my question is: what do you watch for during fight situations?

Here's what happened: I'm on lead, A1 gets a defensive rebound, B1 swings for the ball but commits hard fouls which I immed whistle. A1 doesn't like the foul so he swings elbow and hits B1 in the chin and again I hit the whistle. B1 give hard shove and before they can get back together I'm between them and everyone calms down. I glance at both benches and nobody has moved but I do have a Mom and Dad on the court and Mom is yelling for A1 to get off her son. (yes, they waited for their son out in the car).

This situation turned out ok all things considered. I knew to separate players, watch for players on the court and the benches but hadn't put much thought into the fans. We'd had zero issues in a smooth game up to that point, and this situation helped me see how quickly things can change and how bad it could get if you had a situation with players, bench and also fans involved. Partner was big help in observing all that happened and helping me sort it out. We agreed that though it rarely happens, sure makes you feel like it's just you and him out on an Island with all the Natives.

I'm trying to edit but it won't let me, both players also enjoyed the remainder of the game with a sideline seat beside their favorite coach.

Sometimes this type of thing will pop up suddenly but usually it's been brewing a while.

In any event, what might have helped is if you had jumped between A1 & B1 immediately after the first hard foul. Usually this will calm things down somewhat, at least prevent the retaliation.

i was 15 feet from action, closed quick and got there just after retaliation happened, could have almost caught A1 when he got pushed. Found out afterwards that these kids go to same HS but B1 played on the other team because of the 41 Rule.

How can you watch anything or anybody if you're between 2 players?

If they're just yapping or making a little contact, I will get between them. Other than that, if it looks like they're ready to swing, I'll be a whistling and a yelling, but I ain't gonna be a stepping between them. I can't see anything if I do that- including instigation, retaliation, any peripheral action and who started it, etc. Also, over the years, I've had one partner who ended up with a broken jaw and another one who got a broken thumb by deciding to get in the middle just about the same time as someone else decided to take a swing. Personally, I let the teammates take care of it (if they want to) and just stay back and watch. If they wanna go at each other, they'll do so whether you're in there or trying to get in there. If they just wanna yap, which is the situation that happens most of the time, well, I can deal with that from a few feet away. And I always want to make sure that I have the instigator in these cases if something does happen to break out.

Jmo.

JR, if they are yapping do you consider issuing a double T in an attempt to calm things down right then and there even if there is no cursing or additional physical contact?

I think I would zap em both....your thoughts and experiences?

I agree, Rob. A double "T" when they start trash-talking might save you a whole buncha problems later on. Maybe if it's been a real quiet game, warnings might be more appropriate- but it can't hurt.

"off the brawl" coverage
 

If it appears heated to me, I'll call the double T in a heartbeat - better IMHO to err on the side of prevention than take a chance on letting it escalate. If not, I'll just tell them to knock it off & if they comply, that's the end of it.

Agree completely with Jurrasic on getting between the players - I also know officials that have gotten hurt doing so. Letting teammates try to pull them apart is dangerous IHMO, as I have seen instances where they wound up becoming participants. If whistle & voice don't stop it, I'll yell for the coach to give me a hand (at that point either or both are fine).

Something I always discuss with my partner in the pre-game is if an altercation breaks out, who is responsible for "off the brawl" coverage. What seems to work well is for the closest official to handle the confrontation while their partner freezes both benches and as many on the floor non-combatants as possible. Any thoughts?

Re:
 

If whistle & voice don't stop it, I'll yell for the coach to give me a hand (at that point either or both are fine).

Something I always discuss with my partner in the pre-game is if an altercation breaks out, who is responsible for "off the brawl" coverage. What seems to work well is for the closest official to handle the confrontation while their partner freezes both benches and as many on the floor non-combatants as possible. Any thoughts?
[/B][/QUOTE]Good way to pre-game it imo too, Tim. You might go your whole career without having a bench-clearer, but it doesn't take much time before a game to quickly talk about the best procedure to use in case it does happen.

Jmo too and a comment on the first sentence above: if the coach comes out as a definite peacekeeper, then I'm gonna say that he WAS beckoned by us, even if he wasn't. I'm not gonna toss any coach that's coming out there to help us.

?
 

41 rule???

41 rule is only 4 players from one school and 1 from another on the court at a time. i have never really known of anyone monitoring it but it's a rule in the off-season.