Need a good hand signal...

[Mountaineer]

Originally Posted by blindofficial

Being a "rookie" with NFHS this year, I need to be better at selling my calls and one of those ways is coming up with a good signal for "basket counts" on a foul on the shot. Any ideas, suggestions, recommendations etc?

First of all, IMO, the dreaded "and1" is something that probably isn't called much. I'd say in my varsity games this year there may be 1 or 2 a game. I personally don't call many of those - if there's contact and the ball goes in I try to pass. Of course, if the defense commits felony assault you have to call that - but a bump here or a nic there - pass.

As far as the mechanic goes - my suggestion is to watch other officials and get the basic movement down and stand in front of a mirror and get something you like and are comfortable with. I actually do this every year for both basketball and softball in the preseason. I watch myself go through the range of mechanics. I check things like arm height on my counts, straight up on clock stop and fouls, and even my fingers on reporting numbers. I know it sounds anal - but the mirror is a great asset in helping your mechanics.