What's in your pregame?

[JBleach85]

We all know that the best thing to do before a game is to have a thorough pregame with your crew. This topic got me thinking as I was observing at a few camps recently and I wanted to see what goes into everyone's pregame to help them prepare their crew?

You don't have to give your whole pregame but a few points you think that are important in yours.

[BillyMac]

After almost four decades, and after participating in literally thousands of pregame conferences, some very good, and some very bad, as the referee, the umpire, or as an observer, with hundreds of officials, I've made of list of the common concepts that run through almost all of these conferences. Here's the list that I use for my Connecticut, two person, IAABO mechanics, high school NFHS, games.

PREGAME CONFERENCE



Stay in your primary. Something must be very obvious to come out of your primary. If something is there
that really needs to be called, call it. Be late. Be right. Be needed.

Out of Bounds Responsibilities: Lead had frontcourt endline, and nearer sideline to the free throw line extended.
Trail has nearer sideline, farther sideline above free throw line extended, division line, and all three backcourt
boundaries. During transition, press, and press break, situations, the lead, hanging back to help, will have out
of bounds responsibilities on the entire nearer sideline.

For out-of-bounds help, let's get it right. If I have no idea and I look to you for help, just give a directional
signal. No need to come to me, just point. If you don't know, give me a jump ball signal. If I signal, but
I get it wrong, then blow the whistle, and come to me. Tell me what you saw, and let me decide if I’m
going to change it.

Put the ball in play where it goes out of bounds, or where the foul, or the violation, occurs.

On throwins, count five players each team, check the table for substitutes, check the clock, good eye contact
before putting ball in play. A hand up in the air by the off official means not ready.

On double whistles, let’s both hold our preliminary signal and not give a block or player control signal.
Make eye contact with each other. Give the call to whoever has the primary coverage, most often the
lead official, unless you definitely have something different that happened first, in which case we’ll
talk about it.

Be aware of sixth and ninth fouls. If we know that the next foul will result in bonus free throws, then we’ll
be more likely to identify the shooter, and avoid correctable errors. Noncalling official should help identify
free throw shooter.

Be consistent with each other, and with what has already happened in the game. Let’s try to remember what
we’ve called earlier in the game, and what we haven’t called.

Be aware of the time remaining in the period. Let’s help each other out by putting up one finger when
we’re under one minute. We’ll also use the hand on the chest signal for last second try responsibility.

Game management: If I call a fifth foul on a player, I’ll tell the coach, unless I think it’s going to be a problem.
If either of us warns a coach, or the bench, let’s let each other know about it. If one of us calls a technical foul
on a coach, the noncalling official will remind the coach that he must sit down.

Near the end of the game, be aware of coaches requesting timeouts and be sure to inform them after they have
used all their time outs.

Near the end of the game, if the winning team is just holding the ball and is willing to take the free throws
after strategic fouls, then let’s call the foul immediately so the ballhandler doesn't get hit harder to draw
a whistle. Let’s make sure there is a play on the ball by the defense. If there’s no play on the ball, if the
defense grabs the jersey, pushes from behind, or bear hugs the offensive player, we should consider an
intentional foul. These are not basketball plays and should be penalized as intentional.

On court at 15:00. Scorebook at 12:00. Coaches and captains meeting at 5:00: Players legally equipped?
Players wearing uniforms properly? Practice good sportsmanship?

This game is the most important game being played anywhere tonight for these kids, fans, and coaches.
Let’s make sure we officiate the game keeping that in mind, through our effort, and attitude.

2018-19 Basketball Rule Changes
Backcourt Exception: Any player located in the backcourt may recover a ball deflected
from the frontcourt by the defense.

2018-19 Basketball Points of Emphasis
Responsibility For Proper Uniform And Apparel
Establishing Pivot Foot And Traveling
Legal Guarding Position, Block/Charge, Screening, Verticality
Loose Ball Recovery
Officiating Professionalism And Use Of Proper Terminology

Connecticut Only
Point to floor for two point field goal try when shooter has foot touching three point line.
Team members are not allowed to congregate at division line, or on school logo, during introductions.
Captains, Head Coaches, Officials pregame meeting should occur prior to start of game. If the head coach
refuses to attend the meeting, notify Commissioner.

