Deja vu all over again.

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Back when I was young and good looking every Memorial Day Weekend from 1994 to 2005, Daryl H. Long (of the Basketball Forum) and I officiated in the Starter's Girls Summer Classic in Hartford, CT. Three days of some of the finest girls' AAU teams from New Jersey to Maine. Five games on Friday and Saturday, and three or four games on Monday.

One year, we had four games (all 15U and 16U) on Monday and late in the 1st HF of our third game I was T, OT. Team B had the ball in its FC. B1 and B2 were in the Mid-court Area (MCA). B1 passed the ball to B2, who caught the ball while standing still. B2 tucked the ball under her left arm. She then raised her left foot off of the floor and wiped off the bottom of her left shoe with her right hand. She then placed her left foot back down on the court, switched the ball to her right hand, and tucked the ball under her right arm. She then raised her right foot off of the floor and wiped off the bottom of her right shoe with her left hand. She then placed her right foot back down on the court. Traveling was the correct call but I had a brain freeze and did nothing. Team A's AC looked at me with a puzzled look on his face, mouthed the word travelling while making a very small traveling signal with his index fingers. By this time B2 has passed the ball and I realized that I had missed a traveling violation. At HF we had a laugh about it and we agreed that it was a once in life time situation that will never (sorry J. Dallas).

Fast forward to Friday of last week. Mark, Jr., has a boy's JV game and I am observing the game. Keeping in mind that Mark has heard the above story many times. The Visitor's have the ball in its FC and are down four points with less than a minute to go in the 4th QT. Mark is in the same situation that I was in only this time Junior nails the call. No complaints for the V-HC but he was not happy with his player.

MTD, Sr.

[Mark Padgett]

Great story, Mark. Thank you.

[BillyMac]

This is why I worked low level (Catholic middle school) games for so many years. The more games you work, the more situations you're going to see, especially the odd occurrences that often only happen in low level games. If something odd happens once, or twice, in an officiating career, if you've seen it once, and either got it, or missed it, you are more likely to get it right the second time, especially when it becomes important in a high level (high school varsity) game.