Dexter555, welcome to the Forum.

Clicker?

Mark- curious why you say not to get into this habit? Just based on look/appearance of switching the whistle??

Thanks, Rob! I've lost half a day of productivity reading threads--great stuff and I'm learning a lot!

A ball/strike/outs indicator--hand held with dials that most baseball umpires use.

Just curious, What's your state or assigner's reasoning for not allowing a whistle it the pocket? I was actually initially taught years ago that you NEED to have a spare, some people put it in their pocket, some in their sock.

Similar question, what is wrong with that habit? I've actually stopped doing it myself, but not for any reason except I just didn't.

Because for one it's frowned upon, and secondly it's really not tough to remember which team has the possession, and do that in your good ol noggin. If you manage your game properly there are many times a quarter that you will be reviewing to yourself score, game time, shot clock, possession arrow.

I've been trying to get in a habit on fouls to remember 4 numbers :eek:. Player committing the foul, player fouled, time on shot clock and seconds left on game clock. It may go something like this.

White 44, 33, 12, 57.

I know white 44 committed the foul on RED/BLUE/WHATEVER 33, with 12 seconds on the SC and 57 seconds on the game clock. I also keep a running tally of jump balls and time outs. Can't always trust the table, or my partner to have this info.

You need to have a whistle. You don't* need to switch it on every held ball.

* - I recognize that there might be exceptions for the 4 kids games in a row, and that it's tough to remember for newer officials -- but it's a habit you should drop as soon as you can.

Some see it as indicative of a newbie, not much different than back pedaling (albeit less unsafe) in high school games. I'll do it in summer games where having an arrow is a luxury.

I don't see a problem with tracking the possession arrow in your pocket and have done it off and on for years. I can think of very few games where the AP arrow was not questioned at least once requiring partner and I to discuss/detrrmine. But it is better topractice.doing it by memory as its the best practice in this situation.

I do not like using a rubber band or other outwardly visible marker. Say you have it on your right hand to indicate an AP but decide the ball should be awarded in the other direction. It could give fans and coaches something to flip out about, especially in those youth games where they're just feetfrom the court.

If your going to track it, then track it discretly.

why so complicated?
 

Over the years I have seen and heard many different ways that officials use to keep track of the arrow, and often wonder "why not just look at the table and make sure they switch it?" (or DON'T switch it on the rare occasion when that happens) Secondly, for those of you using the "tricks" to keep arrow, ever have a sitch where the scorebooks and arrow indicate possession one way and you have another? At that point you need to talk to table crew, but if you watch the arrow after the AP throw ins, you can catch any problems when they occur, and BEFORE the next AP opportunity. Less chance for someone to make a big deal out of it.

And that is really my point. The table arrow (not the scoreboard) is the official device. If you do not agree because you have a whistle in a certain pocket, then what? At some point you will have to know what took place. Why not just do that from the beginning?

Peace

I have seen table crews switch the arrow on their own accord for whatever reason.

And that is why you should "know" your mind. Devices are only as good as the person using them. ;)

Peace

I carry my own arrow (I know, I'm a geek). Most NYC schools don't have an AP arrow at the table. They all tell me it's for financial reasons. When i tell them how I made mine that blows the money thing out of the water.

It's one of the blocks my kids used to play with when they were little. I printed "POSS -->" on a sheet of paper and "<---POSS" on another, attached them to the block with clear tape and there you have it. The "POSS--->" and "<---POSS" mirror each other so the table crew sees the same direction we see on the court.

And I'll say it again: I know, I'm a geek. But it works.