A few weeks into the season, I leave out the Rule Changes, and the Points of Emphasis.

[ilyazhito]

For me, the first order of business is the type of game and specific rules we are playing by. In the Washington, D.C. Metro Area, there are 3 athletic governing bodies (DCSAA (including the PCSAA for charter schools, the private school teams in the District of Columbia, and the DCIAA (DC public school teams)), MPSSAA, and VHSL) and several private school leagues (WCAC, IAC, MAC, ISL, PVAC, Capital Beltway League), all of which play by their own rules, so it is important which specific set of rules will we be enforcing today. The rules that tend to vary the most in my area are shot clock, closely guarded count, 10-second count (visible, not, absent [MPSSAA/DCIAA Girls]), the mercy rule [the private school leagues usually have none], and the coaching box [most private school leagues follow NCAA rules]. Another important point is primary coverage areas (I make calls in my areas, my partners make calls in theirs, unless there is a play that my partners (or I) fail to see. In that case, the non-primary official will come in with a late cadence whistle. This also applies to double whistles.). We also discuss help plays (such as out-of-bounds), switches, last second shot coverage (Trail if 2-person, OTO if 3-person) and related signals (one finger in the air for 1 minute, responsible official taps chest inside the last 15 seconds of a period), unusual situations (technical fouls, fights, etc.). In the beginning of the season, we will also discuss rule changes and points of emphasis. Finally, we talk about unusual/interesting plays we have had during the season, and team tendencies/characteristics, if any one of us had the two teams of today's game before.

That is basically my pregame in a nutshell.

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by ilyazhito

... team tendencies/characteristics, if any one of us had the two teams of today's game before.

That is basically my pregame in a nutshell.

Fixed it for ya.

My partners should know all of the other stuff which you mention, otherwise the assignor shouldn't be putting them on the game. If they don't, it is not my responsibility to teach them--they are getting the same game fee, so they need to take ownership of their individual preparation.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

Fixed it for ya.

My partners should know all of the other stuff which you mention, otherwise the assignor shouldn't be putting them on the game. If they don't, it is not my responsibility to teach them--they are getting the same game fee, so they need to take ownership of their individual preparation.

Agree.

I will go over new stuff at the beginning, not so much to teach them but just so we're talking about it.

Most of what gets mentioned in pregame is forgotten once most officials take the floor anyway.

[JRutledge]

These are the main things I will cover.

1. New Rules or POEs (usually early in the season)
2. Team or coach information
3. Double whistles
4. Technical foul administration
5. Changing calls
6. Long switching (done differently in our state)
7. Personal expectations
8. Last second shot
9. Unusual plays

Peace

[SC Official]

Pregame protocol (we don’t have a statewide procedure)
Team tendencies
Coaches
Unsporting behavior
Giving and getting help
Anything partners want to contribute

It should be a given that we’re all on the same page when it comes to rules and mechanics for a varsity game. If not it’s going to be a long night.

Oh, and I always pregame double whistles so we never have a blarge.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by SC Official

Oh, and I always pregame double whistles so we never have a blarge.

I only discuss double whistles so we can discuss the philosophy on who is going to take them in pre-game. I work with a lot of college Men's officials that like the college philosophy about who takes a block-charge near or around the lane. So we have to discuss what philosophy is going to be used if it is a strict position like the NCAA takes or some other variation. But mostly this discussion is who is going to take the foul to the table, rather than preventing blarges. If you discuss this, it at least puts you in a better mindset. You are never going to prevent blarges if you do not know your partner had a whistle in the first place.

Peace

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

...

Connecticut Only
Point to floor for two point field goal try when shooter has foot touching three point line.
...

Only officials in the Nutmeg state can do this mechanic?

[JBleach85]

These are all great things to have in your pregame so please keep adding on if you are able to. Here are a few things in my pregame that I use some of these overlaps between HS and College.

