Cathartic Release

[xyrph]

Look I get it. Officiating is hard. It's difficult to make split second decisions and to be right on each throughout a whole game.

My players practice all year long. We do travel ball. We prepare. It's frustrating when the officials of a given game let so many clear violations by opponents slide and then make calls against us.

It happens every game. I start off the games giving the benefit of the doubt and by the 2nd quarter, I'm often steaming.

What I've chosen to do this year is just compile a video of some of these and it's certainly been cathartic.

I'd like to share it with you in the hopes that you can see the frustration these calls cause the teams, coaches, parents, fans.

[Welpe]

Ah I see the other shoe has dropped. What are you using to record? The sound quality of your incessant complaining is really quite good.

[UNIgiantslayers]

This is idiotic.

[MD Longhorn]

OK ... I got through the first 5 and saw one actual violation ...

I find it amazing that this vast, cross-country mass of referees have somehow consistently only made mistakes against you, but none for you, and only neglect to call fouls on the other team, never letting anything go for your team.

What do we think is more likely ... that hundreds of different referees have all made bad calls only in one direction, across hundreds of games? Or that the perception of the person who is making that claim might be somehow biased?

I know where I lean.

Especially given the 9 or 10 posts so far complaining about a call that ended up being universally deemed to have been correct by all of the unbiased officials on this board.

[Rich]

Nice flop on that screen.

"She threw her to the ground!"

LO-freaking-L.

Is that the ever present "assistant with a big mouth" we all know and love saying that? She'd get whacked quickly if I was working.

I also love the spin move your player tries where she obviously travels. Is that your point there, too? They missed her travel?

And there's the screen your player set where she was run into and she went to the ground. You do know that contact on a legal screen can be severe and not a foul, right?\

I can't watch any more of this. Maybe if the basketball was better.

You're in the wrong place, dude. And you need to buy yourself a clue, too.

[Adam]

I might watch all of these later, but I just saw the first few.

First, you're getting a T pretty quickly if I'm working. That's why I don't work much travel ball anymore.

On the first play, you're really starting this off by complaining about that free throw? Yes, that's technically a violation, but the reason it's not called is because no one wants us watching that closely for a violation there when we have rebounding action to watch. Don't get hung up on that. And if you're whining about us not calling this, we're tuning you out very very early. You'll be lucky if we hear you request timeout. We're not ignoring you on purpose, but allowing you to do your thing without it affecting us.

Those carries are marginal at best. Most of us aren't watching them that closely, especially on the plays where there's no immediate defender. You're majoring in the minors.

On the spin move, there's no way for us to tell, or for you to tell, when she actually gathered (held) that ball. Was it a missed travel? Maybe, but this camera angle doesn't make it clear.

I quit watching after that. Feel free to post individual plays and ask questions, you've been getting a lot of feedback from very experienced officials.

Moderator note: I think we'll let this run for a while.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Adam

Moderator note: I think we'll let this run for a while.

Damned right we will. I haven't been this entertained in a while. I'm willing to bet the percentage of incorrect calls in this video is under 50.

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by Rich

Damned right we will. I haven't been this entertained in a while. I'm willing to bet the percentage of incorrect calls in this video is under 50.

My random sampling ... closer to 20%

[JRutledge]

Welcome to girls basketball. It is that simple to me. Because in many boys games we would not hear that complaining.

Peace

[Hawkeyes]

A few missed calls - but not as many as you may think! Why are you acting like you were on top of each of these calls in real time...? These seem like voice-overs.
But I'll play along: If you're this good and caught all these "missed calls" in real time? Why don't you show some bravery and put on the stripes? Come help us make the game safe, fair and an educational experience with sportsmanship for young people?
There are tons of basketball fans, lots of basketball parents, a great number of basketball players and several basketball coaches; but only a few have the courage to get out there, adjudicate the game and take the heat from the bias of the gym on any given night...
Go ahead and get frustrate during pregame, don't wait till the 2nd quarter - we don't really care!

[BigCat]

I watched many of your plays and there's plenty there that i dont like as a fellow referee. Having said that, you are not going to get APG, Badnewsref, and JRut at that level as your referees. It's just a fact that they are not going to be as good. You say you "understand" refereeing is hard. I will tell you that unless you have done it, you dont understand.

I've done it 30 years, played high level, coached high level, coached low level, referee high level. Fan will say "didnt you see that?" I'll say "yep." Why didnt you call it? I say you will never understand until you do it. Sometimes the whistle just doesnt blow. I tell people id be the best referee on the planet if i could sit in the 10th row and call the game.

I think most fans go wrong because they think we really care about who wins there travel league or high school basketball game. 99% of officials could give a rats ass who wins. We just want a smooth game. The officials at your level just may not be that good. Why is that? Pay is low. They are asked to do multiple games. They try hard but make mistakes and idiot parents scream and yell. (Idiot parents are ruining youth sports by the way...that is another thread)

What i tell people and coaches is that i am part of your game. I AM GOING to SCREW UP. I hope i dont but i know i will. You know i will. You just have to be better to win.

Finally, somebody is doing something right because I see mistakes being made and i dont see players retaliating bitching and moaning. I only hear parents...which goes back to my point that parents are ruining youth sports. The doors should be locked with kids, coaches and referees only at some levels. Be much better game.

[JRutledge]

And the so called "carry" situations I saw, not a chance. I did not see a single move to the basket or to get the defender to move. Not happening at any high level of basketball and not even clear the ball came to rest. That would be a JH call to make in those situations. I could not stomach the rest honestly.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

And the so called "carry" situations I saw, not a chance. I did not see a single move to the basket or to get the defender to move. Not happening at any high level of basketball and not even clear the ball came to rest.

Agree. It's called advantage/disadvantage, and despite what some on the Forum say, advantage/disadvantage does apply to some violations. Now, if she uses that move and goes by a defender, then I will probably have a whistle on the play.

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by Hawkeyes

If you're this good and caught all these "missed calls" in real time?

If he "caught" all of these, then he's making 4x as many wrong calls as the 20% on here that are ACTUAL bad calls. Most of what he's complaining about are not actual violations.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by MD Longhorn

If he "caught" all of these, then he's making 4x as many wrong calls as the 20% on here that are ACTUAL bad calls. Most of what he's complaining about are not actual violations.

This. Any official making calls on all these plays is going to have a short and illustrious travel league career.