How many of you make an effort to remember who the floor captains are during your games? If you do, how do you remember? Just curious. I've been making the effort this season; although haven't really needed to. Do you have a "trick" for keeping them straight?

I don't really try to. As long as a kid speaks appropriately, I will answer any question or concern that they have. I also have wondered why we do this, if the floor or speaking captain is on the bench what then, that is why I don't make a big effort, if I remember great, if not aw well....

Dido on cmathews reply.

Sometimes I'll go to the score book and put a C by that player. Never needed it yet and hope not to.

I remember because i will try to go to him/her if i am having trouble with a player. However, i will still let anyone come talk to me.

d

I remember them at least through the jump, since the referee is required to notify both captains that the jump ball is about to occur. After that, I can get it from the book if I need it, since I mark the captains with a "C" when I'm checking the book.

Last night I got to do this three times in my game. I had to verify with the book between regulation and the first overtime who the captains were -- I had the numbers, but couldn't remember which team was 14 and which was 44.

The captians are an important part of any game and I give them the level of respect they deserve. I think it is also important to not only know the captains, but who are the real "Leaders on the floor". They are usually the ones the other will listen to.

Now as far as how do I remember them. Here in the Seattle area most of the players will come and shake hands or bumb fists with the officials during introductions. I remind myself and my partner who the captains are when the come to meet us. Seems to work for me.

I don't try and remember...I tell the captains in the meeting that if I have a problem player I'll either address him/her directly or I'll tell the nearest player what the problem is and to go tell the other player (tell 22 to get out of the key for example).

I agree, I tried to remember #'s last year with little sucess. Some teams use seniors for captains and they amy not even play much anyways, so I stopped even asking for them at pregame meetings

It is the manner that any player approaches me not who the player is that matters. IF you need to convey something to a player through another player, it is usually pretty easier to tell who the team leader is on the floor at that time.

Not a concern.
 

I not do I try not to remember. I address the players that are involved. I might talk to the captain to make a public display when tempers are getting out of hand. Then if I have to do something it is not like the coaches and fans did not see some effort to squash things. Other than that, no reason to remember their names or numbers. If I need to talk to a captain, I simply ask for captains.

Peace

Rich,
That's about as far as I get. After the jump I'm guessin', but then it doesn't really metter to me.
If there is a problem with a player, who is on the edge of pushing, grabbing, or some attitude, I am more likely to tell a coach to please remind #n about ....
mick

Same here.
Once I notify captains that the jump is about to commence, I have a heck of a time remembering who they are after that.

Z

The reason I bring this up is b/c I have been trying to remember them this season, and I've been pretty good about it. But I've found that I haven't had any reason to use the info during the game. So I'm wondering if it wasted effort.

I remember them by equating their numbers with famous players with those numbers. So if my captains are #23 and #33, then I remember that my captains are Jordan and Bird. But again, so far it's been wasted effort.

Chuck - I used to work hard at remembering them also, until I worked a game with a very experienced partner who - when there was a player getting very emotional and "on the edge" - simply called out loudly "Who is my white captain?". The captain came running, thanked my partner for allowing him to deal with it, and then went and talked to the other player...worked pretty well, and got everyone's attention...that's what I do now.

I am with you on this Chuck. I tried to remember this at one time, it just became too hard to remember who they were or deal with it when no captains are on the team. Usually the starting point guard or the superstar player are the real leaders on the team anyway. So I do what rocky suggests if I really need to figure it out. But most of the time I address the player or coach directly. That works well enough for me.

Peace

I like this idea, and also the one about asking the table. I've worried about not doing this, and now I can quit worrying. Thanks, folks.

I put the two numbers together and remember a 4 digit number. I put them in the alphabetical order of the team colors.

So, if my captains are "11 white" and "32 black", my number is "3211". It may sound odd, but it works for me.

Captains
 

As a professional firefighter one of my duties at work is to drive the fire engine (engineer) to the scene of the emergency and/or incident. I always carry a pen with me to write drown the address and/or location of the incident. When I don’t have any paper handy I use the palm of my hand to write the address down for quick reference. As a basketball official I carry this over by habit to my games by always carrying a pen inside my referee jacket. During the team captains meeting I write down the numbers of the captain(s) on the palm of my hand and circle the spokesperson. I agree knowing who are your team captains is important. I always want to know and remember my team captains so I can refer to him or her at any moment during the game when I need to address any issues or concerns on the court. Like to know if the player speaking to me is the team captain just in case that player is out of line. I get a surprise look from my partners and coaches because their not uses to seeing an official do that. Food for thought.

[Edited by arthur_b9 on Feb 6th, 2004 at 03:08 PM]

Excellent!
 

Excellent comment rockyroad. Just by asking the question,
"Who is the captain?" "Get a handle on #23 or I will have to take care of it," is excellent preventive officiating. It really works well in football because you have all the kids in a huddle and the guilty kid will be in the huddle and hear it right in front of his peers and then the good old peer pressure will probably sink in and the problem will fix itself. This is part of my captains meeting. "if I have a concern I will come to you(captains) to help me out and if you have any questions feel free to speak with either official."

A perfect example of why I love this forum! What a great idea. Thank you Rocky for sharing something you learned from (I assume) another great official and Chuck for the thread start.

I can see me using this from now on.

Re: Captains
 

What do you do when you have games back-to-back, use your other hand? Then how do you remember which hand to use? :)

I'm just kidding, you don't need to answer. I think that's a really odd way to do it, but whatever works for you. I haven't seen anyone write on their hand since high school.

Good one, dj!
Thanks for sharing.
mick

Captains
 

Thank you, Chuck for the excellent question you raised. I agree with Ron Pilo it’s an important procedural process of the game. During this meeting we are identifying essential roles we all play in this contest. We are exchanging very important information and setting firm that the number one priority for everyone involved in this contest is sportsmanship. I personally take a great effort to discipline myself to remember who are the floor captains mentally or visually and encourage you to continue the effort. Sometime I succeed and sometime I fail. Chuck, we have shared with you several ways to remember your floor captain’s. I shared that I use another tool by writing the captain’s numbers on the palm of my hand to help me visually remember. During the course of the game if we need to address any issues that arise to the captain’s I can quickly look at my palm and identify and share with my partner(s) who are the captains. If I have back-to-back games I line out the captain’s of the first game and do it again for our next game using the same hand. Is this an odd way of attempting to remember the team captain’s? Yes and No. Try it out and see for yourself. Again! I agree with Ron P. No matter how they were selected. The coaches and captains appreciate seeing you take the time to respect, identify and acknowledge the responsibility they have been given in assisting the officials in fulfilling the number one priority. In my next assigned game I’m going to use half of a 5” x 7” card to write my numbers down then make note of it on the scorebook as usual and put it in my front pocket. In most cases as mention you rarely need this information during the course of the game, but it’s there and available when you do need it quickly. Keep up the effort in finding a “trick” that works for you.




[Edited by arthur_b9 on Feb 6th, 2004 at 03:05 PM]