Officials and Development
 

I received some good input and advice last year while going through what Rainmaker described as my - not enough Ts stage. Well, I don't think I have rabbit ears, but I seem to be in the middle of stage two, which Rainmaker described as more than enough Ts stage (or something along those lines).

Here's the sitch from a middle school tourney today. In the second quarter, coach B, who I had seen be fairly vocal with other officials earlier in the day, complained about a non-call with his arms extended way out to the sides, palms to the air, and look of disgust on his face. Maybe part of it had to do with game four of four and I was starting to fade some, but I issued a T. While reporting it he then barked angrily that he didn't deserve the first T (someone from the crowd barked that I had to warn him first). As a result of his complaints about the T, I issued him another and sent him out.

I find myself second guessing these situations quite a bit...either not calling one or calling one.

I feel way more comfortable officiating this year than last. I feel like I have a better understanding of the rules, mechanics, etc...I guess in a way I feel like the game is slowing down for me some. Last year it seemed everything was just flying by a hundred miles an hour.

How many went through a similar situation with Ts and any advice?

As background, I've worked ten games, not including 2 scrimmages, so far this season and issued four Ts: one for reaching over the boundary line after a warning; second, for a player complaining about a non-call in an adult rec tourney; and three/four today for a coach yapping and then a second for yapping about the first T.

I probably do close to 250 games a year up to varsity and I call about a handful of t's mostly men's league. Just not my style. If it makes the game better.....whack.

I wasn't there so I can't tell you if the T's were warranted or not.

I will just say that if you feel that you start to fade by your fourth game, you should only accept three.

So.....quit doing that.

Seriously.

Every official sets their own guidelines when it comes to ascertaining what is "T"-worthy. You're in the process of developing <b>your</b> guidelines. As long as you're consistent to everybody involved on both teams, all is good. No one should have any complaints then.


And yes, every official goes through this development stage too. You have to find out what works best for you. You'll find too that your guidelines aren't really set in stone anyway. They'll change with circumstances sometime.

Technical fouls are just another call to be made. Don't waste time thinking about them, unless there is a chance that you can actually learn something out of a situation.

This has always been a problem for me. In spite of everyone telling me "don't think about it" "just call it like any other foul" "don't fret about it". I always fret, always second guess, always replay it later. Over and over again. Well, okay not always. Some are just so obvious. And then just when I think the whole thing seems so obvious, I call a T and an eval or a partner, or a friend watching in the stands says they think it was OOO or something.

All that to say, I sympathize. The way to think about it at the JH level, especially, is to deal with the complaining early in the game. Use the sentences and the gestures and the indications at the first sign of complaining. THen when you get to the point of feeling like you've had enough, let the coach know: "Coach, I've heard enough." Then when you have to do it, well, you have to, and you don't feel too bad about it. Give him his rope and let him hang himself.

And then when you do give it, be sure to call it, report it and then get away from the bench. Let him vent a little if it's not too loud or too flamboyant. Pregame for your partner to be there and give the second one, if necessary. If you have a pre-planned routine that you consistently use, you won't feel guilty when you have to do it.

ANd don't use numbers as an indicator of how well you're learning. Some seasons are just like that and you HAVE to give way more, and then other seasons are easier. That doesn't have a lot to do with your skill.

I've rarely doubted myself for calling one, I have kicked myself on the ride home for not calling one.

Just like the game slowing down for you takes time and experience, so does dealing with problem coaches and players.

You pretty much need to set your guidelines of what is not okay for you.

Have your automatics: they swore at you, they questioned your integrity, they were vocal and demonstrative and they were doing it on the floor or out of the box, etc.

Have your situational: the yapper, the shotgun, etc...and draw the line when they distract you. Warn and then they become automatic after that.

Nobody can set those for you. You need to figure out what you can ignore, what needs to be addressed, and what requires you to take care of business.

Once you figure out your boundaries, than work on ways to keep those boundaries from being reached without having to use the T...Now I'm in noway saying T's are bad, or always a last resort...but once you know where you stand on behavior, you can usually see very early in games where things will eventually head and you can have a few tricks in your bag that can head it off before it reaches your boundaries.

