Partner calls 48 fouls - I counted them
 

Filled in for a 5th grade girls game last night. I had not worked with this partner in about 4 or 5 years. She has a tendency to call a lot of ticky tack fouls, but last night took the cake. I tossed to start the game, A1 hit the ball back to A2. B2 put her hands up to guard and TWEET! During the game, she constantly called shooting fouls when the defender had all ball and there was no body contact. She called at least 15 offensive fouls for the ball handler "pushing away the arm" of the defender or something similar. Not only did she call that many fouls, she had to give an explanation of almost every one: "White, 23, for putting her hands on the hip of the dribbler and not letting her change direction" and so on.

The home team won 36-26 and I don't even want to know how many free throws were attempted. We were in double bonus both teams both halves. Six girls fouled out, three on each team, so I guess it "evened out". Oh yeah, she called a ton of violations, too, including travel on virtually every jump stop.

It got to the point where I heard spectators saying things like, "It only took her 10 seconds to call one this time. I win the pool".

Both coaches approached me a few times during breaks to see if there was anything I could do. Now you may be wondering why I didn't discuss these things with her during the game. Let's just say she is not very responsive to constructive criticism.

BTW - I called seven fouls in the whole game and I don't think I missed any in my area. The game took almost 2 hours. I called the assignor and told him that if he ever thinks about scheduling me with her again, I'd rather be shot.

If she's been working that long and still doing that, someone needs to sit down with her and tell her she's in desperate need of retraining, or she can't be used.

Wow, how long has she been calling? I guess she thought you let alot go LOL
Just look on the bright side.....at least it didn't go into you know what!

Should be enough for each foul
 

Next time, if there is one, be prepared & hand her these in the pre-game.

http://www.imperialdobrazil.com/wp-c...c_tac_meus.jpg

And if she doesn't speak Spanish, it might take her mind off the game for a while as she tries to interpret the label ... :rolleyes:

that was a foul joke?

... could've just said she could take one of those if she had a hacking cough.

... their also great if one's breath is offensive

I suppose the guy I described in another thread thought the same about me. How these folks can continue to get assigned is a wonder to me.

For all the women who like to look at this forum. There are guys who officiate just like this also.

Last night I was officiating a blowout and made it through almost the entire 2nd half without calling a foul. The only one I called was an defender riding a driving player with an arm-bar with under a minute left.

Perhaps the Law of Averages forced Mark's partner to call all these fouls?

Hey Juulie, Mark is saying things about you.:D

Obviously, it wasn't Juulie, although she knows who it was. I was thinking about it (that book, "Thinking For Dummies" has really paid off) and maybe I was being too harsh. I would doubt she is like this at higher level games and maybe she was just trying to be extremely protective of the young girls. She's been around for a while and she probably wouldn't be if this was how she was all the time.

Did you indicate how you want to be shot? ;)

Which one is it? She can't be trusted to have a whistle, or she can't be trusted at this grade level? Even if she's only half as whistle happy in higher level games, that's still too many.

Glad you told your assignor. Too many of us just grumble in private.

I worked with her male counterpart a fe wmonths ago after I told him to keep the game moving as I was booked a short time after our games. Double bonus 1st quarter.......

I once coached a middle school team in a conference of private schools. The level of play was better than rec, but still below that of the local public schools.
I had one game that season where I had the misfortune of watching both teams attempt a total of 88 foul shots (50 by my team). I believe I had 4 (maybe 5) players foul out, and I know the other team was somewhere in that range. They also had their head coach ejected fairly early in the 3rd quarter. It was by far the longest game I ever coached.

Instead of playing a game, why didn't the official's just split up and have both teams line up at the free throw line, at their own end of the court, and have each player shoot 10 free throws? They could count how many were made, and the team that hit the most would be declared the winner. There was no use in "playing" the game. There was no "game". It was just a free throw shooting contest.

That crossed my mind midway through the 3rd quarter. :)

It was a strange night. I had few complaints about the officiating in any game before or after that one, and I will say the two that night were consistent. They did seem to throw the concept of advantage/disadvantage out before the game started.

Mark:

I am so hurt that you outed me.

Marcia Tomasina DeNucci

Now I do not feel so bad.
 

I thought my game on Friday I called too many in a quarter and a half. I called 9 out of 10 fouls all on one team during a quarter and a half period of time. And I probably called 4 on one player. I was not happy about that.

Peace

Rut:

Don't beat yourself up over it. It happens. You and I have been officiating long enough to know that these things even out over the course of a season and a career. I remember one time in a three-person game I blow my whistle twice in the first half, both out-of-bounds calls. It just happens that way.

