I didn't want to take up space on the other thread, but an interesting discussion was beginning there...

The comment was made in that thread that West Coast officials are more laid back than East Coast. I contend that officials in the South are very different from officials in the Northeastern part of the East Coast. There is a definite style difference that I have experienced. Just spent some time with officials from Texas and the midwest, and their philosophies seemed closer to those in the Southeast, but just a bit different.

It all begs the question-- Just how regional is officiating?

Just as regional as the play. Big 10, Big 12, MCC, etc. in the north typically have lower scores because play is more physical and they don't fast break as much. In the east and south (ACC, Big East, SEC) there are alot of high scoring games with alot of fast breaking. Out west (Pac 10, Big West, WAC, MWC) I would say that both the officiating and the play is closest to "by the book," i.e. most officials call the same type of game, and the players seem to be more fundamentally sound.

Alot of it has to do with the fact that this is how each region's high school games are played as well, and for the most part, western kids stay in the west, northern kids in the north, etc.

I believe there is regionalism in high school as well. I read on here about how you are all "whacking" them for this and for that. I have not given an unsportsman-like T in over two years, coaches included.

Now maybe it's that I'm mellowing out a little but I know in my area there are very few T's handed out.

High School officiating is very regional. Out of all the time I have been an official and come to this site and others, you learn very quickly what is done in your area does not apply to other areas. I remember one time we got into a big discussion about a certain rule application and just about everyone said this rule was so important and should be applied to the letter. Later that summer I attended a camp and this very rule came into question. The camp was run by the head clinician of our state and not only was his opinion completely contrary to many here, he made it clear as officials we had better things to worry about.

I have also noticed that guys on this site give Ts for all kinds of thing I would never give a T for. Or at least where I am officials talk to players and coaches. This is definitely a regional thing. Because those that give a lot of Ts, usually are not respected. It is really the case if the Ts given for very technical actions.

Peace

A lot of times, I think that officials tend to say it's a "regional thing" when it's just the opinion of a particular official they listened to. Good officials are good officials. We've had officials transfer to our area from other parts of the country and the ones that excelled in the area they came from also excel here.

An official who "leads the league" in technicals is generally overly-sensitive and not respected no matter where he/she refs. On the flip side, an official who doesn't expect sportsmanship and lets coaches go nuts without doing anything about isn't respected either. Doesn't matter if they ref in Timbuktu, Tacoma or Tuscaloosa.

I have heard two of our state tournament evaluators say things that contradicted each other. When pressed on it, they looked it up and one of them admitted they were wrong. I've also seen where one of our fine observers got confused between a HS rule and a college rule and later straigtened it out. Happens to the best of them.

Z

I know in 3 Person mechanics the NF allows the Lead official to bounce or hand the ball to the thrower. The Head Clinician (with consulting with rules interpreters and the state administrator) mandated that officials only hand the ball to the thrower.

Another mechanic is we do not have the lead official in 3 Person mechanics give a 5 second count. I asked a question about this a few weeks ago and it was clear that was not what was taught in other areas.

We have had 3 Person in this state for the playoffs since the 1997-98 season. There have been numerous variations with mechanics and things the NF never clearly stated or gave options. I can even tell you of rulings that the officials were instructed to enforce or not enforce. I can think of a Muslim girl that did not want to play basketball with shorts and here headdress. After some officials did not allow her to play, the IHSA told us to not enforce the NF rules to the letter in situations like this. They also made it clear that in order for officials to allow a player to not adhere to the NF uniform rules, the IHSA office had to be contacted and a letter approving this religious expression. We were even giving a very specific ruling about insulin pumps that was not made clear at the time by the NF.

All these examples I talked about are just basketball situations. I could go on and on if I talked about football and baseball. I even worked in Iowa for a couple summers and there were things they wanted that was totally different at that time then what the Illinois wanted.

Peace

I've heard people say that the, "You should never call fouls outside of your primary coverage area" line is only a St. Louis, Missouri only thing.

