a fellow official friend of mine had a strange conversation with and official from another association in our area. the gentleman from the other association was saying that they call girls basketball much different than boys and im wondering how do you do this; i mean a foul is a foul and a travel is a travel; how do you call each game different, i mean if theres no advantage we let it go, i guess im just finding it hard to believe you can call each one different, does anyone here have and opinon on this?

Yes, there is a difference. At the beginning of the 2md, 3rd and 4th quarters, you tell a boys team whose ball it is. You tell a girls team whose ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball ball it is.

timharris,
From what I have pbserved, the difference is the force of the contact (ie, ft/lbs of an action), but the violations remain very similar.

Less contact, it seems, is desired in Girls' ball for both defenders and offensive players. The game is called closely.

Perhaps this is due to the perceived difference in strength and the abilities of players to *play through* an action.

mick

Luv Mark's summary! :D

Tim:

You have already begun to understand the potential for the difference by stating, "i mean if there’s no advantage we let it go"...

The boys and girls games are not similar, one of the major issues is that in the girls’ game, ANY contact is typically viewed as creating a disadvantage.

YEAH!!! What Mick Said! :D

The held ball!!!! Don't forget the held ball!!!!
My theory, developing this year. Girls grab the ball with the goal being to get a whistle for a held ball. That's why they tend to grab the ball and look at the ref.
Boys grab the ball with the goal being to get the ball. That's why they generally don't look happy when the whistle blows.

Disclaimer: There are exceptions to the above referenced generalities.

Boys play the game vertically.

Girls play the game horizontally.

That cause different types of contact.

Mick nailed it!

There is more difference in girls ball from 6th grade to varsity than there is difference in boys from 6th to v.

Girls type of contact is very different, it's true. In general, there is more raggedy, scrappy contact, less clean contact. In general.

Girls do more double and triple teaming than boys.

But these are all cleaner at the higher levels, with the spread being much wider in girls.

An individual girl may run as fast as the boys, say on the fast break, but the overall pace of the game is slower in girls. Boys action, not just the running, is faster.

The average of experience that girls have is lower than boys. That doesn't mean that all girls have less experience than all boys, but it means that half the girls have less experience than most boys. Boys tend to start earlier and get serious earlier, and in greater numbers.

Boys never have to be benched because their fingernails are a safety issue.

And we have a new contender for the longest sentence of 2005. Chuck, how do you think timharris will stack up against the compentition? :D

Chuck's going to nail you on that spelling. ;)

Boys grab. Girls slap.

When boys get mad, they push the other boy in the chest.
When girls get mad, they stick a finger in the other girls eye.

Just my personal experience :)

Mick nailed it.
Generally, less contact is required to effect a play in girls. If you call a girls game the exact way you call a boys game, you might need an escort out of the gym afterwards. :eek:

Z

blindzebra nailed it
 

I thought blindzebra had a very succinct summation. Girls really do play horizontally; reaching, dribbly around aimlessly, holding the ball out, more bounce passes.

Guys play vertically. I watched the game after mine last night and the visiting team missed dunks on two successive possessions. Home team, losing by 25 before half time had an emphatic breakaway dunk just before the half time horn. Brought the sleeping crowd to their feet.