Working the whistle.
 

Ok.. so I'm about to do my first game within the next week or 2. I've been studying my rules and my mechanics clinic is on Nov 3rd.

My question is this... How do you guys work the wistle. Its one of the things not covered in the book. When to blow the whistle.. how many times... so on and so on.

any whistle tips would be welcome.

Thanks

1. Blow it with confidence. Not too long and not too soft. One blast unless you have a potential dangerous situation and there is no response by players. Get a Fox 40 whistle. Do not use a Pea whistle.
2. Any violation
3. To signal Jump ball
4. Any foul
5. After any lengthy delay to signal the ball becoming in play
6. After a TO or intermission to signal ball becoming in play.
7. After a made final FT if there is a sub.
8. At start of game if tossing the ball to signal the game is about to begin.
9. Out of bounds
10. Any time the clock needs to stop

Don't blow it for general substitutions - call them in.

Anything else fellow posters? (My apologies to JR if I missed anything or if he likes to blow it long) :D

A few years ago I worked with a rookie on his first game. He was a football ref also. He started sounding his whistle after every score because that is what they do in football - DON'T DO THAT.

You started a thread a couple of days ago that had some good information in it: http://forum.officiating.com/showthread.php?t=38959

Oh I know.. I was specifically looking for whistle mechanics. Thats why the new thread. ;)

I know it seems silly, but its important. At least.. I think its important to work the whistle correctly.

It is important. Your whistle can convey confidence, it can convey uncertainty, it can convey arrogance ("look at me!"). In general, your whistle should be sounded with a single, sharp blast. Most new officials don't blow the whistle strongly enough. Go ahead and really blow it!

You should blow the whistle anytime you want the clock to stop, any time you want play to stop (even when the clock is already stopped), or any time you are about to start playing after a delay. (The delay could be a time-out, an intermission, an injury, a bookkeeping problem that had to be resolved, etc.)

In my first year, a vet told me to blow the whistle like you were in an arena with 20K screaming fans....I wasn't putting enough air in it and it wasn't sounding confident....

Pretty much what KS said....

On the subs...if you need to get their attention at the table if you are opposite floor, I will give a couple of quick chirps and wave them in.

Make strong calls and "sell them" with good mechanics....After you get your first call, you'll settle in...

Last bit of advice I can give you is just slow down....the game isn't going anywhere without you....no need to hurry on reporting....when you do blow the whistle, repeat the offender's # and the offended to yourself as you walk to the table so you remember who the call is on and who your potential shooter is....Nothing like heading to the table and having a brain fart on the player who committed the foul....Not that I've ever had that happen! :D

One other whistle tip...I had an ACC official tell me that your resumption of play whistle after a time out or intermission should be a fraction longer than your standard foul or violation blast. I guess his point was that it's a "Hey, we're ready to play" indicator to everyone within earshot. Not sure if that's standard practice, but it does seem to sound a little better to me, anyway.

Is this a reference to Congress? :rolleyes:

It can be...or it can be sports fans in a gym...or management of a company...a group of protesters...the audience at the Emmy Awards...Anna Nichole's Former Lovers Support Group...The OJ Fan Club...possibilities are really endless :D

SWEET!!!:D Never a dull moment....

Similarly (if you've worked football), in basketball, you keep the whistle in your mouth at all times.

Great tips...
I have a tip for newbies concerning "working the whistle".

Don't hold on to it like a pacifier. Many new officials either keep the whistle in their mouth (after they have blown it) or walk around holding the whistle in their hand.

Blow the damn thing like ya got a pair...and then be rid of it. ;)

Except on Jump Ball situation and when you take a pee!!.;)

I'd like to add, the whistle may be blown to get your partner's attention if you want partner to wait to administer the ball.

• sub at the the table waiting to enter.
• question from table.
• stuff on the floor.
• not enough players.
• too many players.

:)

Do not echo a partner's whistle.

Just curious as to how many of you out there ever use the "staccato" whistle technique? If so, for what do you use it. I use it sometimes for a travel but that's about it.

Does that call excite you? "A little traveling music", perhaps? :)

Personally, only when I want to get their attention...usually if opponents want to yap at each other and something might break out. Loud as I can too.....

I also use it for a travel occasionally, and sometimes for a PC foul as well...shouldn't really use it at all (or so I am told), but man talk about a tough habit to break! It seems like it usually just "comes out" when I get a call that I wasn't expecting to see like "did he really just do that?!?!? hold up a second!"

And "awaaaaaay we go"!

http://www.golfspast.com/Merchant2/g...00001/PRWG.jpg

Jackie Gleason giving dancing lessons (definitely not golf lessons) to Arnold Palmer!

What is this technique??..

Tweet! Tweet! Tweeeeet!

Thats what I thought, but... you never know. Thanks.

One long sharp blast.

This can be practiced by loosely holding the whistle with your lips and blow it with enough force to blow it out of your mouth...had a hearing impaired official with a weak whistle, he couldn't hear it, and this helped him a lot.

Other whistle tips:

Don't have it in your mouth when you toss the jump ball.

Find out what the local view is on whistles for bringing in subs...in my area it's a no-no.

Don't blow it on every throw-in.

Just don't hold it too loosley b/c the one time you go to blow it and it pops out without a "tweet", good luck finding it and making the call once transition has started the other way...I've done it, not fun....but better than not calling an obvious foul, for instance..

Good addition to post, I hate when officials -errrr- referees do that.
I'm thinking they are either attempting to get my attention or a violation has occured. Some guys just like blowing the 40 (or volleyball whistle in some cases) entirely too much!

Remember the object is to blow the whistle as least as possible...

make sure it is in your mouth. it is really hard to find otherwise.

I said practice.

During games you hold it with your teeth and put the tip of your tongue in it to keep from the accidental beep from exhaling.

I would disagree, but perhaps only slightly. The purpose of blowing the whistle is to communicate. So if it doesn't communicate anything, definitely don't blow it. But don't pass on the whistle when it would be useful just on the premise that you want to blow it as little as possible.

Or get in shape so you don't sound like a 500lb guy running a marathon with a whistle in your mouth when you go up and down the floor:) KIDDING!

As an old woodwind player, I notice a definite difference in the sound of the whistle between "toungers" and "huffers."

Huffers use only airflow to start and stop the flow of air into the whistle. This can lead to a whistle that ramps up at the beginning and tapers off at the end. In my experience it's easier to let uncertainty, etc. "leak" into your whistle blast with this technique.

Toungers create air pressure in the same way as huffers, but use the tounge on the end of the whistle to start and top the flow of air into it. This gives a consistent tone to the entire sound, and a very crisp start and stop.

As an old low-brass player (trombone, tuba), I can completely agree. I've even given feedback on that very point to an occassional new official. Its such a simple thing to change and get increased credibility and believability.

If I were try to put it into a "word"....

Don't: ....hhhaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh....

But do: TaaaaaaaaaahhhT

I use a "staccato" whistle mainly on violations or when a call is made away from the ball or isn't obvious.

As for a whistle tip, a good friend of mine worked a game w/ Jim Burr last year...Burr said the shorter your whistle, the more confident you sound in your call. Not sure that I agree 100% on that, but since Burr has worked 14 of the last 16 Final Fours (or something like that), I'll defer to his advice...:)

I believe Burr has earned the right to end each of his informational sentences with the word "Grasshopper".

http://fusionanomaly.net/kungfudoyouhear.jpg