Gee, if it's not J Rut's way it's not respected? Do you have any idea how arrogant that paragraph sounds?

Blindzebra, his statements shouldn't surprise anyone since this topic is perfect for his favorite saying/putdown.

I'm sure there are some great officials from Illinois. However, there are also great officials from all over the country which means the state of Illinois does not do things so much better as Rut would want us all to believe. I'm sure he will say something like "...I'm respected by the other officials in my area...blah, blah, blah."

I think that you might be missing JRut's point. My interpretation of what he said is that there are officials out there (could be anywhere) that prefer to give T's rather than take control of a particular situation. Officials that are not confident enough in themselves or do not like to have their calls challenged tend to hide behind T's rather than address specific situations.

I think his point is more along the lines that some referees lose their common sense and issue T's when they cannot deal with the situation in a different way. Alot of officials do not like to be questioned and when they are, they start "whacking" away.

Ask most referees who have regularly worked at the state tournament, or on the college level in your area, and I would bet that most of them will say that game management will take care of alot of these situations. Get into a players ear, tell the coach that it is time to move on, etc. Coaches, players, and assignors would more often prefer this type of approach.

As an example, a few years ago we had an official that was working a JV game where the V coach was in the upper area of the gym, which makes him more of a fan than a coach in this case. The coach was commenting on the officiating. This coach has worked at the D1 level and regularly sends kids from his program to the D1 level as well. This only means that he has seen alot of basketball and has some credibility himself. Anyway, the referee decided to toss the coach rather than asking someone from game management to take care of it. The official told him that he would not be allowed to work the V game later that night. Needless to say, that official got a call from the assignor and had the remainder of his schedule suspended for that year.

I do not know JRut from Adam, and I have disagreed with him in the past, but I believe this is more along the lines of what he meant. If not, I am sure he will expound.

[Edited by icallfouls on Jun 16th, 2005 at 11:53 AM]

I'm sure he'll agree with you, because it is what he always does.

He says something that is controversial then says don't put words in my mouth when people disagree.

Interesting. I interpreted JR's comments yet another way. I thought he was saying that a culture had developed in his region where referees do not hand out a lot of T's and that the culture there frowns on it. Perhaps the coaches and officials interact in a way that may be different from some places. I also thought he meant that the leadership in his region had made some decisions about how to handle some issues, and that the officials in the area follow and respect those decisions.

Okay, let's not get into the grenade slinging just because there's nothing more interesting going on. Let it go, BZ. You, as a good official, have bigger things to worry about. As someone very wise said earlier.

In addition to working HS games in the Chicago-area, I also work small college games in Illinois and Indiana. I have noticed a difference between Chicago/Illinois guys and Indiana guys. They are really mechanic differences rather than judgement/style of play differences. My experience has been that Indiana guys blow their whistle alot - i.e. to signal the ball is being administered on a thrown in when a sub has just come into the game (similar to what is done after time outs); when throw-in is administered on baseline opposite table, Trail will raise his hand to help start clock (the idea being that timer may not be able to see Lead's signal).

I'm going to a college officiating camp this weekend that will have guys from Hawaii to Florida attending. I seem to remember that guys from the South were very demonstrative with their signal mechanics (I think they watch too many NBA games) and guys from the Texas/Kansas/Oklahoma part of the Midwest tended to project a large presence (booming voice & tried to be physically imposing). I really didn't detect a substantial difference in the type of calls officials were making.

Good officials will learn what the Supervisors of their conference wants called and will call the game accordingly. If you work many conferences, then you've got to be dilligent in preparing for each assignment and follow the Conf. Supvsr's. POE's.

Regionalism? Who Knows?
 

Does anyone who posts to this board really have experience beyond one (or two at the most) states? Assuming the answer is no, then how can anyone really profess to know if there are regional differences? I say the sample size is way too small to be able to answer the question with facts. All of us merely have opinions.

I gotta tell you I am not impressed by your friend's behavior.

