Things the Mechanics Manual Doesn't Tell You

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by ilyazhito

(1 minute Q1/2/3, 2 minutes Q4/OT for pro-am under NBA rules, 2 minutes Q4/OT FIBA rules).

Stop trying to impress us with your knowledge of many rule sets. We are not impressed. Not one bit.

If you try to pull this malarkey (an Irish-American slang word, Google it) with the guys in your local association, they will try to avoid you like the plague. Don't expect any invitations to get adult beverages at the local gin joint after your Friday night games.

Originally Posted by ilyazhito

... if there differences between these practices at the high school, college, NBA, or FIBA levels ...

If you're only doing high school games right now, just concentrate on high school rules and mechanics. If you've only been doing high school games for a few years, you've got a lot to learn, as all of us did when we first started. You can't ignore mechanics, but you can't obsess on them as you seem to want to. You've got hundreds of block charge plays to call correctly, or to screw the pooch. You've got dozens of out of control coaches to deal with, some will not be charged with technical fouls, some will be charged with technical fouls, and some will end up sitting on the cold bus in the parking lot. You've got a few correctable errors to correct, either correctly, or incorrectly. You've got to work a one person game when your partner gets a flat tire, gets injured, or there's schedule screwup.

Don't obsess about what signal to use when your working a Final Four college game. Don't obsess about where you're going to stand during a timeout when you work an Olympic championship game. Don't obsess about how you're going to rotate as the lead in an NBA championship game.

Worry about what's important and relevant, what you're going to try to improve on the next time you work a high school game. Maybe part of that will be high school mechanics, but that shouldn't be your exclusive concern, you need to improve on all aspects of your game.

We all do, even a veteran official like me.

Stop obsessing about how poorly your partners, and other members of your local association, are doing and worry about how poorly you're doing and what you can do to improve your game.

And again, if your local association wants you to go by the book, then go by the book. If they want you to do something else, then do something else. Do one, or do the other, but do not improvise, not at this critical stage of your officiating career.

Don't keep asking us what we do in our various little corners of our various states and provinces, what we do isn't relevant to you. Never will be.

If it was, I would tell you that's is alright to wear a black belt. Try that in and other place other than my little corner of Connecticut, and you'll be working a lot of middle school girls games.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by ilyazhito

This is a thing that I notice as an official that concerns me: bad communication. It may be surprising that I am the one saying this, because I have Asperger Syndrome, a developmental disability that affects communication,

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Stop it. Just stop it. Please.

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Stop trying to impress us with your knowledge of many rule sets. We are not impressed. Not one bit.
...

The above, which I've highlighted in red, may explain a lot about who ilyzhito comes across on this board and may severely impact his ability to succeed as an official.

Form https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-au...rger-syndrome:

The following behaviors are often associated with Asperger syndrome. However, they are seldom all present in any one individual and vary widely in degree:
(edited to remove many non-relevant elements)
• inability to understand ... nonliteral phrases
• obsession with specific, often unusual, topics
• one-sided conversations

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

The above, which I've highlighted in red, may explain a lot about who ilyzhito comes across on this board ...

Which is why I've tried to be as literal and direct as I can, including reiterating important points, while still trying to show patience and offering advice to help him succeed.

Back when I was teaching middle school science, special education students were mainstreamed by Planning and Placement Teams into my classes, rather than into other teacher's classes, for a reason. Parents of special education students often asked for their child to be placed in my classes. I'm certainly not a special education expert, but I've been around the block a few times.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Which is why I've tried to be as literal and direct as I can, including reiterating important points....

Most definitely the best approach.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

The above, which I've highlighted in red, may explain a lot about who ilyzhito comes across on this board and may severely impact his ability to succeed as an official.

Form https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-au...rger-syndrome:

I am moderately afflicted and I attribute part of my success in officiating to my Asperger's traits. The biggest setbacks with Asperger's are awkward social interactions (my son) and improperly reading social cues (me--but can be learned through experience).