My advice is when you have a T, don't stress so much over calling it, focus on what behaviors lead to it and what you could have done to nip it in the bud before you whacked them. By doing that you better learn your limits and you start developing game management skills as well.

Concur with that statement.

I only gave three T's last year - but kicked myself most for the one I didn't issue.

I try to avoid them like most, but, when a coach or player earns em, whack!

This all comes with experience, and this situation, like others, will certainly help you decide what to do next time.

It sounds like a good T to me. Did the rest of the game go well? Players playing? Asst coach coaching and not complaining? That's another way to judge a T. If it makes the game better, it was probably good.

(That doesn't mean if it doesn't make the game better, you shouldn't have done it.)

Yes, the rest of the game went real well. A person came from the stands and took over. First thing he did was group his players and told them to forget about the technicals and play on. He was very positive with the team and drawing plays on a white board, etc. As a matter of fact, the other team's coach was pretty quiet after this too.

The comment from the stands about having to warn the coach prior to calling the T made me smile inside a bit, as I immediately thought of this forum when he said it. However, I was quickly jolted back to the game when the coach earned his second T.

I have to admit, this forum has made a great difference in my officiating.

By the way, the opposing team missed all six free throws for the T(yes, different rules for this tourney), and didn't score after receiving the ball out at the division line.

If a coach is "angrily barking" anything about getting a T, while you are still reporting it, if that isn't asking for it, I don't know what is.

A wise referee (no, not me) once said the purpose of a technical foul is to stop bad behavior. If you can stop the bad behavior without issuing the technical - do it.

Granted that this was a middle school situation and you felt you needed to do what you needed to do which is fine.

But the advice I have been given regarding giving a T to a coach is get to the circle and find your partner, (hopefully one is already there for you). Then short of the coach coming out and tackling you don't be calling a second T on the coach. Get your thoughts together, let him vent, let your partner get him seatbelted (in NFHS) and get the game going again. If he does do something that deserves the second T it better come from one of your other partners.

In your situation, Ting a coach a second time and thus ejecting him just because he disagreed with the first one is a bit of a stretch.

Again, this is probably for higher level ball so take it for what its worth, but something to think about as you develop.

In a freshman boys game the other night A scored and B1 grabbed the ball and stepped out quickly. Just as he was about to release his pass, his attempt was somehow disrupted and he accidentally stepped inbounds. Coach A flew up off the bench and a step or two out of the box. "THAT'S A...." and then I blew the whistle and signaled the violation----- and just looked at him. He stared back briefly, with his mouth hanging open, and then quickly ducked his head. I got a bigger kick out of this wordless exchange than any T I have ever called.

I"m finding that I am starting to treat technicals as just another foul. We talk about the 3 P's around here.

Personal- pretty much anything along the lines of "you suck,you're cheating, you ,you,you,you Automatic....

Profane- Automatic-though I give some wiggle room for players quietly cussing at themselves. Loud cussing is an automatic

Persistent is the one where I have to talk them off the ledge. I do work on communicating with coaches. I will be flexible but there comes a point some coaches want to jump off the ledge and I let them.


Here is my T rundown so far this year.

Kid running down the court, hands flailing, loudly letting me know , and evryone in the county know "I need to call that." I did. T

Repeat the 1st scenairo.

Frosh girls game. ball bouncing around girl finally corrals it. Opposing teams point guard,about 2 feet tall ,is jumping up and down in front of me doing a very nice,tight traveling mechanic. T ,

Coach on Friday night, 1 minute 8 seconds into game, empty gym yells something along the lines of "making that gosh darn call'. T

So the spontaneous ones are easy it's the persistent ones that are tougher.,

After the T on Frosh girl, watching Varsity later that night, I had a Hooisers moment with said girl and father. Father missed it but heard about it. I almost had a moment of compassion as the tears flowed from frosh girl as she apoligized (sp) to me.....

Last night I called the first two fouls against a player early in the game. He ranted and I just looked at him on my way to the table. He stopped his behavior the rest of the game (at least with me). I did not have to hand out a T.