If that coach has experience up to D1 then he must realize JV officials generally work JV for a reason. Same reason, generally, that JV players play JV. As a "big time coach" he should have not lowered himself to fan status & should have just kept his damn comments to himself & worried about his own game which was to follow.

As for the official getting his schedule yanked - he's better off not having to work JV games for that assignor.

That was exactly the point I was making. I had a situation yesterday where a coach thought I missed a call. He addressed my across the court and I answered his question in the same fashion. He thought I blew a call and he might have been right. I told the coach, "if you saw it that way then I was wrong, but I cannot just make a call based on what you saw." The coach did not say another word about a judgment call the rest of the game. It was clear he wanted to be heard and he knew I listened to him. Many younger officials would have just T'd up the coach and considered the coach asking a question as a front to his ability.

Danny Crawford who is in the NBA and from Illinois came to the IHSA Official's Conference last year and spoke at the basketball clinic and to all officials later in the conference. He brought a tape that was provided by the NBA that showed many clips of officials dealing with players and coaches. You saw many star players and big coaches complaining about calls and you got to hear what was said and how it was handled. What I learned most on the tape was how the officials just listened. Some times the officials did not even speak until the player or coach finished talking. They would very specifically address what the coach said and would move on. On the tape many times the players or coaches would not like what the officials said, but they were heard and the officials would walk away and make it clear what call was made.

On the tape there was even a funny exchange between Larry Brown and I believe Danny Crawford. Crawford asked Brown a question and let Brown run his mouth for about a minute and then Crawford T'd him up. It appeared this exchange was during a FT but Crawford listened to Brown and let him hang himself. Now if this was a HS game and gave a T, there was more than enough evidence to provide to the assignor without a tape. Instead many younger officials or red-*** officials would have T'd Brown up before he said the worst things and it would have been his said, he said situation. Brown in the exchange got personal, questioned the official’s integrity and used many profanities. The comments were near the bench and it would have been very difficult to hear them in any loud gym. It was just interesting to see how they handled players and that filtered into my game this year.

Peace

Danref,

First of all this is not a friend of mine, merely an example of an official that might have done better trying to find a different approach to dealing with a difficult situation.

The coach chose to be a fan of his underclassmen and is entitled to his opinion. The program is under his direction and he is entitled watch their progress. JV players do swing up to V after all. As you know, fans (be they parents, coaches, AD's, teachers or whatever) just don't sit there quietly when they think an official has made a mistake or is wrong. They will tell you about it. They have a certain amount of rights to do so. The fan/coach in this situation was only commenting on the officiating and was not being profane, or making insensitive comments. As far as JV officials being JV officials for a reason, I do not disagree, but that doesn't give them license to misapply rules. It is hard for assignors to defend officials that misapply rules, they can defend judgment and hustle.

Second, in regard to the assignor pulling games and how they would be better served to not work for such an assignor. It is ignorant to think that this doesn't happen. Look at any level you choose, and you will find that referees have been suspended for various duration for various things. You certainly have a right to not work for any assignor, but in the end the assignor is responsible to the schools serviced. Like it or not, the schools have input on the officials that they want on their floors and the assignors take a certain amount of input from them. Coach K, for example gets to take ACC officials on non-conference road trips

[Edited by icallfouls on Jun 16th, 2005 at 02:10 PM]

Nothing you said here excuses what you claim is a big time coach from sitting in the stands acting like a jerk. A varsity HS coach has nothing in common with the nameless and faceless fans in the stands. If he wants to act like some jerk in the stands then he needs to take his punishment like any jerk in the stands and not get on the phone to ruin some JV official.

And I never said schedules aren't pulled. All I said was this official is better off not working JV games for that assignor who caves in under pressure from Mr Big Time Varsity Coach. If the success of his JV squad is so important to him maybe Mr Big Time Varsity Coach should sit on the bench and act as the JV assistant. Instead of yelling at the JV officials from the stands.

And I have no idea what the Coach K has to do with a JV HS game.

