Keeping consistency through games

[crazy voyager]

I need some tips on keeping consistency, that's my greatest trouble right now, often, I manage to keep consistence with my partner, but I reffed 3 games with a partner that has a very special style (both he and his mentor agrees it)
He calls about 20 fouls first qtr, 10 second, then he falls asleep, he stops calling (almost), he calls the mega fouls, but he doesn't take the ordinary calls, and when he started doing that, I did that too :=O I tried to get a little more grasp of the game by calling a lot, and ended up with two upset coaches (rightfully), I got lucky thought, the one arranging this cup (we were reffing in a cup) who is also my mentor and coach (both as player and ref) came forward and explained
1. We were both quite inconsitence, and all I did was acctually trying to regain control of the game (with my partner thinking I was to hard *sighs*)
2. I'm a new ref (soon 2 years exp), I'm good for being new, but I lack a lot of excperience, and I havn't got the consistency right
3. He told them "there's 20 points between your teams, you know how little these players score in a game (there were girls, Girls-93), you arn't getting this close no matter who calls it, so stop whining and let the poor guy do his job, and you can do yours, and your players can have fun

He saved my day a lot, later I got a partner insted that, she's good, doens't call T's and such (simply havn't got the guts) but for these games with new players, she's perfect, we worked well with mechanics, knew when to call and what, made consistent games, and got a lot of credit from coaches and other refs, that was really fun, to bad I didn't manage to keep it with another partner

argh, I forgot to come to the point and my point is;
How do you do to keep consitency of calls through games? I call fouls erly to show them where the bar is laid, but then? What if you look at the stats and see one team has a lot more fouls then the other, and you need to change it. How do you apply that smoothly? is there anything more then excperience that can help me learn this, or is it just calling and learning with time?

Sorry for the long post, typical me (long and weird)

[JRutledge]

There is no magic formula. All you can do is see more plays by working games or watching games and come up with philosophies that you can always apply. Consistency is something we all struggle with no matter how long we have been officiating. The more experience you get, the more plays you see the more basketball at the level you want to work you see, the more consistent you potentially will be. I know I have to try to work on consistency every game I work. Some games I feel very good, other games I feel I am all over the place. Some times the lack of consistency is based on the way the teams play the game. Other games you are struggling to get a flow because the play is so bad.

Treat every game as a different event. Just remember that officiating is a process and you will never wake up one day and know what you are doing perfectly.

Peace

[M&M Guy]

I couldn't have said it better myself, JRut.

It really is a constant learning process. Keep working - nothing beats experience. Also, take time to watch other refs who you know are considered "good", and watch what they call and don't call, especially if it's at the level you're working.

Good luck.

[Camron Rust]

Originally posted by M&M Guy
I couldn't have said it better myself, JRut.

It really is a constant learning process. Keep working - nothing beats experience. Also, take time to watch other refs who you know are considered "good", and watch what they call and don't call, especially if it's at the level you're working.

Good luck.

I agree...Rut nailed it.

[TimTaylor]

Originally posted by Camron Rust

I agree...Rut nailed it.

Yep, he's right on the money.

One thing: don't fall into the "even up the foul count" trap - that's not your job. If one team has significantly more fouls than the other there's usually a good reason (and usually it's seated in the head coach's chair). It's our job to call the game consistently and fairly according to the rules - if one team can't adjust and fouls more than the other, it's not our job to bail them out.

[WhistlesAndStripes]

One of the most important things, I think, in each game you do, is consistency among the crew. This must be discussed in pregame. If your partner calls something at one end of the court and then you go down and see something similar at the other end, make sure it gets called the same way at the other end. Make sure your own calls are consistent on both ends as well. It had been my experience that good coaches who really know the game will hang you higher for inconsistencies between ends then just about anything else.

[blindzebra]

CV you are not at a point where you can make up for a partner's inconsistency.

When you work with that official, I'd concern myself with my game. Go get what is needed to keep things safe, but let him live or die on everything else.

Worry about keeping your calls consistent, and not falling into his trap. What you are describing is not a style, it's a serious flaw, that his mentor needs to help him fix ASAP.

Work on your calls, get more games under your belt, and take every opportunity during games to discuss things with your partners.

Pregame, ingame, and halftime talks are where you develop a crews consistency. Call your game and adjust from there. If both of you do that, you'll usually find a nice middle ground that each of you can live with.