That technique came with experience and trial and error. If you can find ways to accomplish the same thing without a T, in my opinion you have won. The minute you call a T it because about the official whether you like it or not.

Peace

Tell that wise referee that <b>another</b> purpose of a technical foul is to <b>punish</b> bad behavior.

I completely disagree with that particular officiating philosophy. If an official sees unsporting behavior, then that official should damnwell deal with that unsporting behavior. That's supposed to be part of our mandate. Dealing with it might mean a stop sign or a simple "that's enough", but deal with it.

Personally, I'll be damned if I'll let a coach vent at me. I'll handle my own problems without depending on someone else to bail me out.

I was under the impression T's were for punishing bad behavior. Along the lines of calling a common foul. Without a doubt some T's are about the official. But not calling a T can also be about the official.

Kid running down the court yelling at me in an empty gym. No brainer I will enforce the penalty that my Assoc. and the Feds want me to.

Is it about me-definetly. I'm letting all the other participants know that behavior that crosses the line,my line as forth by the rule book, will be dealt with accordingly.

It might be a stage I'm going through but I don't have much patience any more to run around after people trying to get them to act right. Act the fool ,there are consequences and it's not gonna be talk therapy, pleading and or appealing to said fools logic....

DAng Jurassic I just noticed you used my line. Great minds think alike.

That sounds great if we penalized any bad behavior all the time. We do not, so that is why the statement started out with "If."

Peace

Insights
 

The higher the level, the smarter the coach. New officials are usually working the lower level games. It is somewhat scary that a first-year official is concerned about giving technicals to coaches for yelling.

Call selection is of paramount importance. Judgment will be the main factor in your advancement as a basketball official. As your judgment and call selection improves, you will get less resistance from coaches and players. That's just a fact of life.

When I hear/see a coach or player show negative emotion with respect to a call that is made by me or someone on my crew, I immediately ask myself several questions:

Does he have a reason to suspect the call was bad, either from his angle vs. the calling official or the consistency/context of the game? If the answer is yes, yo need to let the coach player vent for a short period of time, then work to de-escalate the situation. "Hey, I know what you saw, but we saw it from a better angle, and it was OK." "Hey, everyone knows you didn't like it. You made your point. We need to move on or you get your T. Make a decision." "Hey, yeah, we should have gotten that. We out here working hard and trying."

Does the coach want a T? Sometime the coach will yell loudly until he gets T'd, because he wants one. If you can listen to him/her after the T, you'll know whether he wanted it or not.

Ever ask a coach, "Do you want one, at this point in the game? I'm not sure you do..." How do you tihnk he will react to that?

In all these situations, you need to put yourself into the other person's position. For a player, they get about 2 seconds to vent in a non-profane way. For a coach, they may get about 3-4 seconds. It's an emotional game. If you can understand where their emotion comes from, and try and quickly address it, it heads off problems. Then the T becomes their choice, not yours. They made you do it.

Understand though, until your judgment and call selection does not lead to a lot of negative emotions, fair or unfair, that's where the focus should be. You can learn a lot by taking some crap, and really listening to the complaints, and putting yourself in their shoes. I cringe when I think of the calls I made during my first few years. And yes, there were times I should have T'd folks when I did not. But I will tell you that I learned a lot more from restraint and introspection about the causes of the negative emotion than whacking everyone.

Food for thought. Before everyone jumps on this, profanity or personal insults not repeatable in a business setting are automatic. Pointed feedback that may not be comfortable--gray area. When I have to give one, the entire gym knows why, because there is always the physical reeaction from the offender to correlate with the verbal, and I am never question3ed about the validity. "Hey, he made me do it, and I'm not happy about it at all." Think about it.

It is completely scary imo that <b>any</b> official would be concerned about a first-year official issuing technical fouls for coaches yelling at them. That's a ridiculous statement. What difference does it make if the official is in their first year or not. Coaches aren't supposed to be yelling at officials. Period.

