Yeah, I went back and fixed it. In my defense, I had just finished reading one of Ashley's posts. Musta been having a "blonde" moment. :D

Just like with the players, we're going to have to agree to disagree. Attitudes and levels of respect among people may be different in your area, but I've never encountered a situation in LIFE where establishing a good relationship with someone has come back to haunt me or cause problems later on.

You converse directly and politely, by getting the information the player needs.

We are not out there to make friends, and I have seen plenty of officials get into all kinds of problems during games, by trying to be liked.

You get plenty of chances to be positive during a game without trying to manufacture "moments".

A player/coach/ or fan retrieves the ball and gives it to you say, "Thank you."

A player hustles say, "Good hustle."

A player makes a strong move to the basket with some non-called contact say, "Good finish."

If you are approachable and professional in your communication, it will be noticed.

That's all I've been trying to say. Thanks for saying it in English (which, apparently, I wasn't doing :) ).

Quote:

Originally posted by blindzebra We are not out there to make friends, and I have seen plenty of officials get into all kinds of problems during games, by trying to be liked. You get plenty of chances to be positive during a game without trying to manufacture "moments". If you are approachable and professional in your communication, it will be noticed.

This is exactly what I'm trying to say, too, so why the disagreement???

If a team has an inbound on the baseline under their basket, I will often say "Ball's in!" as I hand the ball to the player. After long delays I will use the whistle before the hand off for the same purpose. After a TO, I will tell the inbounder whether they have the spot or the whole baseline. I do not verbalize on every throw-in, usually just on those occasions above.

I don't say "play" or give any other verbal indication that the ball is live. Saying "play" has been suggested to me before, but I never picked up on it - I tend to think that if the defense (or the inbounder's teammates) aren't paying attention, that's their problem to deal with, not mine.

I generally say, "Ball!", in the front court if the players are not focused for one reason or another.
mick

I must of misunderstood you saying you did not like short and to the point communication and that you were hoping to build a rapport with the players...silly me.:rolleyes:

Endline: "You can run it if you like"

Spot: "Spot and hold it." (while pointing)

Followed by as i hand the ball to the player

"here we go"

"aight"

"its live"

Just a small reminder, the correct term should be endline.

Good point about the players sometimes being out in la la land. I prefer to say, "Play!"

That's a baseball umpire's mechanic. Maybe that's why I can't use it, ... like the foul tip signal. :)
mick

I normally say Spot or You Can Run Also. Just so they know what they can do.

That way when and if you do have to call a violation you can say you told him or her to stay.

In my opinion spoken words of "play", "ball in" are not classified as being mechanics, signals or procedures. It is a form of communicating to others called acceptable communication skills. Signals are listed on an Official NFHS Basketball Signals chart in your manual. I do agree the "tip ball" signal is not a proper basketball mechanic but may be used when during a dead ball for non-verbal communications. Just like if you are unable to hear the coach speaking to you from a distance, you may want to use some kind of body language to communicate (pulling on your earlobe).