Coach takes a charge!!!

[Jimgolf]

Originally posted by jebPE
CMc,

I understand what you are saying.

I guess it boils down to the question of what the official's responsibility is.

As you mentioned in a previous post, basketball is not golf. For one thing, basketball is played on the run and contact is inevitable. The basketball rules recognize this and give officials the authority to make subjective judgments regarding the amount of contact allowed. The officials' responsibilities are to administer the rules according to the spirit of the game as specified in the rule book. If you read the NFHS rule book and officials manual, I think you will understand why the concept of advantage/disadvantage is mentioned so frequently in these forum discussions.

One of the reasons that golf rules are so explicit is that they are enforced by the golfers themselves. Since basketball has trained, professional officials, the various basketball authorities have left them a lot of discretion in the interpretation of the rules. If you concentrate more on the officiating when you watch the next few games than the play, you can begin to appreciate how much the officials' discretion can mean to ensure that games are played fairly.