First College Game
 

I was just assigned to my first ever Womens College game. Granted it is very very low level, but the assignor said he wanted to give me the opportunity. I am excited and nervous as I have only been calling High School Varsity girls for 3 years. I have just under 2 months to prepare.

I would appreciate any pointers you can give.

I did my first mens college game this year and what helped the most was that I went in with the mindset to just officiate and that I deserved to be there as much as the other 2. I stayed in my PCA pretty much 99%, had an unsporting T, and was aggressive from the T and C and let the game come to me as the L.

It was a cakewalk AFAIK.

I clipped some of your quote, but I think all officials at every level would do well to follow this mindset.

This is probably a stupid question, but can you explain what you mean by this?

Sure. The philosophy is that the T&C will make a majority of calls during the game and will have to be ready to "help" the L an above the rim.

T&C should usually be in "attack" mode while L should be in "Secondary defender" mode. Plays that the L call will usually be coming to them so they should have a patient whistle and the L isn't required to help as much as the T&C. Think travels or any above the rim play or after the shot activity (goaltend/BI).

As a L the only call I made outside my PCA was a drive that began almost at midcourt and the player by the time he got to the top of the 3-point line had his primary defender on his left hip and secondary defender came to help from the right side. There was contact that caused him to lose possession. I gave the T&C half a second to make the call, when they didn't I did. The T&C were straightlined by each defender to see the contact and I was the only one who could see through. If this player was dribbling East to West versus North to South I wouldn't have had an opinion.

The main pointer I have for you is not mechanically, but the way you look at the level. For one it does not matter how low the level the college game is, the coaches and players take their participation in this very seriously. A coach is coaching for his or her job unlike a high school game, which might have coach that also has a teaching job, but coaching is really the main thing these guys/gals do. They lose, they lose their jobs. This is important because your game management skills have to be much better an the questions they ask are often more intelligent. You have to be more patient and more communicative in most cases. All of this while there are hardly anyone in the stands. ;)

Peace

Gotcha, that makes perfect sense. Thanks for the explanation.

For me, it's a reminder as the T/C to stay connected to the play.

Example - a player starts a drive out of my primary as the T. He's going away from me now. But instead of having my feet locked in position, I need to move to officiate that matchup and stay connected to that drive. I'm going to give the L the first crack on a secondary defender, but the outside officials can't just let that matchup go and figure the L will get what needs to be called.

Likewise, the C needs to work to get angles and be ready to get illegal screens, fouls against cutters, and also fouls against jump shooters in the lane, fouls against players that curl in your direction, etc. The C can't take possessions off cause most of the players are on the other side of the floor. The C has a unique look -- a "sideways" look that the T and L do *not* have -- and a strong C can save the crew on a fair number of possessions a game.

As the L, I'm still going to call a fair number of fouls -- but they're going to be fouls primarily in the paint or on contact that opens up to be on the end line and would likely straightline the T/C from the outside angle they have.

Rich, this is an excellent analysis, identical to what our local association stresses to our members. I have noticed in our area especially, the tendency of Trail officials to stay in one place instead of, as you emphasized, to move to stay with the match up and stay connected to the drive and even to the completion of the play which may include offensive rebounds and put-backs. When the Trail hangs back near the division line, it pretty much makes it a two person officiated game.

T, C, and L (and I don't mean Tender Loving Care).
 

Actually, the L will make the majority of calls. The SEC did a study in pre-rotation era (late 1970's) that showed that on average the L will make 60% of the calls, the C will make 30% of the calls, and the T will make 10% of the calls. I would bet dollars to donuts that if one were to do a study today, that those percentages will still be valid.

The result of the study does not mean that one should not stop officiating when in the T, but that most of the action is in the L's PCA because what is in the the L's PCA? The Basket.

MTD, Sr.

Great to welcome another to the NCAAW ranks!

Don't diminish the fact you've achieved another level. Regardless of whether it's D3, Juco or NAIA you're officiating college basketball so first and foremost, enjoy it. It may not be the best basketball some nights but it's still college basketball. Relax and use the game to learn. You've obviously done something right to earn the opportunity. Now you try to get better. One part of improving is truly handling your primary. Take care of your plot of land that first game and you'll be fine.

I've seen more recent studies both from the college level and the NBA. Both have the Lead making around 65% of the calls. With the new emphasis on handchecking, I could understand if the Trail's percentage is up for the past few years. Overall, I can tell you that your understanding is correct and the reason that the NCAAM went back to opposite table switching on fouls. The C was getting left out of the game for long periods of time while the other two officials made most of the calls. I don't know where deecee got his info, but it's not accurate.
I believe that Rich explained the 3-person philosophy very well. The Lead has primary coverage near the basket and most secondary defenders on drives. That is going to result in the most foul calls. The C has off-ball and rebounding, which are both areas to clean up rough play and get what is necessary. That requires focus and diligence to officiate generally away from the center of action. Likely fewer calls will be made here though. The T has most ball handlers on the perimeter and post traveling.
I think that the mindset to "be aggressive" when officiating is a mistake. Officials should always be patient and let the action occur. Our job is to position ourselves (and our crew) such that we get good looks at plays, but don't anticipate illegal activity. I was taught by one of the current NCAAM tourney guys to think that a clean block is coming or a good screen is about to occur instead of looking for a foul or a crash. You still anticipate the action, you just shift your mindset from thinking that something illegal is about to happen to thinking that a defender or offensive player is going to make a positive play. When that doesn't occur, the illegal action stands out much clearer to you. Also thinking in this manner prevents you from penalizing what is borderline or not there. This is the biggest point. If you are thinking a foul situation is about to happen, then you are much more likely to blow the whistle on debatable contact. Whereas if you anticipate the player making a good play, then what you call will be the more obvious illegal contact and you will get a reputation for only calling solid fouls. Coaches and players end up not questioning your decisions as much. How you are perceived has a huge impact on rising up the ladder.

NevadaRef:

You know that people are going to question your sanity agreeing with me. LOL!

MTD, Sr.


P.S. Clean out your PM inbox.

I think we should invent a +1 or Thanks system on this board, in tribute to this small thread. So much goodness in just a few posts.

Study the appropriate rules and mechanics for the level you are officiating and then go referee the game.