Why you don't do a 5 second count in your head

[Adam]

Originally Posted by LDUB

Of course you can. I just had this come up not too long ago. The horn didn't blow at 5 and I had to instruct the timer to sound it at about 7 or 8 seconds....ended up having a T for not having a substitute. The rule is the coach gets 20 seconds to think about who to put in the game, not 15 seconds after the warning horn.

You're right, I can see how what I said may have been confusing. By rule, you can call the 5 second count even if you've done it all in your head. By mechanic, though, you'd better have a visible count.