More scrimmages and FIRST GAME!
 

I had my first scrimmage on Saturday. Was supposed to be a tri-scrimmage, but due to football playoffs, turned out to be just two teams, V/JV boys. I was the first one there, and ducked into the officials' room to change. I came out and found one other official there so far (six scheduled) and he told me they were ready to start if we were, so I was on the floor for the first quarter. Just as we were starting, three more very experienced guys came in, including our assistant interpreter. I offered him my spot, but he told me to go ahead and he'd give me some feedback after.

It went fairly well. I didn't feel like I did anything too wrong, and he agreed. He did have a lot of feedback for me (palm or fist up right on whistle instead of the second or so after like I was doing, get lower as trail, and have a subtle visible count on FTs). It was a pretty clean quarter, 27-20, so the shooting percentage was pretty high.

I watched the next two, a second V quarter and a JV quarter. After that, we grouped up for three-man. In our area, schools have the option for three-man for varsity, and about 25% of schools have gone for it so far. We also use three-man for post-season. I sat out the first three-man quarter so I could get briefed on the rotations and coverage areas. When I got out there, it was another V quarter. On one of the first trips down the floor, I missed a late switch by the previous lead, so I thought I was center when I should've been lead. Fortunately the center just went down and took it when he saw I didn't. After that, I got the hang of it, but I spent most of the quarter thinking about where I should be instead of focusing on the action at hand. I did get one illegal screen and I went right to the punch without thinking about it, so that felt good.

Sat one out then got back in for another three-man quarter, this time JV. I was stuck in C for a long stretch so it was an easy quarter. I did have one brain-freeze moment. I was administering a throw-in as lead from the corner. For some reason, I didn't put the whistle in my mouth. Of course, the defender reaches across and slaps the ball out of the inbounder's hand. Immediately the inbounder picked it up and passed it in, so by the time I got my whistle in, it felt way too late to call the T. I mentioned it after the quarter and the other two guys never saw it.

A couple guys took off early, and another two did the next to last quarter before leaving. So there were two of us left for the final JV quarter. This went very well. I felt like I was in good positions, and I was getting the hang of going up with my arm immediately upon whistling. Late in the quarter, I administered a throw-in from midcourt. The defenders were in a man press, so the offense stacked up and curled their PG around the stack. He took about three strides OOB in between the stack and inbounder, so I called that violation. The coach started yelling across the floor that he was pushed out, but I saw it clearly and he voluntarily took that path, so I feel good about that call as well.

Next scrimmage is tonight, V/JV girls. One more scrimmage Saturday (my former team) and my first "real" game next Wednesday, 5/6 grade travel league, with four more of those before I get to my first HS JV game the first week of December.

Good call!

Enjoy the rest of the season & thanks for the report

As Dan so subtly points out (Originally Posted by A Pennsylvania Coach /Ref) it's time to re-think your screen name.

And welcome to the dark side!!

Yea rethink it but there is no way to change it.... unless you start all over again on the board. And then it tells you that your email is already in use...I tried it already.

Sounds great, Coach! ;)
mick
[email protected]

I know this was just a scrimmage, but I think you should have called it anyway. Now both those kids don't know that's not allowed.

Better late than never, especially on a T call.

What do the rest of you think?

Make the call. Yer enriching the learning experience.

Not true, just email Brad and he'll change it.

I was someone else until just a couple of months ago when I decided that I'm a bit too opinionated at times and didn't want my full name so easily out there.

You know, it's funny. I knew who you were, but didn't even notice your handle had changed.

I was wondering about that. If you are who I'm thinking you are, well, welcome back, with or without full name.

Is there an 'F', Pat?

When in doubt, it is not too late to make a call. When there is no doubt
that it is too late, sometimes you should still make the call.

GREAT COMMENT!
You have hit upon the #1 issue with the transition to 3-man. Until people become comfortable with the mechanics of the system, their mental attention is divided and taken away from officiating the game as they are worried about their positioning. Time and experience is the only way to take care of this.

An additional point on this is that this very reason is why I feel that it is a poor idea to use 2-man during the regular season and 3-man for the postseason as is done in many areas. The refs are mentally out of whack during the playoff games, and what should be the best officiated games of the year often don't turn out that way. :(

Either that or the best hs refs are also refs who do a few college games during the season and the 3-whistle in the play-offs isn't a problem.

