Inadvertent Whistle

[just another ref]

Inadvertent whistles: an abomination. To me there is no more hollow feeling than to blow the whistle, for no apparent reason. But a funny thing happened. A couple of weeks ago, jr. high tournament, 4 games. I had 2 inadvertents in 1 day. The only time that ever happened, honest. Both of them were no excuse screw-ups. One I called a girl OOB for standing on the line when she wasn't.
She froze and looked down at her own foot, up at me, and back at her foot. As I got to the line (tough angle, right in the corner, really) and saw the 1/4 inch between shoe and line I patted my own chest, "My bad, blue ball." On the other a boy drove toward the basket, pulled up, picked up his dribble, and then immediately put the ball back on the floor. Just as I blew the whistle to signal the double, I realized that he was attempting a short bounce pass into the post. Nobody even knew what the phantom call was this time. Just the now familiar signal, "My bad, red ball." Both times I heard a single voice from the stands,
"So why'd ya blow the whistle?" Why indeed. The funny part is that one of the coaches involved and my partner both complimented (unsolicited, so I guess they weren't just being kind) the way I handled both and corrected my own mistakes smoothly. Professionalism? Perhaps. But not the kind you hope to practice often.

You've been a great crowd. Thanks for listening.