2-man frontcourt lines of responsibility
 

I just got the new NY girls mechanics manual and there has been a change in the lines of responsibility for the frontcourt with regard to the sideline on L's side, opposite T. L is responsible for the sideline only up to FT line extended; T is responsible for the sideline from FT extended up. The rationale is that when the ball is above the FT line extended, it's in T's primary and L should be looking into the paint. If L is keeping an eye on the sideline, then he/she might miss a foul inside.

Has anyone ever used these mechanics? Any thoughts about them?

First things first. You mean NY uses a set of mechanics that are not in line with the NF? I am shocked. Shocked I tell you. How can that happen (Complete and total sarcasm)? :D

When I first started officiating back in 1996 we used (philosophy I am talking about) a mechanic that was similar. The Lead still had the primary responsibility for the sideline, but the Trail was likely to know or signal when the ball was thrown on a pass or was clearly knocked out of bounds. In those cases the trail would blow their whistle and signal the direction. It was not set in stone, but it was a common mechanic we used because the Lead in many cases was watching post play. So I am familiar with a mechanic in your book that seems to be used, but it was not in writing. The flaw in the mechanic is that the Lead has the best angle as to a foot stepping on the line, but may not be aware of an errant pass flying out of bounds. I guess this is one of the many reasons many use 3 officials. ;)

Peace

This merely highlights a failing of the 2-man officiating system. Something must be sacrificed. It is impossible to cover three things at the same time with only two officials.

Another example of this is when the dribbler is up high near the center circle and is being pressured by a defender. The Trail must watch that. Now the offensive set is two players on each side of the FT line and two players on each block. These players either screen up or screen down for each other. The Lead can't possibly observe both screens and all eight of those players. This offense is a nightmare for the 2-man system. However, with a third official it is simple. Each official takes the screen on his side and all is covered.

Some officials in Wisconsin use that coverage, too.

My partner and I do not. L has the sideline all the way down. If I miss one going out, I'll blow the whistle and ask for help.

--Rich

This is what I do with my partners as well, with the added proviso that if I don't have a whistle on one of these OOB, my partner should whistle it and take the call.

Good point. Sometimes the ball will shoot out and I won't pick it up while officiating a competitive matchup down low.

The problem with giving that one to the trail ALL the time is the little roller heading for the sideline that may (or may not) be out when brought back in by a player. The T has no angle on the line -- is it out? -- is it in? -- and not having the L ever look at that one, I think, is not smart.

All that said, the one I miss the most (knowing who caused the out of bounds violation) is when I'm working 3-person and the ball shoots out quickly on the baseline when I'm looking elsewhere -- usually it's a ball that's tipped (or not tipped) way outside my primary that the T/C can help on.

It is really, really hard to do 2-man at the HS level. I wish everyone would go to 3-man! Quality of calls would be measurably higher, which is great for everyone.

IAABO Mechaincs Manual
 

2007-08 MECHANICS CHANGES
Added a signal (spreading of the arms) for when a defender is not in a closely-guarding position.
Boundary line coverage by trail farther sideline above free throw line extended.
Trail may rotate toward farther sideline, leads primary coverage area rotates.
Referee can delegate jump ball toss.
Ball allowed on floor during time-out or intermission.

Huh? The trail can initiate a rotation in 2 man? What will they think of next? :(

Giving the T the primary responsibility on that line for "all" calls is imo not a very good mechanic. On the routine OOB calls, sure it makes sense to have the T make the call since most likely the ball is coming from his/her primary and they will have the best look. That said, the L still has primary responsibility for that sideline and must me ready and in position to pick up on the plays that are not routine with respect to feet on the sideline or a ball that may suddenly go out of bounds. Of course, the key to these type of plays is having a good pregame and knowing where your partner is focusing his/her attention when the ball is at that location.

I'm not sure what you're getting at, but I think the philosophy with two person mechanics should be "Get where you need to be in order to have a good angle to make the call." There are certain times where my P and I are on the same side of the floor when the action dictates. Granted, that isn't the same as initiating a rotation, but as Nevada stated above, the shortcomings of the 2 person system may necessitate leaving a small portion of the floor uncovered for a brief moment.

Yep....in one case that I can think of. On a full court press, the trail should cover the press, whereever it may take them. If the play forces them across the court, the partner should balance out the court. It's possible that a sequence of passes will "trap" the offical on the side of the floor opposite where they started.

We use this mechanic alot where I am at

I am going to disagree. If lead is watching off ball and ball is above FT line, Lead calling that sideline is nearly a guess. Trail has the ball and trail needs to work to get the angles to watch the ball in his/her primary. Trail can never hug the primary sideline and may be out there a ways in middle of court or back to get the angle.

If ball is above FT line and I have players in front of me in the low post, I am not going to give it up so I can somehow cover a side line when my partner is already watching the ball

Trail helps out with Lead's sideline even more when L goes strong side (see mechanics point of emphasis in mechanics manual)... Trail has to help with the whole sideline and three point shots. Never anything wrong with having Both officials on the same side of the floor.....

This used to happen all the time, when I first started out, if I\'m remembering correctly. They used to have us in the "box-in" formation. If a throw-in situation required the officials to start in a "reverse box", then the Trail would move across the floor -- during play! -- and the Lead would move to the other side of the lane to get back in the "proper" box-in positions.

Ah yes, that old Pink Cadillac of Love. But I\'m surprised by the assertion that L should force a rotation in current 2 man practice. That\'s not something I\'ve ever heard taught. However, I can see Camron\'s point. I\'m pretty sure I missed a foul in transition on a press last week because it happened on the far sideline, while the ballhandler was turned away from me, and I was straightlined. Only way I would have seen it would be to be on that sideline. If it were permissible for me to initiation a rotation as T in transition, I could have come clear across and caught that.