1. Doing a few games of 3-man over the course of a season does not lend itself to performing at your best come playoff time.

2. Bringing in the college guys who do only a handful of HS games all season to work the HS playoff contests is, in my opinion, unfair to those HS refs who have busted their butts all season and now get left out in the cold.

Chuck Elias, is that you??

Scrimmage #2
 

Back at it last night. I'll try not to turn this into my personal blog, but by sharing this stuff I'm hoping there are some things in here that the experienced readers of this forum can jump on and help me with.

Tri-scrimmage, V/JV, at a big school. 8 officials, two courts running side-by-side, with one V and one JV. I was early again, and there were 7 of us there at just before the start time. One of them is a 10-year guy, Preston, who I've known fairly well for a long time and he took me under his wing. When he tried to get interest up for three-man on the V court, several guys declined, preferring to focus on two-man. Two of them were ready to go three-man, so I jumped in.

This went pretty smoothly. I saw all the switches, and I was focused on the play in my primary. I got a tip from Preston to always make eye contact with my partners before every throw-in, and I got that incorporated into my routine smoothly. I did miss one apparently obvious travel. I saw something peripherally that I thought might have been traveling, but I was just turning my attention back to the ball from some banging so I missed it. Preston gave me a hard time about that one after, telling me that if I was on the bench I would've been yelling "how did you miss that?!??!!?"

A couple more tips I got from Preston:

On how to know when to switch as the lead: "Follow the donkey (aka big man)."

On how to appear even more engaged: "Keep moving, even if it just a step or two."

Stayed on for the second quarter and third quarters as well. By the second one, I was just instinctively moving to spots. In the third one, I tried to come off but one of the vets wanted off, and a second-year guy who previously turned down the three-man suggestion came on. I was actually helping him, moving him from C to T a couple times when he missed the switch. Also, in the second, I got another illegal screen (a really bad one out near mid-court--basically a hip-check) and went right to the punch. At the next timeout, Preston told me I should be signalling block instead of the punch, but I was pretty sure I was right so we asked a couple other guys and they agreed with me. I told him he could blow one call a night! :D

I moved over after that and did the 5th and 7th quarters on the JV floor with a guy I know a little bit. The 5th went pretty smoothly. I did call several more fouls than my partner, which probably isn't good, but I didn't feel like any of them could've been let go. I did miss a rebounding foul that I felt like I should've called a second later.

The 7th was the biggest challenge. It was the host school against the weakest, and they decided to work on their press for the whole 12 minutes (running clock except last minute). It was probably about 25-2, and we didn't get out of the one end of the court for a two-minute stretch. However, I felt like I nailed this quarter.

I'm starting to feel sharper and more in control. I decided to report all fouls and timeouts, even though nobody was keeping track, just to practice. I am still struggling with getting the palm up right away for violations, especially OOB. I just want to go straight to the direction signal for some reason.

Saturday is my last HS scrimmage. This one is my former team from the past three years, so it will be interesting.

Good, and great. You certainly need to be aware of the locations of your partners on the floor, but your #1 concern is to officiate your PCA.

An excellent tip. Allow me to extend it. Prior to any dead ball becoming live (with the exception of following made goals) you want to do the following scan: 1. Clock, 2. Table, 3. Partners
This will allow you to have definite knowledge on clock problems and to communicate in postgame with partners. (Hey remember that foul by Blue #42 at 6:16 of the 2nd quarter?) It will ensure that you don't miss subs at the table or the table personnel trying to get your attention for some issue. Lastly, it makes sure that you don't put the ball into play when one of your partners is not ready or has his hand up instructing you to wait.
This scan will make you a much better official by greatly increasing your game awareness and thus allowing you to be better with game management.
Was the ball in your primary? For how long? Did it just enter it while you were previously engaged in observing the post play (the banging)? Remember that in your PCA, on ball is your first responsibility. Your nearest partner should help with an offball matchup that is physical. If the physical matchup was first, then you should stay with that and your partner should have enough awareness that you are otherwise occupied and stay with the ball handler to help you. Perhaps you didn't miss this call. Perhaps you needed help in your area, but the responsibility for the travel may have been more on your partners. The art of knowing what and where to watch is something that develops with time and experience. Personally, I would rather the crew miss a travel than an elbow to jaw. Game control (watching behavior and stopping rough play) is primary, game play (violations, points, clock, etc.) is secondary.

