Cell phones at the table

[Stat-Man]

Originally Posted by SCalScoreKeeper

Here are a list of things I look for when teaching and watching basketball scorkeepers:

{snip useful list}

Good list. I may print this off and keep this in my basketball binder. I might make one more suggestion, especially for a noisy gym where you might not hear what's said over the ambient noise:

B½ - Make sure you have eye contact with the officials on all foul calls. If there is any doubt on the number, beckon them.

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I had a pro-level championship game this summer with an SRO crowd and music during the game, so it was next to impossible to hear anything the officials said. So at the first stoppage in play, I beckoned the closest one to the table and let them know that due to the noise, I would have to rely on them giving clear signals/numbers on fouls and that I would nod my head to the calling official once I had the number. It worked well for the situation.

[SCalScoreKeeper]

That is one of the first things we are taught when starting out and you are right. However point "B" was meant to address issues such as personnel talking with their boyfriends/girlfriends or cell phone usage during the game. In teaching both basketball and volleyball I emphasize that your control of the match/game starts when you sit down at the table. At this point your cell phones and I-pods should be put away in a backpack. During basketball season I call our other host school during the half to see how that game is playing out but conversations are always completed well before halftime's end.

Here are two stories,one each from volleyball and basketball, which demonstrate the methods to my madness for any student who wonders why I am so hard on them:

Basketball: This story was taken from a book called "The Miracle of St. Anthony". It is basically an author's trip through the '03-'04 season with the St. Anthony's boys basketball team. A really good read for about $20.00!

Head Coach: Bob Hurley Scorekeeper: Chris Hurley (His Wife)

This chapter starts with Hurley's game day routine then goes into a chat with the team's student manager. This story basically describes how Chris Hurley had become her husband's official scorekeeper 35 years ago.

"Chris had taken over the job one game after a student scorekeeper made a mistake in corresponding the names and uniform numbers in the official book, and error that caused a referee to award her husband's opponent eleven technical foul shots to start the game. As most might imagine, it didn't go over well with him. From then on, the job was turned over to the person he most trusted in the world, his wife (Wojnarowski 71).

Lesson here: I am fortunate enough to work for a team (Varsity Boys) who's assistant coach writes in the names and numbers of our opponents if he can find the roster on MaxPreps. With the varsity girls I copy the names and numbers of opponents either out of a program (Woodcrest Tournament) or get them from the visiting book. Either way verify with the visiting scorekeeper that what you have for their team is correct. If you have a problem with your own team's names and numbers then we've got serious issues.

Volleyball: Here is an article from the Desert Sun in Palm Springs,CA describing a scorkeeper for the host school (Desert Christian of Bermuda Dunes) failing to catch a crucial mistake!

BERMUDA DUNES - A disputed call ended Desert Christian's hopes of reaching the CIF Division V-AA volleyball championship for a fourth consecutive time as they were defeated by Faith Baptist of Canoga Park on Tuesday night.

In the fourth game with the Conquerors trailing 22-20, a timeout was called by Faith Baptist despite them not having one available.

By rule, Desert Christian should've been awarded an automatic point and the serve. However, the call was missed and the Contenders went on to score the two points they needed to end the Conquerors' hopes of a third consecutive CIF championships.

Faith Baptist won 25-22, 21-25, 25-20, 25-23.

Conquerors' coach Stu Rowland was disappointed by the ruling.

"We played hard," Rowland said. "You just hate to have your team's hopes ended by a blown call, but then again that's why you play hard to try and avoid those situations. All in all, both sides played hard. It was a fun match."

The Conquerors also suffered a major injury in the first game as outside hitter Ally Doyle suffered a badly sprained left ankle and was unable to continue.

Senior Kelsey Kolar thought that the loss of Doyle put the Conquerors in a tough position.

"We were unlucky in the first game," Kolar said. "Losing a key player like Ally made it hard to regroup. We were ready to play physically, but mentally we weren't."

Senior Jen Trahan said the team tried its best to regroup.

"I think we did a good job of trying to regroup, but it just wasn't enough," Trahan said.

The first game saw the Conquerors jump out to an early 9-3 lead, but they were unable to hold it as the Contenders came away with the 25-22 victory.

In the second game, the Conquerors rallied from a late deficit to win 25-21.

In the third game, the Contenders jumped ahead early and held off a late Conqueror rally in winning 25-20.

The fourth game saw the Conquerors fall behind 14-6 and then rally to tie it at 23, before ultimatley falling 25-23 and thus ending their season.

Rowland was still proud of the way his team kept fighting.

"I'm very proud of the way they played tonight," he said. "They fought all the way to the end, just as they have all year."

Kolar led the Conquerors with 10 kills, eight digs and six aces, while Paige Dieker also had 10 kills.

Jen Essig had 31 assists, and Kiara Gamble had four blocks.

Desert Christian concludes its season with a record of 18-5 and 12-0 in Victory League.


Lesson Here: Mistakes like this should not happen and especially at the playoff level. In our association most of the volleyball scorekeepers are students who have a tendancy to gab with their friends when they should be focusing on the match. When you work a match ,whether it be against your bitter league rival or that league's worst team, focus must be there from start of pre game to its' conclusion.