I noticed another regional difference in your post. Not everyone has the option to work for who they like. That affects how certain rules are applied and to what extent they are applied. I work for multiple assignors and each has their own quirks they want followed or mechanics that they want applied. I have read many here talk about how their association elects the assignors or the association assignor gives them all their games. That does not happen here. The conferences hire their own assignors and if officials want to work for them, they must contact that assignor or attend that assignor’s camp. Just because you work for one assignor does not mean other assignors will hire you. Assignors are clearly individuals and many do not like each other or respect each other.

Peace

[/B][/QUOTE]
Nothing you said here excuses what you claim is a big time coach from sitting in the stands acting like a jerk. A varsity HS coach has nothing in common with the nameless and faceless fans in the stands. If he wants to act like some jerk in the stands then he needs to take his punishment like any jerk in the stands and not get on the phone to ruin some JV official.

And I never said schedules aren't pulled. All I said was this official is better off not working JV games for that assignor who caves in under pressure from Mr Big Time Varsity Coach. If the success of his JV squad is so important to him maybe Mr Big Time Varsity Coach should sit on the bench and act as the JV assistant. Instead of yelling at the JV officials from the stands.

And I have no idea what the Coach K has to do with a JV HS game.
[/B][/QUOTE]

I will say this, regardless of whether or not the coach/fan was being a jerk does not matter. The official T'd up this fan (rules here are: if they are seated behind the bench in the first 2 rows, they are with the team, if not, they are considered fans) and then threw him out of the gym and informed him that he could not coach the V game. The official had other options and misapplied (not the first time) the rule, which is my point. The assignor cannot defend this, but hope that the official learns from it. BTW, the suspension lasted the rest of the season (4 or 5 games if I remember correctly). Misapplication of rules is a suspendable act available to assignors.

As far as coach K, it is merely an example, if it helps, this area allows schools to de-list (blackball if you prefer) up to 2 officials per year. The example is that coaches have input into who works where.

You are right on every point. We have several different assignors around here (except HS). The saying is, if you're in so-and-so's gym, call the way they want it called.

That is the same thing we say here. When I read this site I here officials having to listen to one person, one association for all their interpretations and officiating dealings. I belong to 8 different associations over 3 different sports. We have a lot of voices we have to listen to.

Peace

In adding some backup to JRut, I'm also here in Illinois, and I work in several different conferences in my area. In the Chicago Public League, the assignors want you to let the players play and 'keep the whistles to a minimum'. Be more verbal during the course of the game. If I go to the South Suburbs, the level of play is different and the assignors want you to call a little tighter game. Be slightly verbal during the course of the game, but blow the whistle more. If I go to the west suburbs, they want it tighter still. Be less verbal during the course of the game, but blow the whistle even more.

Three different assignors, three different styles of play, three different styles of officiating. That is how we have to do it if we want to work in different conferences. But in all three cases, we still have to officiate the game, and manage the game.

Re: Regionalism? Who Knows?
 

I have officiated in Arizona, Mississippi, Nevada, Maryland and Washington DC for HS games.
Add West Virginia, Virginia and Utah for college.

Although I agree 100% that officials are different across the country I don't agree with JRUT's way of using this way more than the question is asked. It is almost used like a negative when something is done different in another part of the country. I can understand giving T's, talking and all of that because I think I can communicate either way. I just don't like for the same thing, or at least this thing :D, to be a negative whether it applies to me or not.

Glad to see the thread started some spirited debate. I was worried for a little while there.


One thing that made me bring it up was that at the camp I went to this past weekend, in a totally different part of the country, the clinicians wanted alot of double whistles. I struggled with it, because everything I had previously been instructed to do put a premium on staying in your area and keeping double-whistles to an absolute minimum. I can understand the reason for both philosophies, and I found it very interesting that they are both out there.

I had never considered the influence that multiple assignors and associations can have, only because I have ever only belonged to one association. It does make sense, though, that it could add to the regionalism.

Re: Re: Regionalism? Who Knows?
 

