Side-line coverage in two-man

[mick]

Originally Posted by Vinski

I have a question regarding the proper two-man coverage when A1 is trapped against the side-line at about the middle of their front court on the opposite side of where the trail official is located. This seems to be a real blind area for two-man. There are times when the ball goes OOB in those situations, but neither trail nor lead seems to have a good look at it. To get a better look at the play, does the trail come all the way over to that side to get a better look, and/or does lead come up and out wider to get a better look? Or, something different?

Lead parallels ball to sideline and owns sideline.
Trail closes down over the top to get a better look.

[Vinski]

Originally Posted by mick

Lead parallels ball to sideline and owns sideline.
Trail closes down over the top to get a better look.

So then you are saying that the trail would come all the way over to get a better angle?

[mick]

Originally Posted by Vinski

So then you are saying that the trail would come all the way over to get a better angle?

"...All the way over" ?

No, I don't think so. That's Lead's sideline.
And Trail does not need to see that. But, Trail may want that better angle to see the action, keeping in mind that there are other players playing.

[Damian]

So, the trail has to go over. Even if means you have to go all the way to the opposite sideline to get a good view. If this occurs, you could actually cause a two man rotation where the lead would eventually move across the lane. we cover this in most camps.

[Bearfanmike20]

Diagrams please... some of us are visual people

[TimTaylor]

Originally Posted by Bearfanmike20

Diagrams please... some of us are visual people

Think of it this way - mentally divide the width of the court into 3 zones that run the entire length of the court, see diagram below (solid lines are the side lines):

__________________________________________________ _____________

A

------------------------------------------------------------------------

B

------------------------------------------------------------------------

C

__________________________________________________ _____________

Trail should move so that they are never more than one zone away from the ball. In the OP, assume trail's side line is the top & lead's the bottom. If ball is in A or B, trail is in A, but if ball moves across court to C, trail should move into B, even as far as the imaginary line between B&C to get best angle on the action. Lead's sideline is still their responsibility and they need to slide out along the end line to cover it when the ball is over there.

The bottom line is that in 2 man especially, you both need to be ready to move to both cover your area of responsibility and get the best angle on the play, and when necessary do so decisively. Sometimes it means closing down or even going ball side, others it means backing out to open up the angles to get a better view of the whole play.

Hope this helps!

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by TimTaylor

Think of it this way - mentally divide the width of the court into 3 zones that run the entire length of the court. Trail should move so that they are never more than one zone away from the ball. The bottom line is that in 2 man especially, you both need to be ready to move to both cover your area of responsibility and get the best angle on the play, and when necessary do so decisively. Sometimes it means closing down or even going ball side, others it means backing out to open up the angles to get a better view of the whole play.

TimTaylor: Great post. Young officials, please take note.

Here in Connecticut we are taught similar ABC mechanics, however, we have been encouraged to occassionally move slightly into the third zone, especially in trapping situations in the far corner from the trail, against the divison line. In other words, in such a trapping situation, the trail may go from C, into B, slightly into A, and possibly move slightly into the backcourt, to, as you said, "backing out to open up the angles to get a better view of the whole play".

[mick]

Originally Posted by Damian

So, the trail has to go over. Even if means you have to go all the way to the opposite sideline to get a good view. If this occurs, you could actually cause a two man rotation where the lead would eventually move across the lane. we cover this in most camps.

Going to the sideline is not a must, just because it's Trail's primary. There is a chance to be too close to the play to see the play. Trail can see a lot of stuff from the top of the circle ! ...And mileage may vary.

But, yeah, a rotation could be forced if Lead gets nervous and bails out, because Lead isn't comfortable working strong-side mechanics, or if a corner-to-corner skip pass is made, someone has to get over there.

All things considered, I would hope that Lead keeps his sideline, and that Trail doesn't forget what's happening in the rest of his primary.

[truerookie]

In this situation as Trail, I would move into the BC as not to obsecure my vision.

[mick]

Originally Posted by truerookie

In this situation as Trail, I would move into the BC as not to obsecure my vision.

That can work on a small court, but maybe not on a larger court.
It sorta depends on where the the trap is applied.
If the trap is near the division line, going backcourt makes lotsa sense. Conversely, if the trap is near free throw line extended we may not see much.

But ya, don't let any moss be growin' under yer feet. There ain't no fixed restrictions on where an official can be.