Personal Posession Keeper

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by CaliOne

My personal favorite is the rubber band on left or right wrist. My problem would be, trying to rembmer which team is which hand....

It's illegal for players to wear rubber bands, and we would never allow them to do so. Why would you wear something then that has already been specifically banned by the NFHS?

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

It's illegal for players to wear rubber bands, and we would never allow them to do so. Why would you wear something then that has already been specifically banned by the NFHS?

While I don't think we should be using a rubber band to keep track of the arrow, the equipment/uniform requirements for players simply don't apply to officials. If they did, we wouldn't be able to wear a lanyard for our whistles since that is akin to a necklace. The safety issues that affect players are not relevant to officials. The issue of the rubber band relates to a player slapping at a ball and getting their finger caught in another player's rubber band. I don't know of ANY legitimate situation where a player will be slapping at the ball when it is in or near a referee's hands.

It merely comes down to what looks professional.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

The safety issues that affect players are not relevant to officials. The issue of the rubber band relates to a player slapping at a ball and getting their finger caught in another player's rubber band. I don't know of ANY legitimate situation where a player will be slapping at the ball when it is in or near a referee's hands.

It merely comes down to what looks professional.

Camron, does your association allow their officials to wear rubber bands on their wrists? Watches too under the same reasoning that jewelry isn't relevant to officials either?

[WhistlesAndStripes]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

It's illegal for players to wear rubber bands, and we would never allow them to do so. Why would you wear something then that has already been specifically banned by the NFHS?

How many guys do you ref with that wear wedding bands while they ref?

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by Whistles & Stripes

How many guys do you ref with that wear wedding bands while they ref?

Most of the married officials do. Hardly any of the single officials.

[JugglingReferee]

Originally Posted by ranjo

I have in recent years always switched the spare whistle in my pocket to keep track of the posession arrow. In some of the camps I have attended, this practice was looked down on as something only a rookie would do. I thanked the advisors for the advice, and have continued to do it. I do try to change it without drawing attention to what I am doing. Other than a little extra wear on my pants pockets, it has worked well for me.

I know some of you big dawg's claim to keep to keep the arrow in your heads, but my brain tends to loose track after the 7th or 8th held ball in a girls game.

How many others of you use this or another system to keep track of the arrow? Do you think its not professional?

I use this exact mechanic. It is now worked into my game and it works very well. I switch it before the throw-in at quarter time, and after the ball is inbounded other times.

I'm not looking to "climb the ranks" the way that other people are. I don't care to do conference-panel assignments such as D1-D3. If it's necessary to work into your game the arrow 100% of the time, get practising!

Since I'm happy doing the games I do, its look of professionalism doesn't matter to me.

[Jimgolf]

Someone posted a good suggestion a while back to keep track of next possession. When you're doing any counting, instead of saying "One Missisippi, Two Mississippi", say, "One Red Possession, Two Red Possession", or something along those lines.

As someone who has worked the table frequently, if you're relying on them, you are an optimist. They may forget to change the indicator after the start of a period, and are often unclear on which direction to point the arrow after a violation during the initial jump ball. If you are going to rely on the table, I strongly advise you to have someone on the crew make sure they change the indicator appropriately.

[LarryS]

While I agree that it is the table's responsibility to keep the arrow, I have also been keeping it myself without the aid of a "physical" crutch. At the beginning of last season I was talking about this with a veteran and mentioned I was having trouble. He said something that caused a "Duh" moment. It went something like..."Dude, as an official you count a lot during the game. If red controls the tip, then when you count say 1 white ball...2 white ball...etc. When the arrow changes, change colors in your counts." I incorportated that into my game that night and have only had the arrow wrong once since then without looking at the table. When I started doing this, I would sneak a peak at the table during a dead ball to make sure I had it right.

FYI...during that time the arrow on the table agreed with my tracking on all but one occassion...and that was when my partner caught my error.

[LarryS]

Jim types faster than me...