Tommy,

If you feel what I said was a negative, then that is your opinion. I am just saying that you work for different people and different areas; different things are expected of you. If giving Ts is expected and you are supported, then that is not at all a bad thing. We have been told to be much stricter with our coaching box enforcement. I love that attitude as long as we are supported by the people in the state office.

Peace

Re: Re: Re: Regionalism? Who Knows?
 

Rut, I can get with that and if that is the way you meant it from the start I apologize.

Re: Regionalism? Who Knows?
 

I heard mine from a guy who has moved from state to state a few times, but didn't ever work in more than one state at a time.

So, let's see, in my region it's highly frowned upon calling outside your primary coverage area, even if you're positive it's a foul and you know your partner didn't see it because it makes you look bad. Any other regions teach that?

Dan, in theory, I agree with everything you said. The reality is that this particular coach is one of the best in the country, and really carries weight around here. Usually, he's just a great guy, and he doesn't throw his weight around, as you might think from icallfoul's posts. The ref, on the other hand, is one of the worst in the country, and that's after 6 or 7 years of constantly getting put back into the classes again, and getting his schedule yanked and so on and so forth. There was little sympathy around here for that particular ref when this happened. In the situation which icallfouls described (which was in the newspaper the next morning), the coach may have been yelling, but I doubt he was over the top. He just doesn't go there. The ref over-reacted, as he has done often enough before, and then mis-applied the rules, and then did all those things in the JV game before one of the biggest games of the season. The ref made the coach go out onto the sidewalk, wouldn't even let him go to his own office, and the coach had to borrow a cell phone to call Howard. I expect there's not one person in the Portland Metropolitan Area who knows both the ref and the coach, and would side with the ref. He just plain blew it.

@rainmaker

If this ref is so bad, and is constantly bad, why does Howard use him? Is there that much of a shortage in your area? My association had a similar individual about 4 years ago and the assignor told him point-blank that he would not receive any games (and we have trouble filling MS games) and the ref decided to drop out of the association.

I don't know why. I don't even presume to understand Howard. He kept me when he probably shouldn't have. Maybe he thinks the guy will improve. I'm not sure what his thinking is.

OK, so it seems I took the side of the worst ref/biggest jerk on the planet vs the best coach/greatest guy on the planet.

I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong. In fact, to make it up next time I'm in portland let's all go and burn his house down. :)

The guy has gotten better. Still not a very good ref...but better. I know of 1 or 2 that have been around the area that give him a run for his money.

I know the coach too...great guy...very classy. In working his games, I've heard rarely more than a basic question or a gentle comment.

I know the coach too...great guy...very <font color = red>classy</font>.
[/B][/QUOTE]I think that you need to find another adjective rather than "classy", Camron. He may be a good coach but he is hardly classy. "Classy" individuals, especially in his position, do <b>NOT</b> sit up in the stands with impressionable teenagers and parents and publically dump on a game official. If he had specific complaints about that official, he should have made them formally to Howard, not publically to anyone who wandered into the gym. If the official is that bad, then it's up to Howard and his association to do something about it.

Classy? Not freaking likely! And I don't have to meet him to form that opinion either. His actions speak for themselves.

I think that you need to find another adjective rather than "classy", Camron. He may be a good coach but he is hardly classy. "Classy" individuals, especially in his position, do <b>NOT</b> sit up in the stands with impressionable teenagers and parents and publically dump on a game official. If he had specific complaints about that official, he should have made them formally to Howard, not publically to anyone who wandered into the gym. If the official is that bad, then it's up to Howard and his association to do something about it.

Classy? Not freaking likely! And I don't have to meet him to form that opinion either. His actions speak for themselves. [/B][/QUOTE]

I don't think you've been paying attention JR.

Once you realize he's the best coach/greatest guy on the planet you'll join our house-burning expedition.

I don't think you've been paying attention JR.

