Talking to players
 

I am curious about your feelings regarding preventative officiating by talking to players such as post players and defensive players guarding a dribbler.

Do you believe in talking very much or would you rather let your whistle do the talking?

If you are a "talker"; what phrases do you use and what phrases would you avoid?

I will talk to a player if they ask me a question. I tend to let my whistle do the preventive officiating. If you talk to a player or players, then you are really just communicating with that player. When you blow the whistle, you've just communicated to the entire gym that 3 seconds will be called, or hand checks will be called, etc. If you can communicate that early in the game, it tends not to be a problem late in the game. JMO.

Talk early - this lets everybody get settled into the game.

"Out, gid out" is an easy phrase for shooing players out of the paint - avoid anything with a hard 'P' sound if the whistle is in your mouth. :)

I think talking to the players is a great way to make the game better. The players need subtle reminders that we are out there. This is also a way that we can appear approachable and make the players at ease if they do need to talk to us later on.

One thing we need to remember is that a foul's a foul and we cannot choose to pass on it or give the player a warning. Those are the whistles we need to crack early to help establish the parameters for the game. Especially in the post and on the freedom of movement plays in regard to cutters and dribblers.

I should have specified that I was asking about live play for example when two post players are fighting for position. I'm not asking about a player who asks a question during a dead ball situation,

I like "Easy!", "Straight up!" or "Get the arm off!"

I just went to a college camp this weekend and communication was stressed heavily. If the post players are using their hands too much, then give them a quick "Watch your hands". (You get the idea) It helped a lot in the games we officiated. The post play was immediately cleans up. The magic of the phrase is that if you don't direct it at anyone in particular, everyone things it was meant for them. Although, I must admit that if the ball is in the area, I let my whistle do the talking. If it's on the weak side, I will be proactive as long as there is not an advantage gained.

-Josh

"Take it easy big fellas" if the ball isn't near-by--ie: the ball is still near half-court. But if there is someone with the ball on the wing who could potentially pass the ball into the post then I'm making the appropriate call. Also, I'm not going to spend an entire half giving warnings.

"Clean it up" is one of my favorites. I rarely warn players in the 2nd half - just crack it.

So, are you saying if the ball is near the action, you'll call a foul even if there is no advantage?
:confused:

I tend not to be too talkative with the players, although in a game the other day involving high school girls I did say something.

A1 makes an easy layup for the team that is already comfortably ahead. Ball falls through basket and as B1 goes to get the ball, A2 kind of brushes by her before jogging up the court. It may have been accidental, but the contact was enough to jar B1. B1 turns back around in the direction A2 was running, and stares at her, obviously feel "disrespected." She pauses for just a moment before turning back around, retrieving the ball and starting a throw-in.

We ended up jogging up the floor together, and I told her simply "good decision." She understood.

I talk to players often. When it comes to simple play situations I am not going to take a lot if there clearly is a foul. But when it comes to attitude or borderline unsportsmanlike behavior, I will talk to the players more. It really is about reading the situation and deciding what works and what will not work.

Peace

I like to talk to them.

"Hey, watch your pivot."
"Watch the line." (works well for 3-pt shooters)
"Seven, Eight, Nine, Nine and a half, Nine and three-quarters...."

A big time D1 official who frequents this forum (well... the baseball thread mostly) tells me he likes when players ask him what time it is.

I really don't know why.

... don't call me Shirley

It's because he does commercials for the new Timex Donkey (tm).

<i>"Takes a licking and keeps on ticking!"</i>

I Am Serious ...
 

No sh1t Billy, thanks :rolleyes:

Wtf

Word.

Of course if there isn't an advantage I'm going to bite the whistle (generally). I'm not the gestapo.

-Josh

I'm just trying to flesh this out; my wife would accuse me of picking on words.
You say "generally." I'm inferring from your post that you think there can be a foul without advantage, and that when you pass on such a "foul" you are "letting them play."
Am I reading you correctly?

Actually I just put "generally" in there for the heck of it. There are always situations where I wouldn't let things go, however. If there has been a problem with two guys, then I might call a foul (even without an advantage/disadvantage situation) just to keep things under control. For instance, two post players have been at each other all game and one of them just gives a little shove to the other as he is crossing over to the weak side of the lane (from the strong side). If there hasn't been a problem all game, I would probably tell them to clean it up. But since there has been a problem, I would grant their request (they are asking for a foul, right?) and give them a foul. With that said, these are hypothetical situations and it's difficult to describe live game situations.

-Josh

Like I said, my wife would tell me I was picking on words. It appears this would be a case in which she was correct. She doesn't need to know.

Too late. Wives know everything, didn't you know that? :)

I talk to the players for a quarter or so, then let my whistle do the talking for the rest of the game. It is a great way to communicate to the players that you see but are passing on some things that are approaching the line. It also communicates that to the coaches. Last season I called a 3-second violation in the 3rd quarter. Players got a stern look from the coach and shot the comment at him "Who calls that?" Coach yelled back..."He warned you twice in the first half, move your rear out of the lane."

Not only do I talk to them, but I tell them in the captain's meeting that we will talk to them and that they should listen to us, and then I talk to my partners at time outs and/or halftime and we tell each other who we talked to and about what, such as "I already told white 12 to watch his screens" or "I've talked to blue's big guy about staying out of the lane." I like it. My partners like it. I think the players like it and I think the coaches like it (in general). The one problem is that you have to finally follow through if you do talk to them. You cant wind up being the ref that is always warning and never penalizing. 'Cause coaches will tell their players the refs arent going to call things if in fact you never do. Then there is no point in talking to them. The point in talking to them is to prevent minor violations and keep the game moving properly. Just my $0.02.

i like to say easy, solid, straight up..stuff like that

You're still talking about basketball, right?

yeah y

I like to encourgage good behavior. Last camp I went to they were a lot of hard fouls and crashes where opposing players helped each other up or gave each other dap after the play. I would always step in and say "Good hustle" or "Nice job" to let the players know we recognize and appreciate their good sportsmanship.