One of the questions that you should be asking yourself is why you've come up with a million <b>excuses</b> on why officials <b>shouldn't</b> call technical fouls. Nothing personal, but I'd rather officiate with people who don't overthink what they're doing out there. I'm kinda partial to officials who see unsporting conduct being displayed and have the testicular fortitude to actually do something about it. Hey, if you want to let everybody vent and coaches yell at you, be my guest. It's terrible advice for any new official (or <b>any</b> other official) though imo.

Agree completely up to this point. The rest of the stuff is what you have learned about how you (and your supervisors) like to deal with bad behavior. Let the new guys find this out for themselves without clogging their thinking about what they should or should not be doing to quietly address bad behavior. I say if you're a relatively new guy dealing with relatively new coaches/players then T early and T often until you learn how to deal with it a little more smoothly.

btw I agree with Jeff's post, I've found it pretty effective to pick up the whistle and quietly stare at my target if he's just hovering on the edge. But the target has to know what's coming next for this to work.

To the OP, sounds like both Ts were good. Betchya next time this coach sees you he'll think twice before getting too excited.

At a middle school tourney, any T is a good T. Nip it in the bud!!!!

What color is the sky on the planet where you live? :confused:

You get resistance to all but the most obvious calls at every level. At the lower levels, it's often because the players (or coaches) honestly believe that they didn't do anything wrong. They don't understand the rule or simply don't realize that they fouled somebody.

At higher levels, the players still truly believe that they almost never foul anybody. The coaches often realize that you got the call right, but they are working for the next call. There is a lot more at stake as you move from high school to college, and the college coaches give a LOT of resistance, even to the most routine calls. You have to find a way to get them to stop or whack away.

This topic has many layers. The better the judgment, the less emotional reactions you will get from coaches. Credibility also plays into that. New officials have to earn credibility, and good judgment over time builds that.

For the purposes of development, which is the topic being discussed, new officials should be working on judgment, as that is the base building block to game and people management. The more they can be introspective, and understand that for a coach to start yelling or throwing out insults is frequently the culmination of several things (judgment, calls, posturing, how you project), the quicker they will develop.

For context, since my "scary" description seems to have stricken a JR nerve, is that far too often new officials feel the need to be the enforcer, and draw a line that they won't put up with anything. Typically, actions that warrant a T by coaches have many precursors. New officials should try and understand these, and understand how their judgment, and they way they react to difficult/controversial calls, can either escalate things to a T situation, or de-escalate them. We have also seen the new guys that get off on giving T's and ejecting coaches/players. They brag about it.

I am unhappy whenever I have to give a T. I am very unhappy when I have to T a coach--it represents the lowest common tool in my box to manage the situation, and tells me that I was unable to prevent it. It should be the tool of last resort--the ejection handle for Goose and Mavberick from Top Gun. Where if you don't use it, you're dead.

My advice to new guys for the purposes of their development--use the T sparingly. Learn how to be stoic and have a thick skin. It will serve you well when you advance, and you'll be surpirsed how sparingly you'll ever have to use it when you get there.

Now I know you're kidding.

Every spring/summer I T & toss more coaches at AAU and "exposure" type tournaments than I do in 5 years of winter basketball. These are the types of coaches we're talking about here. Geeze...Top Gun? wtf is that about?

Just wndering - when was the last time you actually refereed a game where more than the 10 players actually cared about the outcome?

Yep, I don't work AAU and exposure tournaments in the summer. Totally different animal. However, the best officials use the T the least, because they don't have to.

I just fundamentally disagree with this. In my first few years, I don't think I gave ANY technical fouls because I was intimidated. Are you saying that I was actually a GREAT official because I didn't give out technical fouls that were richly deserved? That's just silly.

On the other hand, the NCAA has practically given men's officials a hunting license to whack coaches with its "zero tolerance" policy. Absolutely any unsporting conduct, including gestures for "missed" calls, is supposed to get a technical this year. I worked a college game this year with a guy who works a couple D1 conferences and he told me he'd already given 5 technical fouls in the first 2 weeks of his season.

IMHO, the best officials are not those who give the fewest technical fouls. The best officials are those that give technical fouls immediately when they are necessary and warranted; and who do not give technicals when they are not necessary and warranted.