Both helpful. A dominant big man can go a long way towards determining your most necessary position as Lead. Learn the offense and the players in the first quarter and you will have this down. Observe what the team is doing and who they want to do it. Key off of that.
Proper positioning leads to accurate calls. You can't get many plays right without having the right angle to see the play.
You sound like a quick study. When C or T, I recommend looking through the play to see your partner. See if he is above you, or below you with respect to the division line. If this changes, then you should take a look at the Lead and see if he rotated and you missed it. If you are C and the ball settles in your area and you may even have a 5-sec count, then you should expect the Lead to rotate to your side and make you the Trail.

You are both right and both wrong. :) You should make both signals.:cool:

This process was depicted on page 5 in the NFHS preseason guide last year:
1. Fist straight up to stop the clock for a foul.
2. Punch signal indicating a team-control foul in the direction of the opposite basket.
3. Preliminary signal indicating the nature of the foul. (push, block, hold, etc.)
4. Indicate spot for designated-spot throw-in.

Also check out 3.4.2 B5 and C4d in the new manual although this is rather vague.

Excellent thought process. This is showing good game awareness.
1. You are aware that you are making most of the calls. This doesn't indicate anything improper or that your calls aren't quality ones, however, you do want to try to strike a balance with your partner. During the first TO or FT stoppage, you might mention this and see if you can let a bit more go or have a slower whistle and perhaps your partner can come your way some. If it were a full game, then definitely discuss it at the quarter break. A quality game is one in which the officials work together and are all involved. If you had a double-whistle after you noticed this, then you should certainly give the call to your partner! :)

PS Dang it, get that rebounding foul a bit late if you need to. Trust your gut! ;)

One's mental focus will challenged in situations like this. Game control is something which you can't sacrifice by relaxing because it is a blow out. You probably have to work harder to manage the tempers and watch the cheap stuff. Press coverage is a great thing to work on early in the season. Did you and your partner do a little prep work on how to handle a press before the quarter started? Two-man is tougher than three in this case. Angles and hustle are paramount. Sounds like you were pleased with your effort.

Numerous officials go straight to the direction on OOB. It is actually the NCAA mechanic. It is not proper in HS, but it is probably not a major item. It depends upon your local area.
You will feel more and more comfortable with time. Concentrate on the big stuff (PCA, game control, scan/mental focus) and the details/mechanics will develop. Keep up the good work.
Definitely post how that goes! :D

Two more scrimmages & first game
 

Warning: LONG POST AHEAD!

Third Scrimmage (last Saturday)

This was my former team, a 10 AM scrimmage. I got there a little after 9:30, and they were already playing. The new coach (who I've known for a while) came and told me he set the scrimmage up for 9, but the new AD screwed up and told the officials 10. It was a tri-scrimmage and they had been playing JV quarters for a while waiting for us to get there, with coaches officiating. As soon as a second guy showed, we jumped in, and by the time we finished the quarter, the other three officials were there.

It was going to be two courts, one V and one JV, so we decided to do three-man on the V court and two-man on the JV court. I did a couple JV quarters that went pretty well. I cycled over to the V court and did the a quarter with the two visiting schools first, and then another with my old team. I passed on two foul calls that in hindsight I probably should've gotten, and of course they were both players from my former team that got fouled. I think subconsciously I was so worried about appearing that I was favoring them that my brain took it a little too far.

I did another V quarter and two more JV before we were done. By the last two JV quarters I felt like I belonged out there. The guy I coached with came and he said there were times he forgot I was out there, so that's good.

As for seeing the former team, well, that was actually pretty cool. I heard them chattering when I jumped into that first quarter and one of the moms asked me if my ears were burning. :) One of the kids told me she was still going to call me coach, which was cool. At the end, a couple of them asked me to hang around until after their post-scrimmage chat, and I got to catch up with most of them. I still have several open dates so I'll definitely go see them play a few times. It will be hard to remember not to cheer for them, because it is a good group of kids.

