Why you don't do a 5 second count in your head
In my freshmen game last night, while trying to avenge our only loss of the year to our bitter rivals, we had a tough call go against us. We are tied and I call a TO with 21 seconds to go. I drew up our play and told my asst. that we have a TO left if we get in trouble or might have a 5 second count. My PG is dribbling and breaking in and out to interrupt a possible count. I am watching the trail official and he starts to count as we go into our play with 10 seconds left. He gets to "2" and blows his whistle and calls 5 seconds. I yell how you just started counting, and was only at 2. Well, we did win in OT, but later I talked to the other official whom I know about the game. He said, "I didn't question him, but said how they didn't like your 5 second count." His reply was, "ya, I had the first three seconds mentally, and only counted out the last two visually." After my blood pressure returned to normal, I said "please tell him why he cannot do that. Coaches will watch for the count in that situation and call a TO if they are getting close to 5."
I, as the varsity assistant, will tell our guards "no count, no count," and then "count started" when we are in that situation in a varsity game. They use me as a reference of if they need to start their dribble, pick it up, or pass the ball. So please, do not do part of a 5 count in your head at the end of a quarter especially!!! |
I agree.
The official that made that this call was wrong, for exactly the reason you stated: coaches watch for this visual count and help their team out with it. Just my 2 cents. |
Not a tough call, it's a bad call. The official was incorrect in not showing his count. The ball handler and coaches need the officials to have a visible count, so they know where they stand. Fortunately, you guys did win the game.
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Depending on an officials count is risky at best. officials are taught not to signal the number they are at, only that they are counting. In a close game the officials should have their hand moving during a 5 second count, but may count the first one before they move their hand, so you as a coach should be ready for that.
Many times the officials will be over 5 seconds when the call is made anyways. |
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If I am covering a play, and I miss a beat, then that player effectively gets a 6-count, rather than only a visible 4-count. It also tells me that I need to re-focus and pay more attention. That's exactly what happened to the T in the OP: he lost focus for at least three seconds. |
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When I first started officiating - an older official tried to teach me to do a 5 second count - out was 1, in was 2, out = 3, in = 4, out = 5, in = whistle. Only guy I ever saw do that and no - I never did.
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My closely guarded 5 sec mechanic actually is 4 arm swings on the premise that there are a lot of 1 sec CG instances, so that first sec is in my head and then I start the arm on 2.
For those that say they do an arm on the first second, don't you find your arms in motion a lot then? I originally tried it that way and had a senior partner tell me to stop it and just count 1 in my head and then signal. Before that, my arms were getting tired from constantly being in motion. |
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Or am I just getting too slow-reflexed in my old age? |
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Just my 2 cents. |
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