As an addendum to Rich's thread (football) I have thought about how I call a game. I have always been one to "let them play." However, I see more sloppy play out there and I have begun to call the little stuff early on in the game. Coaches and players have adjusted to this fairly well although some have not, usually because they can't. The younger the kid, the less body control they have. And some coaches ask kids to do what they just can't do. For example, full court pressing. Younger kids can't do it without blocking and reaching fouls galore. Coaches don't teach good position and the kids can't get good position. I'd rather see coaches at the lower level teach fundamentals like ball-handling, shooting, positioning, pivoting, rebounding, etc. I see the full-ct. press as a method to try to win games rather than teach fundamentals. As a former head coach (boys and girls for over 10 years), I can appreciate the coach of younger players who really TEACHES the game and is not concerned about moving up the ladder, winning, and making a name for himself.

The real teacher of the game is increasingly rare.

You are one of the few if any out there, who can visualize this problem. You nailed it!!

Where is this reaching foul?

I can't seem to find it in my rule book.;)

I couldn't agree with you more. In some little kid leagues they are not allowed to press untill like the last 3 minuets of the game. And it seems like those last three minuets take longer then the rest of the game with all of the fouls

I'm not playing with semantics here. I'm expressing a viewpoint.

Reaching is not a foul in itself, but a "reaching foul" is a reasonable description of a foul committed while reaching across an opponent's body to try to steal or tip the ball. Just like a blocking foul or screening foul would be illegal contact while blocking or screening. At least,I'm quite certain that's what Ms. I. M. Shirley Wright would say.

I disagree. It implies that the infraction was the reach where as a blocking foul implies the infraction was a block. A block is a foul, a reach, by itself, is not. I would never use the term reach to describe a foul as it only can create grief.

Over the back reasonably describes a pushing foul from behind too.:rolleyes:

Reaching DOES NOT equate to hitting, holding, pushing or blocking an opponent. Further the fools yelling it from the crowd are applying the term LITERALLY, and not within the context of an actual rule.;)

I hate rules like this. The middle schools where I live don't allow a full court press until the second half. The problem I have with this is, let's say that team A is much better then team B. Team A manages to build a 20 point lead in the first half which will never be overcome by team B. Now, Team A coach wants to work on his press, so he comes out in the second half and starts pressing, with a 20 point lead. In my opinion, this kinda makes the coah look like an @$$, when in reality, the coach has been given no choice based on the rules of the league, if s/he wants to work on the press in a real game situation. I have mentioned to a couple of the coaches that I officiate HS ball with that they should recommend a change. If you want to limit full court pressing to 2 quarters a game, that's fine, but either allow it in the first half, or try something a little different. Allow it in Quarter #1 and Quarter #4. That way, a coach has the option to use it early in the game to play stifling defense and attempt to build a lead, and also has an opportunity to use it late in the game where needed to preserve a lead or try to catch up. Just my 2 cents.