms more.

You might (most likely) have some degree of ups and downs. Just know that it happens to everyone and have faith in yourself. Most importantly, remember it's just MS/HS basketball and that no matter world some coaches or fans live in, it's still not an accepted social norm to be a jackass up about MS/HS basketball. Don't let the bad shit get to you - treat it like you would if some idiot on the street who didn't know you started cussing you out - who the f*** cares what someone who doesn't know you says.

Before I started officiating basketball, when I watched basketball games, I didn't appreciate all the little details that went into an official's duties. When I watched game live or on TV after I first stepped on the court as a ref, my perspective completely changed. If you have the opportunity, I'd seek out local officials that are respected, and watch their games. You can learn a lot by just watching how they position themselves, their mechanics and signaling, and how they communicate. For example, you mentioned you had a lot of pushes; go watch a game and see what the officials call for different types of fouls. Pretend you're the lead and forget about the ball - just focus on the lead's PCA. It is weird to go to a game and watch the refs instead of the ball, but I picked up a lot quickly from that. Even watching NCAA games on TV helped, though more from observing what they deemed as advantage/disadvantage on fouls and signaling moreso than mechanics/positioning (w/ their 3-man crews).

It will be a lot of fun, and it will change the way you view the game of basketball - in a good way. Best of all, you can clearly correct your idiot friends when they complain about calls on TV.

Best of luck!