what do you do to regroup, refocus, fix problems, whatever when your crew is just stinking up the place. You feel flat, you are making some crazy calls and you do not feel like you are calling the same consistent game among you.

any tips on what to do to help the crew get back on track? maybe this is too broad a question but anyone have some advice

All of us have certainly been there.

Coming together for a quick chat during a dead ball or a time-out and saying, "Hey we have focus more here," or something to that affect usually helps.

Sometimes the crew just has to battle through it.

Be aware of the tough stretches and work even harder.

I do not think there is a lot you can do in that situation. Basketball is not a sport where you can just talk after every call. Of course you can talk during some dead balls, but you have to just get through the game the best way. Now if you notice this in the first half, then talk to your partners during the half time break. The problem is you can say something, but if you do not know the officials very well you might make things worse. The best you can do is just work through it, try to do your best the next half or the next call. When the game is over discuss calls and discuss what might have been happening. I just think you are not going to be able to talk your way through a basketball game very often. You can try, but there just is not very much opportunity to do much talking or discussing situations.

Peace

Break the game down into smaller sections. Let's say you are 1/2 way thru 1Q. Tell you crew to bear-down for the next 4 minutes, let's watch blue21 and white14, get the handchecks and close down on rebounds (or whatever it is that is out of synk). Then get together again between quarters and possibly everyone has worked out of their funk.

Some nights it's like that. About 2 weeks ago I had one of those games. I'd already worked a 2 man game and then traveled to another game that was a 3 person. After 1Q, I told my partners that "I don't have it tonight, could you guys watch and stretch you area some to help me out?" We got thru it fine but I never felt comfortable.

Sometimes the moon and stars line up in a way that "it's just not your night".

Only thing to do is to recognize it when it happens and discuss it with the crew.

Your career is over when you STOP realizing that your focus and quality of work has diminished.

Personally, when I muff call.....you always have that subconsious thought to make it up.....I try to kick that out of my head and just say......."Get the NEXT call right"......"Get the NEXT call right". I think you just have to bear down 1 call at a time.

Sometimes I think it is the moon....the kids are looney....the whistle has a mind of it's own.

In the short run, it's a tough situation. I try to think back to a really good game and get a sort of psychic feel for the mental state I was in then. It doesn't always work, but it's worth a shot.

Another thing that helps me is to talk to myself out loud (quietly). "Ugly but legal, well she played through that one, ooo ouch that's a TWEET!" "I'm watching 22 and 34, count one two, drop, count one two three, pass, off-ball, 22 cutting, cutting, incidental, WOW, steal turn and run!"

As far as crew focus and togetherness, it helps to really really concentrate on eye contact. This helps you see the whole floor, and keeps you in touch with what your partner is calling.

Next game, figure out beforehand what you can do to focus your mind, and get into the flow.

Keep in mind that sometimes it's not the crew, it's the game. There are some games that simply defy all attempts to establish a flow or even a recognizable feel. You just have to battle through them and then wash your hands of them.

I agree with Saddle. There are some games so bad, it doesn't matter who's working. They bring out the worst in all of us.

One thing I've done in situations where things aren't going well is to hustle more. I make myself run a little faster and work harder to get in a better position. The game is likely moving you toward an opposite response, so if you can fight that off for a minute or two, you might get everything back under control.

You have to have a short memory when you make a bad call, get over it and make the next one good. If you allow yourself to dwell on the past it will affect your future and bring you (and your crew) down.

One thing that works for me is that when it appears that I/we are not having a great game is to remind myself to worry about calling the obvious. That seems to work to simplify things for me. In a crazy game, sometimes I get into a funk of overcalling and I find that reminding myself to call the obvious helps get me back into seeing the whole play.