Hustle?
 

During the off season and even some during the season I still work some of the kids ball down at that level, from recreation to, the traveling leagues.
Most officials give an ample opportunity for teams to get set. However most officials also have little patience for lack of hustle or knowledge of what is going on on the court.

If the team is completely discombobulated (highly technical term meaning confused and disoriented) no amount of time is going to help the kids get in position, and a s soon as a player is in position to get the ball the official is going to put the ball at the disposal of the thrower.

If the throw in is at one end of the floor and the players are walking around with no intention of getting to the ball this week the official is going to put the ball on the floor.

So I would recommend a couple of things hustle into position and get the play called, the n have the thrower step into position – do not stand there for two seconds before calling break, and design simple plays to get the ball inbounds that do not take three - four seconds to develop just in case it is close and you have to get the ball in bounds quickly.

Even the in and out guys – rarely put the ball in play so fast that they end up with a violation because their goal is to keep the clock running all day long they do not want another delay.

So while the official might be quick coach, you just have to work a little quicker.

First off, this is a great place to learn the rules. Right now I'm just a bball dad, but have done a (very) little reffing, and also coached.

I've had the opposite problem, of the ball being handed off too slow. Around 6-7th grade, teams started pressing, and we would want to get the ball in quickly before the opposition could really set up a press. And consistently the ref would hold the ball in his hand, and wait until the other team was set up. Very frustrating, but nothing you can do. I wanted to tell my players to grab the ball and inbound it, but figured that wouldn't go over too well.

Welcome, Dad. You're right, that probably wouldn't go over well, although I understand your frustration.

I'll be honest, I rarely look at the players on the court (other than to count them) when administering a throwin. I look at my partners, and when they're ready I turn to the thrower and hand or bounce the ball. I'm certainly not waiting for the defense to set up.

Sure, I know it wasn't intentional. At that age, I'm sure they were just making sure everyone was ready to play. Which makes sense on the one hand.

To the OP, 5 seconds is a long time, and generally it will be counted very slow for shorties. Get them a simple inbound play like Box, and you'll never get a 5 count.

Well, the real challenge is getting the players INTO the box. I think the problem that Kevin was having was that his players were not close to being in the box, but the inbounder (who is excited to be inbounding!!!) was getting to the designated spot very quickly. It sounded as though the result was the first couple seconds were used to get the players to their spots (in the box or otherwise), the next couple were wasted as the inbounder slapped the ball (I have never liked this one as a coach), leaving only a second or so for that simple box play to develop.

The coach now knows -- due to the incessant pounding to the horse no longer alive -- that officials are not to wait "an appreciable amount of time" prior to putting the ball at the disposition of the inbounder. He has also been given a few suggestions for lessening the chances of a turnover (as JRut pointed out, TOs at this age level are an expected outcome in many cases).