Held ball, followed by timeout

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Altor

I know some carry an extra whistle. Do you swap it at the time you call the held ball, even before the throw-in?

For those of us that carry an extra whistle and use it for held ball/quarter situations, there are different techniques. The most important thing is for such an official to remain consistent with his technique and to have it become a regular habit, an almost unconscious habit.

I swap mine before (not the legally correct time, I've already got enough to do immediately after the throwin) the held ball alternating possession throwin (and at the end of the first half). Obviously, my extra whistle technique wouldn't help me if something weird (technical foul, kick, etc.) happened between my swap and the alternating possession throwin, leaving it up to my game awareness and hopefully good communication with my partner and the table.

If a timeout is called after I've already swapped my whistle, but before the throwin, I hold the ball in such a manner (right, left, lane side, not lane side) to remind me of what type of throwin and which way we're going. I also visually communicate such to my partner during the timeout.

Repetition, consistency, and redundancy are the keys.

Without good game awareness and good communication, "tricks" are just "crutches", and may not be infallible.