Tracking down a wayward ball

[Rich]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

I keep my eyes on the players until my partner/partners is/are back in position. Usually by that time a player has brought me the ball, if not, THEN I will go retrieve the ball myself--if it's a rec league game with a running clock then my pace towards the ball and back to the admin spot is, for some reason, very slow

However, I do have a buddy of mine whom I happened to work with last night who refuses to track down any loose balls. He verbally solicits help from the players.

To each is own, but definitely not something that can be penalized.

Definitely not?

What if the official says "Please retrieve the ball" and the player refuses. Something in the rules about not complying with an official's directive, isn't there?

(Not that I'd ever do this, I'd just get the ball myself and call three straight cheapies on that player. )