My season started -> Girls Middle School
 

Item of interest -> two held balls in 4 quarters. [1 in 3rd; 1 in 4th] :)

Lucky you!!
 

OH LUCKY YOU!! :)
In my opening game last Thursday, if we called one, then we called ten.:(

But, how many times did you have correct for the new FT lane spots?

Didn't have to correct; not even once. :)

How About An X In Front Of The Table ???
 

Were the new lines on the floor marking the top lane space, closest to the free thrower?

(I bet I can find a new basketball court diagram image on the internet, showing those lines, but it's still too early for me to post any image, even an on topic image. I'll think I'll wait until I get out of rehab. I don't want to screwup any progress I've made. Maybe if I look, but don't post. That can't hurt? Can it?)

I don't think any of those lines were ever removed U.P. here from a previous change, so yeah, they were there.

The 7th grade girls game I did last week was 10-9. Not after the first half, or first quarter. Final score. One team had fewer than 10 fouls, yet managed to have a player foul out. Which led to this exchange:
Me: "#13, that's your fifth foul."
#13: [Blank stare].
Me: "That means you have to leave the game."
#13: "I can't play no more?"

In the ensuing 8th grade game, a player earned a T for dropping the F bomb under the basket when an OOB call didn't go her way.

I like how the other county around here combines the 7th & 8th grade girls into one team (and the 7th & 8th grade boys into another), instead of having separate 7th and 8th grade games.

In our local rec league (we don't have school teams below HS level) we have to combine 3rd/4th, 5th/6th and 7th/8th grade girls only because we don't have enough of them sign up to have separate teams at each grade level. On the boys side, we have enough so that each grade has separate teams. If we had more girls sign up, we would separate them, also. This season, we are playing "interlocking" schedules with two neighboring city rec leagues so we have had a series of officiating meetings to come to a "meeting of the minds" (which leaves me out) to agree on rules for these games. Each of the three organizations has slightly different rules at the different grade levels. We start with HS rules, then modify for grade level. Pretty much, the other two have agreed to use our rules since we have been around doing this for over 30 years and they are both under 7 years in existence. I think next year, they will just adopt our rules for all their games.

You must have let them play. Way to avoid those game-interrupters.

Snaqs,
I never saw 4 hands on the ball for more than two seconds.
Also, I never saw [make than *called*] any traveling violations with 4 hands on the ball, so I didn't have to call the *held ball bail-out*.

Our local Rec Leagues are similar to what you describe. Boys have no problem fielding teams. One league has a G13-18 Division, which as you can imagine, has a real disparity in size, maturity, and level of play - 30 point blowouts are to be expected.

And, I only wish (seriously) we had as many coordination meetings and training sessions as some of you discuss on the Forum. Some of our leagues are not run as efficiently or effectively as I would like to see and could learn from....and yes, I have volunteered, and sometimes, even been taken up on my attempt to assist. Oh well. :(

So that's college thru grad school? Oh, wait, those are ages, not grades.

Since the season occurs entirely during the school year, we use grade level, not ages. That way, we don't have to go through all the crap other sports do regarding verifying birth certificates, etc. Believe me, if a kid claims to be in a lower grade than they actually are, we know it within about 5 seconds after they register because they'll get "outed" by the other kids. Actually, it's never happened, to my knowledge. Plus, if a kid is good enough to "play up", we direct him to a competitive league. Ours is purely recreational.

BTW - how do you get "held balls" in a girls game? Was Hillary Clinton playing? http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra...s/laughing.gif

Did They At Least Take Down The Peachbaskets ???
 

Figures.

Yeah, BillyMac. I'm U.P. in the sticks of Michigan's hardwoods, but perhaps you need a short lesson on hardwood floors.

Actually it does figger. There had been quite a few floor *hash* suggestions for high school sports, the year after nearly every gym floor in the area was refinished.
Adding a hash is relatively easy, but stripping and eliminating a hash is much more difficult to blend to the overall appearance, because the tincture of time fades and yellows a clear coat, while the wood is generally unchanged under an opaque hash. If the paint were removed, it would leave an un-yellowed floor which would be very visible, almost as visible as the original hash.

So, assuming your area is *better*, I ask, "How much better?"

We Have Sticks, And Boondocks, Here In Connecticut Too ...
 

I think you misinterpreted my simple "Figures" answer. I was commenting on gyms in general, all over the country, including here in the "Land of Steady Habits": no X at table, no coaching boxes, old 28 foot hash marks, no lines three feet toward the baseline from the block (which aren't needed anymore), no "shadow" division line through the logo at center court, hashed semicircles in the lane, etc. I'm sure that only a few gyms in my area will have the new lines on the floor marking the top lane space, closest to the free thrower.

We even have a special rule here in Connecticut: Coaching Box must be marked. If home coach and/or home management refuse to designate coaching box with tape, the home team will not use a coaching box for that game. However, the visiting team will be allowed a coaching box. Notify Board Secretary or Commissioner the next day.