I don't know you and I certainly do not mean to disparage you or your officiating experience. But in your last two posts, you've made statements that are glaringly false.

And these are the coaches the new guys must work their way thru before they know as much as you think you do. And if I said the best officials call travel the least because they don't have to your response would be....?

I have gotten in to the habit of mens league of NOT giving out technicals in certain situations. I had a game, where A was down by about 50 points. The guy has been playing terrible, and is TRYING to get a technical foul, so he can go home. Seeing as how if I T him up, he would be happy, because he gets to go home, and I have to stay, He made a comment saying "Just get me outta here" I told him "No, YOU get ME outta here." and he shut up, getting the fact that I wasnt going to T him up for whispering to me. I dont know what your thoughts are on this, but thats how I handle those situations

Naw, JR just thinks that your whole officiating philosophy is a complete load of doodoo. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, let alone a new official just starting out.

Don't let that deter your oracling though.

See, that's the funny part. Because neither of us is right or wrong. What you and the other two guys advocate is correct by the rule book. So is my philosophy. All my post said was to think about those things and make up your own minds. I can never argue about whether a T is correct. But I can say that newer officials make a lot of judgment mistakes, and defensive officials never realize how many judgment mistakes they really do make. When you penalize reactions for your own mistakes, is that good for anyone? What works for some doesn't work for all.

I can name that Old School in 10 posts.

The really scary part is that someone would have the arrogance to call him/herself an "Oracle". Wow.

See post above yours.

Yea, interesting, eh??:D :D

And, btw, how's the weather in your area? I know the news has been saying y'all have been slammed "in Vermont" but they're also saying that Oregon is in a state of emergency, but my neighborhood is fine. So how is it where you are?

10-12 inches. But the snowblower hit an immovable object so that's gonna cost a few game fees.

:eek: :eek:

It's okay. I may be stubborn, but I'm not immovable.

Ah, but two immovable objects wouldn't be a problem. What is good is that you're not irresistable! hee...hee.....

Good news...I just have to replace a couple of pins and I have the parts. Now to figure out where they go or it MAY be several game fee checks....

If you feel this way you might want to clearly define to yourself what the limits of coaching behavior should be. Then you will feel more comfortable with the situation when the coach crosses the line. My first few years I had a quick whistle because I also coach and have a definite distaste for coaches who abuse officials. I found that when I developed a little more patience whacking coaches that I didn't think about it so much after I whacked them.

No way. This guy is actually literate enough to use caps in the right places and spell all his words correctly. I disagree with a couple of his posts, but at least I understand them.

If I had to guess, I would say that he's a coach or former coach who remembers things from the coach's side. (They're more reasonable as you get to higher levels, you can always avoid the T, etc.)

Naw, he's a lawyer. They're trained to be wishy-washy weasels.

I seem to be quite patient with T's, maybe too patient.

My game on Tuesday (Boys JV) was a tight, emotional affair. At one point, mid-3rd quarter, the visiting team player came down the lane and scored. I called a foul as well and he turned to the home player a foot away and said something like "yeah, that's right!". Our association, along with the POE would encourage giving an auto "T" for that. I said to the visiting player "Hey, enough of that, let it go", regretting my actions 2 seconds later (not giving him the T).

Later, with about 1 1/2 minutes left, still tight, I had to call traveling on the home team right in front on home bench. The kid reacted with arms out but even their coach knew it was travelling. He continued to grumble and coach got a sub for him but I still heard him as he walked off the court "that was a bad call". Sub-conciously, I knew I had let one go on the visitors so I let this one go as well.

Live and learn

Yeah, the lawyer did a little research. Looks to me like University of Arizona and ASU have a grand total of zero technical fouls in their games this year for themselves or their opponents. Despite the point of emphasis, top officials will not be throwing out T's very often. It's a last resort.

Yeah, google's pretty easy to use.