MTD, Sr.

You are right, the next afternoon, I did not call a foul for the first quarter and a couple of minutes. It was lovely. :D

Peace

Wow.........good timing, my partners joked that they were doing a two man game last night. I just didn't have much in my area and I didn't go poaching.

I felt a little funny, but it happens.

This is an interesting discussion for me for this reason - On several occasions evaluators have said to me or others - "You/your partner are calling the entire game" or "Do you/your partner realize you made the last six calls or called the last four fouls?" "I need you to go get one." or "I need you to get a call."

While I understand the points made - hey, if it ain't happening in your area tonight, it ain't happening. Any thoughts on the above school of thought of not wanting/giving the perception that one official is maybe stronger and calling the entire game?

During my first camp, I asked a question and a college official told me possibly the worst piece of advice that I ever heard. I have since come to learn that he's a relic on the board of college officials. If you're L and there's nobody in your primary, you aren't expected to call anything - "don't look outside your area" was a direct quote. Pretty pathetic if you ask me.

DISCLAIMER: I'm so new that I haven't become registered yet, but I've played and coached a lot of years.

My thought at seeing this comment was why should anyone care where/when you're booked for the next game? Aren't we supposed to call what we see - without being influenced by anything else? :confused:

Welcome aboard!
 

dsqrddgd909:

Generally speaking your observation is correct. However; as you advance in your understanding of officiating you will begin to develop personal preferences, officiating philosophies and so on....

My interpretation of comments that appear persnickety are most often just that.... officials airing their displeasure about significant difference in officiating philosophies or more frustratingly working with someone who extremely lacks rules knowledge, mechanics, and game management skills.


Now if you don't mind, I will go back to my reclusive corner and dig into my rule book. :)

Thanks for the insight. I have to remind myself that online forums do not afford the luxury of hearing a poster's tone, background or experiences. I will try to remember not to read too much into any particular post.

Remember the first three rules of basketball officiating: Stay true to your line; officiate your primary area; and trust your partner.

Having said, when an official has off-ball coverage in his primary area there will be times when he will have to expand primary area to cover off-ball action (this concept is very important in two-man games but not as important in three-man games), but it should not be at the expense of missing something right in front of him.

My advice, is to let the game come to you. Don't go looking for boogers as we say in baseball. I have had two-man games where I had 10 of the first 12 fouls; it seemed like I was doing everything and my partner did not exist. It happens, and then I have had games where it seemed like nothing was ever going to happen in my area.

MTD, Sr.

Had a JV game last week where in the first half I spent almost all but the start of the second quarter at C. I was U2 and was C after the tip. The teams played the entire game on the other side of the court. I didn't call a foul (there were 9 fouls in the half). Other than a few possessions after the ball went OB in a way that caused a rotation (which always seemed to be followed by something that sent me back to C) I was just stuck in the slot.

Second half there was a lot more reasons to rotate, I spent most of my time at T/L, and I called 7 fouls.

Weird game.

Several years ago, when I was fairly new, I was partnered with one of our highly respected officials on a high level Girls V game.

I think I blew my whistle maybe twice in the whole first half, while he was calling things left and right, all legitimate calls.

I'm frustrated at halftime, thinking I'm missing things, but he tells me that everything is OK, there is just not anything going on in my area. He even compliments me on a couple of "no calls".

The lesson I took from that game is that officiating is as much about knowing when not to blow your whistle as when to blow it.

AHEM! 2,3 & 4, maybe.:D

[QUOTE=Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.;573173]Remember the first three rules of basketball officiating: Stay true to your line; officiate your primary area; and trust your partner.

QUOTE]

I understand the last two, but typical newbie that I am, don't understand the first one about "stay true to your line"?:confused:

[QUOTE=dsqrddgd909;573222]
dsqrddgd909:

Worry about your boundary lines (and the division line if you are the T0 and not your partners; there are only a few rare cases where an official has to blow an out-of-bounds on his partner's line.

Nothing is more aggravating than to sound your whistle for an out-of-bounds on your own line and to hear your partner's whistle and calling the out-of-bounds too, especially if he is pointing the opposite direction you are, :eek:.

MTD, Sr.

Thanks - when I become an official, I will try to put into practice all of the good advice offered here.

Mark - as it says in another reply above, these are rules two, three and four. As I've stated numerous times, the first rule of officiating is "tuck your whistle in your shirt before you take a leak".