Added JH Scrimmage (Tuesday)

I got a JH Boys scrimmage back at my old school Tuesday afternoon. For some reason, there were just two of us assigned, and we worked 11 straight 10-minute running clock quarters (freshman teams and 8th-grade teams). My partner was a guy who used to coach as well and a big rival when I first started coaching in the late 90s, a very successful guy who jumped out of coaching around 1999 when he son was going into HS, so he could watch him play. He started officiating then, doing a lot of afternoon stuff and odd-day stuff. I've had him as a varsity official a few times and he is really good, so I was happy to work with him.

He let me decide what to do about foul switching, and I asked him to switch them all so I could build the habits. After 6 quarters, when they told they had 5 more, I told him I was okay with not switching the non-shooting fouls the rest of the way, which he agreed to but not without giving me a little grief. Then, with 2 quarters left, there was a shooting foul and the ball bounced away and long story short, it made a lot of sense not to switch that one so I gave him the "stay there" sign. Of course, he decided that this was the funniest thing ever, me not even wanting to switch shooting fouls after almost two hours!

In the whole stretch, I felt really good about it all, save one play. I was the L administering a second FT to white. An red player came in early, on the release. I needed a split-second to decide if this was the fist or the whistle. I figured it out, thought I saw the shot miss, and hit the whistle as the ball was falling into the hands of a red player. But for some reason, out of the corner of my eye, something in my brain told me the ball went in. So I asked Tom if it the shot was made or missed. When he told me it was missed, this confused me and I decided I had an inadvertant whistle with red possession, so a red throw-in. I did this too quickly and by the time we were down at the other end, I realized I screwed up.

Then, I compounded the mistake by thinking about this for the next couple minutes. I got in a daze and was not as focused as I should've been. This is something I'm going to have to work on; letting the mistakes go and moving on to the next play.

First Game!

Last night was my first real game, in the 5th/6th grade boys' travel league. About half my games are in this league, either boys or girls. I had the honor of working with the official I respect the most, a guy who I've had in men's rec league games but not in HS, as I think he is at a top boys' varsity game every game night. Lenny is 31 years in, and was part of the only Lancaster County crew ever to officiate a state title game. (Something in the system is broken when that is the case, but that's another story.)

It turns out he lives only a couple miles from the school we were at, and although he doesn't do many in this league, he likes to do games at this nearby school. That was good news for me, because it was really an honor. I watched how he instructed the timer and scorer, which helped me. He let me toss, which was cool.

One funny thing early on: I was in the bathroom before the game, and one coach and one player came in so the coach could give the player his shirt. I guess the kid forgot his and the coach had a same-color shirt with a number on it. He was a big kid so it worked out. Then, middle of the first quarter, the big kid is parked in the lane. In one of my scrimmages, I worked with a 25-year guy who said he hadn't called three seconds in 7 years, and that you can pretty much always talk a kid out of the lane. So, anyway I start saying "42, get out of the lane." Of course, he has no idea I'm talking to him because he doesn't know what number is on his shirt. I try again, but by now the coach who is right next to Lenny is squawking about it as well. It must be 7 or 8 seconds by now, so Lenny calls it. From the trail. Ugh. I felt bad, thinking he must think I'm a schmuck who won't call it. But when we got to talk he told me that he heard me talking with the kid and that it was good, but the coach was flipping out and he was in there a long time, so he had to call it.

The game nearly got cracked open. It was 22-9 early in the third when I saw Lenny give his first ever six-men-on-the-floor T. I guess the coach told his kid to go in, and he just sprinted straight out into the middle of the play. There was nothing we could do. Of course, the home team hits the FTs and scores on the ensuing possession, which energizes them. They get the margin down to six and it stays there for a while until the visitors get it back to ten with two minutes left. The visitors try to steal a couple extra minutes for their reserves, but they start cracking from the pressure and next thing you know it is a five-point game with 30 seconds left. It didn't get any closer however and I got my first game under my belt.

Lenny had a lot of positive feedback for me. I'm pretty loud, which I've gotten some praise for. He told me that he liked how I was selling everything and that it was the key.

I did notice the handle change but I knew who you use to be..