The person who made the comment was a local official who works a HS varsity schedule. In the off-season he is what we call a "Game Ho". He works whenever & wherever and as often as possible to make as much money as possible. And he is used often by our local AAU assignors.

And as far as the AAU connection goes. Our local AAU assignors have weekly meetings with Boo Williams and Willie Brown. We work our games in the Boo Williams SportsPlex. Boo Williams is the National Chair of AAU Boys' Basketball. And many games are personally monitored by Willie Brown. Willie Brown is the POC listed here: 2008 AAU NATIONAL OFFICIALS INFORMATION FORM AND APPLICATION FOR NATIONAL TOURNAMENTS".

land

There's where we differ. I don't consider a slavish devotion to mechanics that are basically meaningless compared to what is actually needed to have a well-officiated game to be the <b>"best"</b> of what any official has to offer. If an official is constantly hustling to get into the right position and then consistently makes the correct call, evenly and equitably through the whole game, then I personally think that official is giving their best.

Some mechanics need to be followed faithfully; some not so much imo.

We'll have to leave it as a difference of opinion as to what each of us feels is actually important and necessary to have a well-officiated game.

I recently had the opportunity to hear an interview with Mr. John Adams, when asked about the 1 or 2 things that would make him want to know more about an official in a camp setting (summer ball) he said "at the end of the day I'm really looking for guys that consistently get the calls right".

I guess there's a reason why JR has had longevity,
as you can see he & Mr. Adams share the same perspectives on what's most important.

You are assuming Jurassic is a "he" and that "he" is old. ;)

Excellent point! Allow me to rephrase:

JR is either wise beyond his/her years or has been at it for quite some time... quoting the same perspective as the new NCAA Coordinator has got to lend credibility. Or maybe the dinosaur just listened to the same interview that I heard.

Just for the record, and <i>apropos</i> to nuthin', I just looked and I still am what could loosely be described as a "he" and I also am older than dirt( but not quite a senior citizen yet). :)

If I ever get set in my ways though, please kick me. The game is constantly changing and evolving. Officials have to keep pace. Jmo.

You can teach mechanics. You can't teach ability. At the best, you <b>might</b> be able to help develop it a little.

That's why there's some great young officials....and some really crappy old officials......and vice-versa. :)

Again, jmo.

I have attended John's Camps and I can tell you that you will not be hired by him if you did not have good mechanics. Of course the bottom line is to hire people that get plays right. But the people he is comparing you to have good mechanics. And I know there were people that were eliminated because they had shotty mechanics or other things about there games while getting plays right.

Peace

..."or if you aren't fit with an athletic run". He also went on to say "if you don't catch his attention in 5-10 minutes, you probably won't" but I was just comparing the bottom line perspective that he & JR shared basically word for word.

When I look back in my career, I recall that games that went to the toilet did so more because of mechanics mistakes than a missed call. Mechanics are a tool to more easily make the right call.

If you're out of position, players and coaches know it. Fans likely too. If you're in position, you are less likely to miss a call. (This is working under the assumption that an assignor doesn't place you in a game that's way over your head.)

I agree with JR that some mechanics should be followed AMAP, and with others, liberties can be taken.

When it comes to the best way to handle a game, I think looking to the top is your best bet. Look at the NBA mechanics in the 70s and 80s. They were much more wild than they are today. The NBA, NFL, etc all refined the mechanics to today's game.

President Adams I presume ...
 

Was the interview on the HBO miniseries boxed DVD set. I think that they just got into the stores.

[QUOTE=JugglingReferee]When I look back in my career, I recall that games that went to the toilet did so more because of mechanics mistakes than a missed call. Mechanics are a tool to more easily make the right call.
QUOTE]

I have to ask. Can you give an example of when poor mechanics have ruined a game?

Double whistle and you have a blarge. Or when an official is not in position and they completely miss a play and make the wrong call or ruling. It is hard to follow rules when you do not see what you just called. I can think of a lot more situations but I do not want to waste anymore time.

Peace

I agree. My very first coach T as a HS ref came in my very first HS game and I was culpable because I communicated a foul call poorly at the spot. As my mechanics have improved, problems attributable to my poor mechanics have ceased to occur. There is so much in the game that is beyond our ability to consistently control. But how we execute our mechanics is something we can control and it makes sense to do it.