Don't think so, Nu1.
I'm thinking the trap is on, or the trap is off.

The di,di,di,di,di,di,di,di,di is merely easier to say and less breath consuming, cuz you don't hafta close your mouth for the "B".
mick

Here's all you need for the FT lane. If the shooter has 2 FTs coming, you say, "TWO!" If the shooter has 1 FT, you say "ONE!" If it's one-and-one, you say, "ONE-AND-ONE!"

Don't try to be clever. Just give the information you need to.

And please, never call a female player "princess". That's pretty condescending, IMHO.

Perhaps. But the times I remember hearing and seeing this did not involve a trap. It was "DeadDeadDead..." once the dribble was used.

It's the 'or something' that I would be concerned about. There is usually a negative connotation associated with being called a 'princess', and it might just be best to avoid having to deal with any misunderstandings... That being said, I think that there are appropriate times for some humor.

My personal preference is to refer to the boys as "gentlemen" and the girls as "ladies." As in, "nice hustle, gentlemen," after a held ball scramble.

As far as throw-ins are concerned, I always try to ask the thrower if he or she is ready before I hand it over (of course this doesn't apply if I think they are causing undue delay). If I am going to bounce it, I let the thrower know I am going to bounce it. I always try to be very deliberate and exagerate my signal when letting the thrower know if it is a spot throw or an end-line run. I want everyone to know what is going on.

For free throws, I will occaisionaly take that time to address something short with the players, since everyone is there. I may say, "nice job everyone, now keep it up." Or, "let's keep our hands off the cutters, please."

I am of the opinion that if you keep it short and direct, you can almost never over-communicate.

Age is no excuse
 

Being 18 is not an excuse for being unprofessional. I would hope that you would take your officiating responsibilities seriously and execute them to the best of your abilities. Coming up with cute nicknames for the players is not one of your responsibilities. If you want to get ahead in this business, you have be a professional.

My personal preference is their *<I>Number</I>* or <I>Color</I>.
mick

Mick,

Agreed, I go with number or color when I am addressing an individual player. I was just refering to a group of players.

I didn't say not to have fun. I said don't be clever. Sometimes it comes across the wrong way. There's nothing wrong with having fun at the appropriate time. And sometimes, the FT lane is the time for that fun. When I've fumbled the ball after a made FT and one of the players grabs it for me, I sometimes say, "Good hands. That's why you're still playing and I'm not." But when you're administering the FT is not the time to be clever. The information might get lost, or the comment may be distracting to the players.

[/b]I already told you. In my opinion, calling a sweating, athletic young woman "princess" is condescending, since she's obviously not going for the princess look. When she's dressed for the prom (and she's your date), it's appropriate to say "You're as beautiful as a princess". But the basketball court isn't the time to say it. Others have mentioned professionalism, and I would have to agree that "princess" doesn't come across as being professional.

Never heard of it. I doubt I would care much for it.

-----------------------------------------------------------
My high school team won the state championship when I was a senior. Even at 6'1 I was too short and too slow to make the team. Out of five starters, 3 played college basketball and two played college football. One of those two went on to play for the Packers. That's why all four years of letters on my letter jacket were for Band!

-----------------------------------------------------------
brainbrian,
I'd forego the soldier/princess thing. It's a little condescending and a little too familiar IMHO. I'd opt for Sir and Mam, or ladies and men/gentlemen. You have to be very careful to guard yourself against any hint of something that could be totally innocent but misconstrued (Sp?) these days.

I think you're looking a little too short-term when you say you're not concerned with building rapport. Developing a good relationship with others is probably the biggest challenge we have as officials and anything we do to make things easier is beneficial. As we all know, players end up becoming coaches, ADs and even officials in the future and being able to establish a good relationship early on increases our credibility, professionalism and presence with everyone in the gym.

And maybe we can all go for cookies and warm milk after the game too.

You're only as good as your last call, and only then if that call happened to go in the favor of that particular coach/player/team. Been that way forever and it ain't gonna change no matter how warm and fuzzy you try to be. A good official is seen but not noticed and doesn't waste time politicking.

Note that I'm <b>not</b> saying not to be polite- and communicative when necessary. Treat 'em with the respect that you expect them to show to you. It's just that I've found that coachs and players usually would rather concentrate on the game rather than bother with us trying to build up that ol' rapport with them. The only rapport they usually want during a game is getting their "fair" share of the calls--i.e. about 75/80% of them.

Jmo.

[Edited by Jurassic Referee on Jun 26th, 2005 at 03:46 PM]

God forbid we should be polite!!

No offense, Dribble, but if you read my whole reply, I said I'm not concerned with building rapport in these situations. Rapport is great, but trying to build it while the inbounder is trying to decide which play to call, and see which teammate is going to pop open, and remember how to run the play he's supposed to call is not the time to do it. JMO.

The only thing that situation calls for is "SPOT!" or "You can run!"