delay of game warning or not?

[Mark Dexter]

Originally posted by Dan_ref

LOL! I would never start on you, young grasshopper, for I
know you have mastered the art of the T!

This came up a few weeks ago. I was R for the co-rec IM basketball championship game. A1 shot, long rebound, and A2 got a hand on the ball in the air. With no control, he comes down to the ground (so no travel call, although I wish that's what I had called) and starts bobbling the ball. One of the bounces goes off of his leg (leg didn't move), and I called a kick violation (obviously not a kick, but I whistled, froze, and went with the kick).

A3 and A4 - both fellow officials (as is A2 - he didn't say anything) go apesh*t that "there's no such thing as an offensive kick!" (After checking our special rules addendum (to NFHS), I realized that there is a note in our book saying there is no such thing as an offensive kick). I apologized for screwing up our rules, but stood by the fact that a member of team A could have a kick violation. (Technically in the original case, A2 was neither on offense or defense, since team control is lost on a shot.)

I agree that a kick on the "offensive" team is rare. However, I thought up one (and now have a second) example:

(1) A1 throws a long pass to A2, with B1 between the two. With the ball in the air, A3 realizes that B1 will intercept the pass, but A3 cannot reach the ball in time, so A3 kicks the ball to prevent a steal and a fast break.

Violation - A3 gained an illegal advantage in kicking the ball.

(2) A1 is dribbling upcourt. There's heavy pressure, and A1 feels that a pass would be intercepted, so he kicks the ball into the air, over B's heads, to A2 who scores an easy layup.

Violation - it doesn't matter that A has the ball, soccer is the game of feet and legs.

BTW, in this case of the OOB "delay," I say you just start counting when B1 slaps the ball.