Once you realize he's the best coach/greatest guy on the planet you'll join our house-burning expedition. [/B][/QUOTE]Nah, I think that I'll leave my pitchfork and torch in the closet and not join the other townspeople on this one. There ain't much that I disagreed with in your previous posts, Slappy. Yeah, the official didn't handle the situation properly. That doesn't change the fact that the coach <b>created</b> the situation in the first place. Two wrongs don't make a right. And one wrong sureashell doesn't make some yappy coach "classy" either imo.

Grumble, grumble, grumble.......

Nah, I think that I'll leave my pitchfork and torch in the closet and not join the other townspeople on this one. There ain't much that I disagreed with in your previous posts, Slappy. Yeah, the official didn't handle the situation properly. That doesn't change the fact that the coach <b>created</b> the situation in the first place. Two wrongs don't make a right. And one wrong sureashell doesn't make some yappy coach "classy" either imo.

Grumble, grumble, grumble....... [/B][/QUOTE]

And we still don't disagree, I was being sarcastic.

Like you say the coach created the mess and he got his butt tossed. The concept of professionalism goes both ways.

And we still don't disagree, I was being sarcastic.

[/B][/QUOTE]I knew that.

I would be disappointed if you weren't sarcastic. :)

My 2 cents
 

Been away for a couple of days, but this issue strikes a cord with me since I moved from one geographical area (NE) to another (SE). These differences are such that I have really considered retiring from officiating. Yes, the differences ARE considerable.

The biggest, and I mean the biggest difference I've seen has to do with training and rule interpretation.

I came from an IAABO board who had in my opinion the best interpreter in the country, period! Our board did an excellent job in training and rule interpretation, so that is what I was used to.

Fast forward to Nov. last year, and I move to the southeast. Chaotic to say the least. Board meetings were complete by December. No meetings in January or February, but the season ends here first week of February, but I did inquire about any more meetings and it was simply stated to me that they "might" have another one. State requires officials to take a test. That test is neither IAABO nor FED, but is "made up" by the director of officials. He can put, and does put whatever he wants on the test. This state test also goes a long way in determining your ranking which in turn determines your varsity assignments. Of course this means, and was witnessed by myslef, that the good test takers get varisty assignments, but then again, just becasue one is good at taking tests, does not always translate into one being able to blow the whistle on the court. Again, I had the pleasure of working with one of these great test takers. To bad the game was not held on paper though.

Here are the regional issues that I saw first hand which haven't given me a warm and fuzzy.

Training or lack thereof. No wonder the highest rated official in my area (this is a huge area compared to the single county I moved from) is another transplanted IAABO official from the Northeast.

Interpretation: I was frankly shocked at the number of T's given out down here. Most wouldn't even have gotten a stare back in the NE. Basically, the players and coaches are extremely well mannered, which did not go unappreciated from myself, but most of the T's I saw, were given for extremely mild stuff if you ask me. I would never give a T for some of the stuff I heard or saw.

I believe this is really a cultural thing too. Maybe in the Northeast, we were more used to ruff and gruff stuff, and having spent 26 years in the inner city has a way of jading your eyes and ears, but people down here expect a certain behavior, and if anyone crosses the line, even in a minimal sense, bang! Most were shocked when I told them I let the coach talk to me. I'll always listen, after all, maybe there is a valid point to be made.

Coaching boxes, shirt tails, etc. These things are big down here. If the coach steps out of the box, bang! Shirt tail out? Stop game to re-tuck. I'm not saying these are not good things, but it can get to the point of being overly picky, especially with under a minute to play with Team A up by 20 and you are stopping the clock to get players to re-tuck. That's picky to me.

Police officers: Extremely visible down here. I was actually escorted out of a gym for the first time in 20 years by an officer this past winter. Never mind that the parking lot had emptied and I said I appreciate the thought but walking me to my car was not necessary. Still, the officer did their duty and walked me to my car. If they only knew past situations in the NE....they simply wouldn't believe that we did not have escorts. Note, this was an 8th grade game!!

Along with training, comes mechanics. There is a mish-mash of mechanics down here. Some good, most not so good. Again, this comes from proper training.

