Ever go a long time without calling a foul?

[Mark Padgett]

Last weekend, I had a 6th grade girls tournament game in which I called only one foul. My partner called zero. He said that was the first time he ever went an entire game without calling a foul. Frankly, both teams played such poor defense there wasn't anything even close to contact. The foul was for a trip, which was somewhat accidental.

I've said this before, but it fits with this thread, so here it is again. On the final Saturday of last season's local kids rec league games, I was working a 7th grade boys game with a young lady who was a HS senior. She'd been reffing for us since she was a freshman. In the entire game, we called a total of 5 fouls. After the game, the losing coach came up to her and said, "5 fouls - that's all? We took a lot of elbows out there." She replied, "You took a lot of elbows?" He said "Yeah." She said, "Then you'd better give them back. We can't have kids going around without their elbows."

His jaw dropped about three feet. I just cracked up. I asked her, "Where did you come up with that?" She said, "Hey - I've been working with you for four years." I felt like a proud father.

[JRutledge]

If you have worked three person for any lengthy period of time, this happens from time to time. Sometimes things happen completely away from you or every foul your partners clearly have. This has happen to me several times and sometimes multiple times a year. Then you have games where it feels like you have everything. All you can do is not over or under officiate plays just because of that has taken place.

Peace

[Rich]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

If you have worked three person for any lengthy period of time, this happens from time to time. Sometimes things happen completely away from you or every foul your partners clearly have. This has happen to me several times and sometimes multiple times a year. Then you have games where it feels like you have everything. All you can do is not over or under officiate plays just because of that has taken place.

Peace

It was actually a fun game to work. My partners had the same rotation philosophy I have (which is don't be afraid to over-rotate, you can always go back), so it was an actively officiated game. I didn't even think about not calling any fouls the second half until hours after the game.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

It was actually a fun game to work. My partners had the same rotation philosophy I have (which is don't be afraid to over-rotate, you can always go back), so it was an actively officiated game. I didn't even think about not calling any fouls the second half until hours after the game.

This is apparently the philosophy here (it's my first season here) as well. I'm getting used to it. Since I've only got a dozen or so 3 person games experience, this is good for me.

[Freddy]

Somebody can correct me if this isn't quite true or if I'm delving into hyperbole. But sometimes a person in a 3 man crew can get "Caught in the Slot".

Assuming your crew prioritizes having two men "ball-side", the center can feel that he doesn't have much action to call. Especially if you have two good, clean teams, neither of which is committing fouls on the center's primary side of the court, the center may well not have much to call in spite of the avid attention s/he is giving to primary. Without reporting a foul, s/he wouldn't be switching to tableside. The tableside and lead officials get into a rhythm of switching with each other time after time after time.

This may especially be true if you happen to have two teams, each of whom have set offensive plays only to one side of the floor, which I've seen.

No biggie if you're not getting any calls. As long as you're overseeing your primary.

Anyone else sensed this reason for the situation?

[GoodwillRef]

I worked a NCAA-W game about 6 years ago and we had 13 fouls in the first half all by one official all blatantly in is primary areas. So we had two officials looking really had to find a foul for 20 minutes. I did not have my first foul that game until the 13-minute mark of the second half. It is a very strange feeling, but we get paid by the game and not the foul count.

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

I have run the gamut. I had a women's D-I game a number of years ago (it was some time shortly after the center jump after every field goal) between the University of Miami (the one in Coral Gables, Florida) and Florida International University where we had 56 fouls. I had a boys' H.S. varsity game in Ohio one year where we had sixty (60) fouls including 24 (yes, you read the correctly) in the fourth quarter; suprisingly, we had no TF's and one intentional PF. I remember one boys' H.S. freshmen game where I called the first nine (9) fouls of the game and eleven (11) of the first twelve (12).

On the other hand I had a women's D-III game where the first fouled was called with just over six minutes in the first half (I had a charge, PC, against the home team; we finished with the foul total of four (4) against the Home team and one (1) against the Visitor's and the HC-H was complaining that we were homering him on his own court, . And finally, in the third place game of the 1993 AAU Women's National Championship (three-person crew), I called one foul and blew my whistle exactly three (3) times (one foul and two out of bounds call) in the first half. Of course my first whistle in the second half was for a foul four (4) seconds into the half which meant I switched form the T to the C opposite the table (back then we did not have rotation mechanics and the person who called the foul went to the C opposite the Scorer's Table. And exactly four seconds after my foul call the T called another foul so he could go back to the C position, .

Of course, whenever Daryl ("The Preacher" Long) and I officiate together the first on to call a foul has to buy dinner. I can't remember the last time Daryl bought dinner, .

MTD, Sr.

[icallfouls]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

It was actually a fun game to work. My partners had the same rotation philosophy I have (which is don't be afraid to over-rotate, you can always go back), so it was an actively officiated game. I didn't even think about not calling any fouls the second half until hours after the game.

Maybe the over-rotation philosophy worked against you and it was late rotations that kept the crew from being in the right position to make calls, therefore, you got rotated out of plays

[Rich]

Originally Posted by icallfouls

Maybe the over-rotation philosophy worked against you and it was late rotations that kept the crew from being in the right position to make calls, therefore, you got rotated out of plays

Nope. I can't remember the "wrong" official having to make a call (center on a post player, for example) all night long.

By over-rotation I don't mean rotating for the sake of rotating -- I mean not worrying if it's a bad rotation and hesitating when it's likely the right thing to do (talking yourself out of it, which I see a lot of officials do). I mean, it's easy to take the few steps back to the other side of the lane from the close down position, so what's the deal.

Yeah, yeah, I saw the smiley face.

[icallfouls]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

Nope. I can't remember the "wrong" official having to make a call (center on a post player, for example) all night long.

By over-rotation I don't mean rotating for the sake of rotating -- I mean not worrying if it's a bad rotation and hesitating when it's likely the right thing to do (talking yourself out of it, which I see a lot of officials do). I mean, it's easy to take the few steps back to the other side of the lane from the close down position, so what's the deal.

Yeah, yeah, I saw the smiley face.

Maybe your partners think you tend to overcall a game and they purposely rotated you out or you are really slow getting up the floor

[Rich]

Originally Posted by icallfouls

Maybe your partners think you tend to overcall a game and they purposely rotated you out or you are really slow getting up the floor

It's funny -- after working a lot of 2-person, working 3 I have to "slow myself down" so I'm not overtaking the point guard coming up the floor when I'm the trail.

Maybe you're right, though. Of course, maybe I called 10 of the fouls and just don't remember 7 of them. I'm not as young as I used to be.