[QUOTE]Originally posted by DownTownTonyBrown

Quote:

Is that the little subby ones or the big 3-footers.

It's a 3 footer. Gets quite a rise out of the female coaches. I have to work to make sure it doesn't get a rise out of me.

BTW - there's one male coach who likes it. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I AM AMAZED!
 

I am amazed at how so many quality officials kicked this call.

Instead of moving the whistle from pocket to pocket, I have used one of those small black sock hangers that come with (mostly) dress socks. It clips easily over the rim of the top of my pants (or a belt if your wearing one), stays put and is less obvious than reaching into your pockets all night long. It does not interfer or poke when you run and can be moved while in motion easier than the whistle in the pocket. I haven't used one for two season or so as I have added remembering the arrow direction to my game (after 20 years something has to sink in) - or was it I was getting to old to remember to switch it....I can't recall.........all I know is indecision may or may not be one of my problems.

Scared To Ask!
 

I am scared to ask how do some of yall keep track of time-outs!

Beef Stick?
 

Hey Ref! Is that a beef stick in your pocket or are you just happy to see me???

I didn't realize that the rubber band would cause such a stir. I was told this trick by a retired NBA official from my area. Its not a large noticeable band, just a small out of the way one on the pinkie that can be easily moved on the fly when no one is watching. A whole lot easier then trying to dig into those front pockets on the beltless pants.

What do you do if you drop that bad boy? Finding a light brown colored mini rubberband on a light brown colored floor is probably harder then finding a clear contact lense. Now you're screwed. Use the whistle or if your area says no whistle, do what I do, chapstick in the pocket :-) I find that in JV/V games, the table is dialed in.

I talk to myself the entire game, especially during time-outs. Most officials lounge mentally and physically during this time, but I look at the time, points, posession arrows, fouls, review the last few fouls called in the game, think about what kind of play to expect coming out of the time out, what shooters have the hot hand, what players are foul happy, and anything else I can think about that is game related.

That is helping me big time, even with something as simple as the possession arrow.

I've started to keep track of it in my head but just as a back-up I use the back left pocket on my pants. If the button is closed the ball goes to the right of the table. If it's open, the ball goes to the left. Easy to change, don't have to worry about losing anything and I'm guessing few people would notice whether my pocket is buttoned.

Pos Ctrl Whistles
 

Reply to very old posts, but found this thread through a search and thought this would help. For Fox 40 fans, here's an attachment for your whistle:
Basketball Possession Switch - Fits in Whistle: Ump-Attire.com

For a "built-in" version, try this: PC 50 Whistle

And yes, I agree learning to keep it in your head is best, but I'm great and keeping balls/strikes in my head in baseball but I still use a clicker.

You have more pitches in a game then you do a change in the arrow. And what do you do when you forget to change the device? Are you going to argue with your partner(s) you have the proper way because your whistle says different? Or would it be better to note the time and situation with everyone involved? ;)

Peace

Again, totally agree with you--memory is best. I rarely look at my clicker in baseball, and rarely forget to click it either. I like having a backup, especially when I do my son's elementary games (as a volunteer, and solo) and there's 10 held balls per game!

If you use the first one, I am told, it will change the sound of your whistle.

I'm lucky I don't have many held balls during a game so I'm able to track it fairly easily.

You might have 10 pitches at an individual batter and over 300 in a game. To me that is not the same thing. Ten held balls in a game is not unusual and not hard to remember when you changed the last one. And you have a scorer that is supposed to be keeping track too. And even in baseball there are those that do not advocate or use indicators for pitches. I just think in basketball it is a bigger crutch and often a mistake is made by officials who are only relying on the device and not their memory or the scorer that is required to keep track of these things like other things in the game.

Peace

At that level, where the table can often be suspect, it might be useful. There are other ways to track it as well.

At (almost) anything higher, it's definitely not needed, imo.