Rich's area - Is it time to drop the 3-man officiating crew?

[ilyazhito]

I have, for part of a rec game when my partner was on his way. I had to basically work as a Center official opposite until my partner showed up. No sideline coverage whatsoever, limited angles to see plays. I would not work 1-person in any scholastic game for that reason. After working 3-person for intramurals, scrimmages, and my first 2 varsity games this past week, I really don't want to work 2 person games unless I absolutely must. There are too many plays that a 2-person crew will missed as compared to a 3-person crew.

How can the author of the OP have been an official in Texas, and never worked a 3-person game? Did he not go to camp, officiate playoff games, or have any of the conferences that he was in assign 3 officials? I would be surprised if the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex still only uses 2 officials for varsity games, because there are a lot of schools, a lot of officials, and a lot of money in the Metroplex. If there are any DBOA or Dallas TASO basketball officials, let me know about the current situation, and when 3-person started in your part of Texas.

BTW, I totally agree with SC Official about the "for the kids" phrase used as hypocritical lip service. If you really want to do this for high school kids, make sure the game environment is safe, including providing an adequate crew (3 officials for varsity, 2 for freshman/middle school games).