Got my rec league schedule and am happy as heck.

Have done past games for boys and girls in small elementary school tile floor gyms. I don't mind this, in fact I accept the challenge of making a game for players and parents in close quarters and dirty or dusty floor conditions.

This is OK for 7-8 boys, 7-9 girls, but when you get to the 9-10 boys and 10-12 girls things get a little cramped on the floor.

Until this year the 11-12 boys and 13-14 girls had ALL their games at the jr. high "big gym" with the clean wood floors, glass backboards and scoreboards with digital clocks, in other words, basketball heaven.

Well it seems this year there is a shortage of "big gym" availability so some of the older age group games are scheduled at the elementary school "small gyms".

My point is that with the size of the older/bigger players in a smaller court, things will be even more cramped and therefore a challenge to officiate. (I have my first game in this situation on 12/17).

Any thoughts or advice on how to approach this?

There really is not good advice. You might have to move a little more than usual. You have to be more aware of your surroundings. But most of all you have to adjust to the gym you are working. Maybe you do not have much end line room out of bounds and you will have to adjust. There really is no magic formula to officiate in those kinds of gyms. You just have to work hard for angles and try not to run into the wall or trip over objects that might be apart of the gym.

Peace

Small floor, big players.....

Try to avoid sight line problems by staying wide on the endline as the Lead.

Also, 'close down' towards the lane when off ball as the Trail. Don't worry about getting beat on a fast break since the floor is small and you should be able to recover quickly.

Here's some good advice:

Generally the T has much more room than the L. This means the T has to be very aggresive - don't be afraid to call into the leads area, be ready to help on out of bounds plays, etc.

There's going to be a lot more contact simply because there's not so much room. Be prepared either to let the extra contact go or to call it. Whatever you do be consistent.

Make sure on throw-in's you consistly enforce the 3 foot area where he defender must stay out of. I wouldn't worry about throwing T's, just make sure they undrstand how far they must be away from the line.

The little kids are more intense than the little-little kids and usually so are the parents. Closer quarters can make this unpleasant.

Usually the bench & table are right on the sidelines as well. Make the bench kids keep their feet off the floor. Keep the coaches off the court, they don't have to wander far before they're in the way on these small courts.

This point cannot be stressed enough there is no doubt there will be nore contact, believe me, I've done a ton of older kids games in tiny gyms. Call it all, that way the players have a reason to adjust their game to the surroundings. And make sure what you do at one end you're doing at the other.

small gyms
 

boy did I need to read these posts...had a varsity boys game (church league) yesterday and had a melt down...thank goodness for a great partner who saved my bacon and his reputation...just seemed to be a step behind all night, could not get good sight lines,constantly blocked out of plays,not to mention that the speed seemed to be more than I expected...in Michigan we are probably be going to an boys/girls season next year and I think we will be seeing more games being played in smaller gyms...so any advice would be appreciated...

I'll just throw out one kinda quirky thing I do. I never consciously decided to do this, it just kind of happens. But when I'm transitioning to L in a tiny gym and I get to the baseline, my hand nearest the wall reaches out a bit so that I'll feel the wall before I get to it. It lets me focus on the action without worrying about the wall.

Excellent..
 

Excellent advice! I would also recomment that you know the principle's behind the restraining line because you will probably have one of those. Active trail and staying wide and closing down are great tips. And if you could change places with the guy in the top row of the bleachers you will probably have the best look of all in a small gyn. Good luck and have fun!!