Five Fouls Not Enough?

[ranjo]

Originally Posted by amcginthy

From a coaches perspective - I think 5 fouls is plenty, I don't like the idea of 6 - I want my girls to know that they have to play defense correctly - teach it correctly and there really isn't much of an issue. Sure, I get frustrated when my best defender picks up quick fouls - but 99% of the time - it's there fault... I think the important thing is that what I read in another post in this thread - calls that are consistent... what's called in a game changes from game to game, but it shouldn't change from half to half of the same game - if you call minor contact in the first quarter - call the same thing in the 4th... as a coach, this has been my biggest complaint about the officials we have had this year - they just didn't seem to be consistent throughout the games, and with each other - one ref might call the smallest contact, while the other wouldn't call an assault - this makes it hard for kids (especially junior high / freshman in HS) to understand what they can and can't do - what is acceptable and what isn't... why one time it's a foul, and another it isn't...

We hear the consistancy thing every year from the coaches in our area. The pat response is that when the players play consistanly, we will be able to ref consistantly. However, my wife is a varsity coach and I can't ignore her or give the pat answers without some grief.

In my defense, I have to say its hard to get consistancy when I ref with a different person or persons just about every game. We pregame senerios, but a lot of time an individuals personal philosophy gets in the way. The best we can do is to try to adjust to how our partner is calling, just as coaches adjust to how the game is being called. I don't doubt it is sometimes frustrating, but I don't think its ever going to be perfect.

And back to the orginal thread - FIVE FOULS IS A PLENTY!

[drinkeii]

I agree - 5 fouls is enough.

[chartrusepengui]

Heck - if 5 isn't enough fouls for those "good" players - maybe we should really feel sorry for them, their coaches, and teams and should up the amount of fouls prior to disqualification. What the he!! - lets do it right and go straight to UNLIMITED fouls. Gosh - that might be the way to solve the problem. Then we could keep the "good" players in all the time and wouldn't have to have strategy at all.

Lets carry it over to society - NO JAIL TIME FOR ANY OFFENSE - LETS KEEP THE BEST MURDERERS, RAPISTS, BURGLARS ETC OUT THERE, even if they CAN'T play by the rules.

Hey - there's another solution to your problem. NO RULES!!!!! Without rules, there wouldn't be any fouls -no one could foul out AND it would be easier for us as officials.

[drinkeii]

Originally Posted by chartrusepengui

Heck - if 5 isn't enough fouls for those "good" players - maybe we should really feel sorry for them, their coaches, and teams and should up the amount of fouls prior to disqualification. What the he!! - lets do it right and go straight to UNLIMITED fouls. Gosh - that might be the way to solve the problem. Then we could keep the "good" players in all the time and wouldn't have to have strategy at all.

Lets carry it over to society - NO JAIL TIME FOR ANY OFFENSE - LETS KEEP THE BEST MURDERERS, RAPISTS, BURGLARS ETC OUT THERE, even if they CAN'T play by the rules.

Hey - there's another solution to your problem. NO RULES!!!!! Without rules, there wouldn't be any fouls -no one could foul out AND it would be easier for us as officials.

And there wouldn't be any rules for us to argue about on here!

But you're right - when people complain "You're not supposed to call it that way" - that's what the rules say, that's what I'm calling, and you're gonna like it or live with it. The biggest problem with this game isn't the 5 foul limit - it's the fact that so many people call it so many different ways at so many different times - This means that from game to game, so many rules and interpretations change, it isn't the same game twice. Why have rules, if you're not going to follow them, enforce them evenly and fairly and consistently, and play by them all the time?

Stepping off my soap-box now.

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by Jim Bob

I believe a six-foul limit was tried a few years ago for pre-conference games somewhere, and apparently it wasn't popular. I wonder why not?

It was the Big East, and it was for conference games only (not pre-conference). Why wasn't it popular? Because the players started beating the crap out of each other. The games were generally wrestling matches. It lasted only one year, IIRC.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by Scrapper1

It was the Big East, and it was for conference games only (not pre-conference). Why wasn't it popular? Because the players started beating the crap out of each other. The games were generally wrestling matches. It lasted only one year, IIRC.

You remember correctly iirc.

[muxbule]

Originally Posted by Jim Bob

I'm really tired of seeing good players sit on the bench much of the game because of foul trouble. ANYBODY can pick up two quick fouls -- and officials can certainly make mistakes.

In an unprecedented move major league baseball has decided it is tired of it's superstars striking out too often so they will be allowing four strikes rationalizing that umpires don't know the strike zone.

It is about as ludicrous as this OP. Jim Bob you picked an interesting topic for your first post ever. I'm betting you don't officiate at all.