Walking and Reporting
 

Association received a warning from our mechanics guru that too many officials are walking towards the table and reporting. Before with single hand number reporting, I think it caused more officials to get to a spot, then go through the reporting sequence. Now because you can hold two hand up and walk towards the table, its allowing more people to walk and talk. Hell a week ago, I had a partner just report from the baseline and didn't rotate (to each their own, I guess).

I find myself doing it a lot more and I was always someone who tried to get to a spot because I wasn't coordinated enough to walk, talk, use one hand, and find the scorekeepers eyes all at the same time. I see most if not all college officials do this and I don't necessarily see it as a big deal, but I am curious what others are hearing.

Anyone else getting lectured on this?

I was told by a friend of mine in another state, their state evaluated officials on this as part of their playoff ratings as they thought guys would get lazier with 2 hands.

Lectured? No.

Between how/when to talk to coaches, uniform police, consistency during the playoffs, maintaining your cool when others don't, etc., this issue hasn't even come up lately.

College specifically allows "walk and talk." NFHS (at least most states' versions of it) specifically do not. The importance of (or the "penalty" for not) following the prescribed mechanic varies. Based on your post, it seems to be important in your area -- if it were me, I'd attempt to follow it.

(And, I don't see what one hand or two hands has to do with it)

The NFHS Manual (yes, JRut, I know not all states use it) requires coming to a stop in the reporting area. Whether or not it’s a big deal in your area just depends. In South Carolina, no one that matters really gives a damn.

On the men’s college side, J.D. Collins has made it a big deal to hustle and stop before reporting. The women’s side is the complete opposite.

All this to say, things like this can differ significantly based on where you live (and what levels you work).

Certainly is not true on the men's side, at least not to the extent it may have been in previous years. The national coordinator has made it clear that officials are supposed to hustle and come to a stop before reporting.

Depends on the association. I am in NC and ours wants you to report from the volleyball Lines that make a corner near the table. To me as long as you have eye contact with the scorekeeper and clearly say the number and report with one or two hands is what matters.

You keep referencing my comments about the manual and you keep missing the bigger point. The point is that every little detail that the NF uses is not accepted or not allowed to be changed. We actually use almost every NF mechanic, but there are little things we have no option to use as the NF gives. And as I have stated in basketball, we do not vary that much from the book at all. In other sports like football, we have a bunch of directives that have nothing to do with the NF because they feel the NF does not address those situations properly.

Now that being said in this area we are asked to do it by stopping and reporting. But do people do that to the letter? Nope. Does it prevent someone from going into the playoff? Not likely. There are many philosophies used that the NF book never addresses. The NF book is more about where you stand, what you do in this very specific situation, but there are many situations that clearly are never specified and one reason this board works for many officials across the world.

Peace

It's sort of a big deal in the Missouri / Kansas area.

Do not walk and talk is mentioned in communications from state, area meetings and such numerous times throughout the year.

I try to always jog lightly to the reporting area and tell myself not to hold up my hands and start reporting until my feet are both planted. Seems to help most of the time.

In my area, "walk and talk" is true, both for men and women's college ball. And it has seeped down to school ball, as many college officials here also do HS. But I've never heard of anyone getting dinged on an evaluation because of it.

It's not a Men's mechanic. We are supposed to hustle to a spot clear of the players, stop, and report. I do it as such in college games because it makes no sense to keep moving towards the table since I have to go opposite after reporting.

I "walk and talk" in HS on shooting fouls in a manner that, when I'm finished reporting, I am at the spot I want to be in for free throw administration. If a throw-in is to ensue, as soon as I clear the players, I stop and report.

If the above quote had a "Like" button, I would click on it.


Many HS officials wander waaaaay too much after finishing their reports.

Your association has a separate mechanics guru? What does that mean? And he can send out "warnings"? I'm intrigued by what is going on in your area. Please explain.

Is the guru otherwise known as "head of officials" or is this a completely different thing?

Doesn't every area have "that guy or gal" that is basically above public reproach when it comes to all things officiating related? I know my area does.

In Virginia, we have associations with a commissioner who negotiates contracts and assigns games, a president who runs the meetings, and a rules interpreter, whose duties include the manual and mechanics.

That was basically my point. In our area it's the "head of officials". On the flip side, we don't have associations.

Our "head of officials" is the guru on all topics related to basketball officiating. Maybe this "mechanics guru" is also the guru on all other topics and the OP just didn't say it that way.

I hear ya'.

In our area, the mechanics and rules guru is, ironically I suppose, not the "head of officials" or even the predominant assignor.

Completely unofficial title, but our local association has a designated rules interpreter who also has unofficial or self assigned authority to provide guidance on mechanics.