I am a fairly new official and understand my area in a two-man, but my question is what is the rule of thumb in general for a 3-person? I have a pregame conference card for three-man, so I can see coverage. But I was wondering what helped you the most in learning this configuration.

Thanks,

Denny

Just call a few games with with the 3 man and it comes quite naturally.

Trust your partners
 

When working 3 man you have to trust your partners are watching their areas. All the areas overlap so the only other thing is to use your periphial vision to see if the lead switches over to your side of the court. Try to work 3 man in the summer or during pre-season scrimmages. It really is easy once you do it a few times.

I would almost agree with that but.......
 

the fact that he is a young official, he might not even work a 3 man game anytime soon. Unless he goes to several camps or does varsity, he might never even come close to doing 3 man games. I do agree that once you do 3 man games, 2 man because easier to understand and work. But if you do not get exposed to 3 man, you still are looking for answers.

dhodges007, I would just say go by the book. Until you have some game experience and understand what you are more likely to call and not call, stick to the book. Because doing 2 man mechanics is really about experience. Because it depends on you partner and what your partner likes to do and not do, it depends on where you partner is looking or not looking, and all is going a factor in how you call the game. You can never go wrong with the book and what the book says at first, but in 2 man you have to make sacrifices in coverage. In doing 3 man, you realize more what those sacrifices are. Read, study and know that "Officials Manual" back and forth, because if someone tries to tell you different, it is very hard for them to deny what is in that book. And in the long run, especially early, that is what you are going to be judged on.

Re: I would almost agree with that but.......
 

[it depends on you partner and what your partner likes to do and not do, it depends on where you partner is looking or not looking, and all is going a factor in how you call the game.]

I do understand that to a degree. I like to do what I call "mirror" my partners calls. That is one thing that we talk about in the pre-game. That and also what we want to "nip in the bud" right away and what we will tolerate as far as those ticky-tack calls. I have played basketball both HS and College, so I know most of the rules and have been learning the others through reading through the rule book and case book, and also through this forum.

Denny

Mirror?
 

What exactly do you mean by "mirror" your partners call?

Re: Mirror?
 

If they tighten their calls up I tighten mine up. If they start calling handchecks (for example) on their end I will start calling it on my end too.

Re: Just an opinion.
 

I realize that you might think that is a good idea, but let me put it to you this way. You are not going to have the benefit of calling things that your partner calls often times. Because if you look for something that was not called or was called for a certain reason, you might find yourself as being accused of looking for something that should not be called. You need to call your own game. Because if you call your own game instead of just adjusting to what someone else does during that game, you might find some inconsistency. You talked about handchecking. Well handchecking might only need to be called on one player. Handchecking is not just touching a player is influencing a players movement with the hand. So if a player holds, changes the direction, pushes or stops a player by using his/her hand, that is handchecking. If you go on the other end and go looking for that, and the same exact action I just discribed is called on your part, you might have problems with your inconsistency. My main point is that you are not going to have the benefit of understanding all your partners calls, because if you are, you are not watching your area.

And I know there will be others that disagree with this, but get the terminology of "tight and loose" called game out of your vocabulary. These words have no real basis in officiating. What I mean is that I really do not understand how you call something in degrees, rather than it happen or it did not happen. Think more in term of advantage/disadvantage, because if some contact puts a player at a disadvantage, it is a foul. If the contact does not, not foul. If you start thinking in terms of "tight and loose," I feel you loose perspective on what you should call or not call. Because instead of considering how the contact affected the play, you consider the degree. And considering the degree IMHO, makes you more inconsistent.

I am not a God on this, I know there is going to be people that disagree, and you might be one of them. But I know a few D1 Men's and Women's officials, and I have never heard that used (tight and loose) used in their vocabulary. They only talk about fouls in terms of advantage/disadvantage.

Just my opinion.

Rut.

Well, that makes since to me. I tried to e-mail you one on one, but the forum wouldn't let me. Any more advice that you have would be appreciated. A little background on me, I played 3 years HS ball. Started the last two, Captain the last year. Went to college and played there for a few months, other things got in the way so I stopped playing. I have been officiating over 40 hours this season (being my first year). I have read both the rule book and case book and am prepared to make a ruling in most situations or at least have an idea how I would handle them. I also have a mentor who talks to me about the rules and how I officiate all the time. He has been doing this for 7 years and played ball before that. I joined this forum to watch the reactions and get advice from others who are more seasoned than myself. Once again any advice is invited. Feel free to e-mail me or to put it out on the forum.

Thanks,

Denny

I partially agree with Rutldge in his response. But you have to call what you see. If it is hand checking, or pushing on a rebound. Mirroring your partners can create a situation where you are looking for something at the other end rather than calling what is there. Anticipation is not a good thing for an official.