In fact I used it for about 5 minutes to come up with this list of officials with a pair of balls.

http://media.www.dailyorange.com/med...-3127217.shtml
http://www.niagara-gazette.com/sport...337225225.html
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=273130008
http://www.madison.com/tct/sports/260180
http://www.morningsun.net/stories/11...21320574.shtml
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ritethru.0839/
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/recap?gid=200711120343
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h...BlYcgD8STSVLG0

Well, another 'T' last night:

JV girls. Home team is getting trounced early in the game. With me as the trail in two person, home team's coach announces, although not real loudly, "that's a travel." With a couple minutes to go before the half, the home team coach again announces, "that's a travel," which again wasn't real loud. The player who the coach thought had traveled then picked up her dribble and quite obviously drug her pivot foot trying to distance herself from the defender. I then called traveling.

Home team coach responds, "that's a make up call for the ones you guys missed. That's three for them and one for us." I turned and told the coach that was enough and that he needed to coach his team and let us officiate.

Within a minute after starting the second half, the home team's coach announced, "that's a carry." I hit my whistle and administered the T.

Here's the deal: I didn't try to immediately analyze whether the coach had good reason to question our calls or non-calls, sorry Oracle. I simply issued a "T," and didn't sweat it afterward, as many have suggested.

With that said, however, I will keep working on my game management skills, or lack thereof.

Sounds pretty good. I learned the hard way not to say, "You coach, I'll officiate." It's a set up for him to say, "Well then you start doing it!" At which point you have to T him. Better to say, "Coach, that's enough reffing." or just (as you did) "Coach, that's enough".

And I know others won't agree with this, but I'd have given him one more stop sign or "that's enough" or hairy eyeball for the first complaint after half-time.

Also, if it's not real loud, sometimes you can just define what he's doing as talking to himself, and practice feeling sorry for the girls who aren't getting a good learning experience. But that will depend on where you've drawn your line. You knew what your limit was, you communicated taht line and you didn't have a chip on your shoulder. That's a pretty good job!

You warned him. He wouldn't listen. He <b>earned</b> the technical foul.

Good job imo.

Juulie, as you know, I usually say, "Coach, let's switch places. You come out here and officiate the game and I'll sit on the bench and act like a jackass." :D

Hey, four games today and no technicals! However, I did issue one warning and offered one coach a hug, although he politely declined. Sorry, couldn't resist, Oracle. I was just trying to acknowledge his emotions...just kidding OC, I hear what you're saying.

Three more tomorrow...more opportunity to work on game management.

hahaha... i just may have to use that one pretty soon here. I had a coach that kept yappin at me today in rec ball, and I told him i had heard enough. at halftime, i sat down at the scorer's table, and he comes down and sits next to me, and tries to start talkin to me. I said "Brian, Im not discussing this with you" and he goes "I think" and I said "NO. this isn't goin anywhere" and I got up and walked out of the gym. Then he follows me out of the gym, and tries to start talkin to me! I said "Brian, you are wrong. You shouldnt do this" and he says "You are worthless. Quit acting like a jackass" now, I would have t'd his *** up, but i was more worried about keepin myself from knockin him out rather than t'ing him up. next time, its a no-brainer. it wont get that far. Im still kickin myself for not doin it, and will be for a long time, but hey, I kept myself out of jail, and in officiating for not doin the first thing that came to my mind, so im not too bad off

Not to kick a dead horse or nothin but it's like a disease, the abuse and frustarations we'll accept in order to not give T. They must have 12 Step programs for this .

He follows me out of the gym, he's not getting a T, he's getting ejected. He's got no business trying to talk to me when he should be coaching his kids, but that's not enough for the T, imo. But then when I try to keep things on track and he pursues the derailment behavior, well.... mmm... mmm... mmm...

I'm in complete agreement here with jurassic. I had a sitch the other night at a Jr. High ballgame. After being warned about his complaining, Team A coach came several feet out onto the floor with are raised complaining about a call my part. had made from the L.. I gave the coach the T and while I was reporting he took a few steps toward the baseline turned and quite briskly came at me complaing and pointing his finger at me. I gave him a stop sign. He didn't So I whacked him again. I'm not waiting for anyone to come call the second one in a situation like that.