Throw-In Mechanics
 

Looking for some guidance; had an evaluator tell me the other night that you should always bounce the ball to the player making a throw-in. But had a senior partner tell me he hands/flips the ball if he is on the baseline and bounces it if the throw-in is along the sideline. Watched high school and college games on TV and seen both.

Just curious if anyone has a good rule of thumb to use and why. Was told that the quickest way to move up in the ranks is to make sure your mechanics are solid but haven't found anything about this.

The NFHS manual recommends handing the ball to players along the endline and recommends bouncing the ball to players on the sidelines.

That said, it is only a recommendation. Handing the ball or bouncing the ball in either case is fine. You should do what your local assignor and local officials want.

Listen to the people that you work for. That is all that matters.

If it matters to you, my state does not want us to ever bounce the ball on the end line. And we are never to flip the ball to the thrower.

Peace

May be "one" of the criteria but there's much more to advancing OR you could always move to SoCal :D

Perhaps the evaluator meant all throw-ins except froncourt endline...
Double check with your area big dogs to make sure.

I've had evaluators and/or assignors contradict each other on many of these types of questions. Talk to people you trust and go with what you think is right.

One person was an evaluator; the other was just an (senior) official. I would listen to the evaluator first and just keep under advisement what others say.

Peace

Standards for my organization (NY state Girls HS, Central Western region):

Hand the ball to the player when administering the throw-in on the frontcourt endline. Bounce the ball when the throw-in occurs on the backcourt endline.
All sideline throw-ins are bounced.

I like to hold the ball but bounce the player. Endline or sideline is irrelevant.

Not sure how helpful that is given that you play by NCAAW rules on the girls side, and thus may also employ many NCAAW mechanics.

IAABO Throwin Mechanics ...
 

Administering official may bounce the ball to the thrower, with the following exceptions:
- On all frontcourt endline throwins, the ball shall be handed to the thrower.
- If fans or bench personnel create congestion, or there is defensive pressure, the ball shall be handed to the thrower.

Administering official may hand the ball to the thrower (no exceptions listed).

Not very clear? Need more information? You're out of luck. That's all I can find regarding handing, or bouncing, for two-person IAABO throwin mechanics.

So now IAABO stands for "I Am A Bouncy Official"? :confused:

This is the primary reason TO bounce the ball to the thrower. Get wide, so you have a good look at everything, then bounce the ball to the thrower.

For this reason I've started always bouncing on the sidelines and BC endline. Even caught myself bouncing on the FC endline.

I did catch myself flipping once on the sideline this year. Luckily, it felt weird so I haven't done it again.

Personally, I prefer to bounce the coaches and, if I can, the parents who amuse themselves by loudly counting off perceived three-second violations.

I have taken to congratulating these parents on the quality of their public school education. I assure them that my public school shortchanged me by only teaching me to count to 2. ;)

I prefer to do something to the coaches and parents also, but I'm not sure "bounce" is a strong enough word. :D

Thanks for the suggestions. Like BITS, I find that I am most comfortable with bouncing the ball whenever there is defensive pressure, for the stated reason, and handing the ball when there isn't, no matter whether it is on the side or endline. Of course, one complication, mostly at the youth level, is when I back up a couple of steps to prepare to bounce the ball on a spot throw-in and see the player move closer to me to get the ball!

"What part of 'spot throw-in' did you not understand, 33?":D

I prefer to say...."Stay there and I'll bounce it to you"...as I start to step away.

I always bounce unless it's the FC end line.

In Alabama, this is outlined in the state officials manual. We hand the ball to the inbounder unless the ball is in front court, on the side line below the free throw line extended. Then, and only then, are we allowed to bounce. Some times with defensive pressure you must hand it off then book it 2-3 steps to get some seperation for the play. All in a days work.

Talk About Old Fashioned ...
 

Even on the backcourt endline, with a "run the endline" throwin, i.e., after a score and a timeout, with no defensive pressure?