New Rules or POEs (usually early in the season)
Team or coach information
Double whistles
Last second shot
Unusual plays
The "4 C's" (Cataloging, Consistency, Communication, Calling the Obvious/Calling the rules as written)
Plays at the basket/Rebounding

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Raymond

Only officials in the Nutmeg state can do this mechanic?

This has been an often used mechanic around her for years and I cannot think of many times if any this was discussed as a pre-game item.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Connecticut Only: Point to floor for two point field goal try when shooter has foot touching three point line.

Originally Posted by Raymond

Only officials in the Nutmeg state can do this mechanic?

Originally Posted by JRutledge

This has been an often used mechanic around her for years ...

I don't have access to a NFHS Mechanics Manual and/or signal chart, but I do know that this is not an official IAABO mechanic and/or signal. "Connecticut only" means that our state interpreter has encouraged us to go "outside the IAABO box" for this specific play.

We used to have another "Connecticut only" mechanic: No long switches in the backcourt when there is no change in possession unless free throws are going to be attempted.

When done correctly, it worked great. Foul on the defense in the backcourt, no free throws, trail moves up to the reporting area, reports the foul and moves back into the backcourt to administer the throwin. Lead stays put. Simple. Right?

The problem was that we had many officials who either didn't understand the mechanic, or were downright lazy. We had varsity guys in high school varsity games not switching like they were in a recreation or travel game. We had guys not switch on player control fouls. It lasted a year, or two, and we had to go back to switching on all fouls.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Connecticut Only: Team members are not allowed to congregate at division line, or on school logo, during introductions.

This (above) seems to be already covered by this (below):

2011-12 NFHS POINTS OF EMPHASIS: 1. SPORTING BEHAVIOR. The NFHS Basketball Rules Committee continues to be concerned about the following behaviors: A. Pregame Situations ... Gatherings intended to motivate a team after the warm-up period, during or following player introductions ... should be performed in the area directly in front of the team bench.

I believe that we stress this here in Connecticut because we had several incidents in the state of visiting players spitting on the home team's jump ball circle logo during pregame introductions. Our state interscholastic sports governing body wants officials to prevent such behavior.

Plus, if we didn't list it as a "Connecticut only", those who became officials after 2011-12 wouldn't know about this NFHS Point of Emphasis. When will the NFHS learn to add Points of Emphasis to the rulebook as needed. Not all, just as needed, like the contact above the shoulders Point of Emphasis from 2012-13.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Connecticut Only: Captains, Head Coaches, Officials pregame meeting should occur prior to start of game. If the head coach refuses to attend the meeting, notify Commissioner.

For your information, many, many, years ago we had a few head coaches regularly refuse to attend the pregame meeting, either because they had a gripe with the officials, or because they had a gripe with the opposing head coach. Our state interscholastic sports governing body considers this to be unsporting. Luckily, we as officials don't have to "force" the matter. We just hold the meeting with those who bother to attend, and report the violation to our assigning commissioner. He contacts the state interscholastic sports governing body, and they, in turn, contact the school's principal and athletic director. I've never had a problem with this, sometimes maybe a head coach supervising the taping of an injured player's ankle who sends his assistant coach the meeting.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Out of Bounds Responsibilities: Lead had frontcourt endline, and nearer sideline to the free throw line extended. Trail has nearer sideline, farther sideline above free throw line extended, division line, and all three backcourt boundaries.

Here in my little corner of IAABO Connecticut, this (above) is the single most important item in everyone's pregame. Even grizzled veterans who don't do a pregame ("Good eye contact") will discuss this item.

We've got veteran guys who like the older mechanic of the lead taking the entire sideline. Yet, many veterans will use the newer mechanic of the lead taking the sideline only to the free throw line extended. New guys are only taught the newer mechanic, but will often work with veterans who use the older mechanic. So, it's important to be on the same page depending on who you work with.

Many pregames end up with a statement like, "When the ball goes out of bounds above the free throw line, let's be sure to get a whistle on it. We don't want the ball to end up on the coaches lap with no whistle. Two whistles are better than none. We'll figure it out after".