Hi All,
Officials, just like players and coaches, will have their off nights. I probably had one of those nights last friday at a girls varsity game. In any case, afterwards, I had a nice long talk with a veteran official (who was the AD of the school I was at) and she noted that I should "referee the defense" better. To be honest, I thought I had slowed my habit of ball watching and focused on the defense better. However, after having a chance to replay a little bit of the game in my head, I realized I had reverted back during the game. My best guess as to why is both teams were playing zone a lot. When the ball swung from side to side, I would tend to watch the ball swing and when a player drove to the hoop against the zone, I would immediately focus on the player with the ball rather than the nearby defenders. I think I unfairly penalized the defense a few times with some calls. In any case, I was curious what the other officials here have to offer on working/improving this aspect of officiating? Thanks! |
Talk to yourself...as you set up in the half-court, tell yourself "Find blue" or whatever color is on defense. Then rotate thru numbers - as the ball swings to one side, find the nearest blue (or whatever color) player and tell yourself his/her number. Example - "as ball swings and blue #25 starts to rush at the ball, say in your head "Watch 25, watch 25...it's all about keeping your concentration level high at all times, and mental reminders will help quite a bit.
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I've been at it for over 30 years and I still have to tell myself, "Watch the defense, watch the defense..."
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Watch your primary and all of blue in your primary. |
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What works for me when I am lead is to work wide and slightly turn my body away from the ball to where I can only see it out of the corner of my eye. As far as C and T go, I just have to keep talking to myself...
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Look for matchups in your area. If there aren't any, find the matchup closest to your area and work with them. A bit of a 3 man mechanic, but it works for 2.
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I think he's saying that your advice seems to be saying to watch the defender that's on the ball. But what about defenders away from the ball? [/B][/QUOTE] Well, the original post made mention of the ball swinging from side to side and drives to the basket as the main areas where the Poster was having problems...so I responded on how to help with that - still not sure how that answer would cause someone to ball-watch, but whatever... |
The way to break the ball-watching habit is to tape a college game off TV, find an off-ball foul in the game, then keep watching the play again and again until you see the foul before the ref blows the whistle.
--OR-- Work a game where your partner never looks off-ball. You do it instead. The whole game. It's amazing what you'll see, and you'll enjoy the off-ball parts from then on. |
Something that works for me is to find the two nearest matchups and watch them.
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I just learned early on that watching off ball was to my advantage and that is what I did. If the ball is not in my primary or even near my primary I do not follow the ball. I do not do anything special than just watch off ball when I am supposed to. Not sure there is a magic trick to it for me.
Peace |
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Reffing the defense is important
Reffing the defense is important, for sure, but, taken to the extreme, you can really lose 'sight' of the offense. One way to keep a balance is to learn the offenses on the fly. Of course, if there's just motion-without-a-purpose, well, it could be a long night.
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