Only in Middle School

[zebraman]

Originally posted by ChuckElias

Here's what I've heard at camps. An assignor can back you to the hilt on your judgment. But nobody can back you up if you misapply the rules. Officials rarely get disciplined for judgment calls. When officials get disciplined, it's b/c they clearly missed something that affected the game (6 men on the court) or b/c they misapplied a rule.

Fair enough, but I've also heard that "the most important thing is that we get the call right" about a million times. I don't worry about any second-guessing an evaluator might do after the game, my number one priority is creating an even playing field for the athletes and coaches. Even if it came down to rules, I have no problem with the fact that I recognized before the throw-in was complete and my whistle didn't sound until after a touch. I'm always working on a more patient whistle anyway. I'm generally a rules guy, but IMHO, this situation calls for common sense over a black-and-white rules interp.

Z