He can succeed.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

....one-sided conversations....

Maybe BillyMac has it also

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Raymond

Maybe BillyMac has it also.

Not Asperger Syndrome, but a more subtle, far less serious problem, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Actually led to a medical leave of absence and my premature retirement from teaching. I couldn't sleep at night. My psychiatrist (no couch sessions, just medication checks) now keeps me on the straight and narrow with a steady diet of Xanax and Luvox.

Back about fifteen years ago, before I started seeing a doctor, being properly diagnosed, and figuring out the proper regime of medications, my biggest problem in officiating basketball was not being able to get past mistakes I made during a game.

If I screwed up a call early in the game, I would continually go over the situation in my head for the rest of the game. Why did I screw up? Did I really screw up? What could I have done to prevent the screwup? Obviously, this distracted me for the rest of game, effecting my play calling due to a lack of concentrating on the present, while I was concentrating on the past, certainly not a good recipe for success in officiating basketball.

Now, with my medications, I'm able to move on from my mistakes. It's improved my self confidence. Yes, I self criticize, it's the only way to improve, but not during the game, only afterward, and then I don't beat myself up, unless I really deserve it.

And, no, I don't keep washing my hands all the time.

[JRutledge]

I think we all have issues on some level. I am a perfectionist when it comes to things I am passionate about.

Peace

[ilyazhito]

I am also a perfectionist for things that I am passionate about (in this case basketball officiating). Otherwise I wouldn't be on this forum, reading the books, and asking so many questions about mechanics and other aspects of officiating.

Now I know to just fall back on the book when in doubt, because if I am working with people that I do not know, they will understand when I use mechanics as in whatever the appropriate manual for the type of game is.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by ilyazhito

I am also a perfectionist for things that I am passionate about (in this case basketball officiating). Otherwise I wouldn't be on this forum, reading the books, and asking so many questions about mechanics and other aspects of officiating.

Now I know to just fall back on the book when in doubt, because if I am working with people that I do not know, they will understand when I use mechanics as in whatever the appropriate manual for the type of game is.

Being on this forum should be a tool, not the end all be all of your officiating experience. That is kind of the point of what most of us have been trying to say to you here. And as you get more experience, you will see what is important to those all over the place and what is not at all important. Many of these things you ask you, might be individually important, but not important to everyone that officiates. Either way, you will have to adjust. Good luck with what you do.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by ilyazhito

Now I know to just fall back on the book when in doubt, because if I am working with people that I do not know, they will understand when I use mechanics as in whatever the appropriate manual for the type of game is.

Good thought, but remember, in regard to high school games, your local association may do some things differently than the manual. It's up to you to find out when to follow the manual, and when to do otherwise. How do you find out? Think back to your local association's original floor training. Listen to your local interpreter/trainer/clinician during the training part of your regular association meetings. Directly ask your local interpreter/trainer/clinician if you have any mechanics questions (rather than asking us here on the Forum).

I'm lucky in that my local board follows the IAABO manual 98% of the time, so if I have a question, I can just look it up. But we do differ in a few aspects of mechanics. For example, we point to floor for two point field goal try when shooter has a foot touching three point line. You won't find that in the IAABO Mechanics Manual.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

The above, which I've highlighted in red, may explain a lot about who ilyzhito comes across on this board and may severely impact his ability to succeed as an official.

Form https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-au...rger-syndrome:

We noticed him saying that some time ago. But with that being said, no one is going to ultimately care if you do not accept the things people are telling you. That alone might be a hindrance, but how he processes information to others and how he deals with others will be another process. I know other officials with similar diagnosed situations and they struggle in this thing. And in many cases, people do not know that is an issue of those people.

I wish the kid the best and hope he can do what he needs to do to take the right positions to advance, but if he is always complaining about why partners do not do certain things or always telling people that they should follow some procedure that an experienced official has deliberately decided does not work as stated, that can be an issue regardless if your diagnosis.

Peace