Is it always our fault?

[Back In The Saddle]

Originally posted by Luv4Asian8
Do we need to explain ever nuance of rules to the players, or is like the law - "ignorance of the law is no excuse"?

You only need to communicate about things don't want to have trouble with! IMO a referee can get all the calls and no calls right, know the rules inside and out, and work the mechanics flawlessly, but still won't be a great referee until he or she has learned the art of communicating.

And it is an art. Case in point: held a captains meeting this week with both coaches and captains. I said to everybody, "You've already played one game this season, so everybody knows the new rules, right? Especially the new free throw rule about the number of players on the lane?" Everybody nods and mutters yes. First free throw, player from team B lines up in the top spot. I tell him the top spots have to remain open. He gives me a blank stare, B coach yells, "What are you talking about?" So I hustle over and give the coach the 10 second overview of what he said he already understood in the captains meeting. I guess I need to work on that a bit more

[Edited by Back In The Saddle on Sep 19th, 2003 at 03:51 PM]