Ohh, minimal pre-game. We were supposed to be on site 1 hour before game time for a varsity assignment on my old board. Down here, your lucky to get guys to arrive 15 minutes before game time. Pre-games are basically non-existant and I told our director of officials that that was one thing I would change. Most guys come dressed now too, which is huge turn-off to me. No time after the game to talk. No shower, just put on the coat and out the door. I must say though, that the dressing facilities are much nicer down here than in the Northeast.

Last but not least, PAY. The pay here in the SE is horrible to say the least, and I'm not talking about the area I live in, but all over North, South Carolina, plus Georgia. The pay is the pits compared with the Northeast. No one could believe that we were getting 65 dollars for one varsity game. Down here, we get 57 for TWO varsity games played back to back. I won't even mention the sub-varsity pay, but let's just say I was getting more money for one 5-6th grade city rec league game that I get down here for TWO sub-varsity games, back to back.

Please don't get the wrong impression. I'm NOT saying the officials in the Southeast are bad and that the officials in the Northeast are great. I've worked with good and bad from both areas. I worked with the best woman official to date down here, and I must say, she was equally as good as any male official I have worked with. But there are regional differences and many of these have to do with the culture of the area.

One last thing. Fans! Frankly, I was shocked to see the gyms full of fans down here in the Southeast. It would have taken a really big game for the fans to come out in my previous area in the Northeast, but down here, I've seen 5-600 at an 8th grade game! My daughters HS gym holds 2600, and rivals any D-2, or D-3 gym I saw in the Northeast. All this with an enrollment of 1200 in grades 9-12. So, the fans do come out down here, even for the Jr-Hi levels, which is a good thing compared with fan levels in New England.

goose

The coach had a lot of class, but it was all low.

They used to say on Fat Albert:

NCAA - No Class At All

So?
 

I realize that the foundation of this thread was regionalism in all aspects of officiating but this has kind of taken a turn towards bench decorum and unsporting acts, having said that:
Is it safe to say that the line that an official draws in Washington state would be different than the line that the same official would draw in Louisiana(insert any 2 areas)?
Even though this same official could easily quantify and validate his/her actions, do we as officials really have to change that much when we go to a different area of the country?
I guess what I am asking is - If I am a good official in Montana, am I not as good in Massachusetts(insert any 2 areas)?

Signed,
Befuddled

AAR

Re: So?
 

I believe good officials can adjust to where ever they are. I know I had to adjust when I moved in my own state. I really have to adjust to the different conferences I work. I think what philosophies are acceptable are greatly different base on where you live. If you want to maintain being a good official, you have to adjust if you move. Some areas do not even use 3 Person mechanics. So if you move from an area that uses 3 Person all the time for varsity that might be an adjustment.

Peace

We had a guy move here from Nevada before last season and he seemed to do pretty well.

If you're talking about having to adjust, we adjust ourselves every game. We adjust to our partner, our energy, the game.

A good ref is a good ref anywhere. A good ref is constantly adjusting to the talent on the floor, how physical the game is, what the behavior of the coaches and players is etc.. Regardless of minor differences between assignors or governing bodies, basketball is just basketball. We've had lots of transfers in our area. The quality refs do well for us. The poor ones don't fare so well. None of them have ever done poorly because of any minor differences we might have from where they came from.

Z

I am currently at a camp in Ohio this Saturday.

I noticed some very slight differences from officials from both Indiana and mostly Ohio. I would not say any of these differences were major or even in conflict with anything that is taught. I just noticed that some philosophies were different. The basic understanding of mechanics and philosophy was really the same. Part of the reason that might also be that way is this camp is run by a D1 college assignor (he also assigns D2 and D3 ball as well throughout the 3 states). Also one of my mentors works D1 ball for this assignor as well. So the things we get taught I am sure filters down from assignors like this. The differences were not so striking that I could not adjust or did not know what my partners were doing. And I did not see any problems with my partners having any problem with my mechanics or signals.

Peace

Was this official from Northern Nevada of Southern Nevada? Can I get this official's name?(If you don't mind me asking)

AAR

Gary Cook.