Player pukes on court

[Mark Padgett]

Got a call from one of the HS kids I trained over the past few years. He had a sixth grade boys game this morning and he wanted to know if he handled something correctly. During play, there was a deflected pass and the ball hit a kid really hard right in the gut. The kid immediately threw up on the court. Fortunately, there was a custodian in the building and they got him to mop it up quickly. As soon as the kid puked, the official blew his whistle to stop play and called the coach out on to the court while indicating an official's timeout. After the mess was cleaned up, the player wanted to continue. The official explained to the coach that because he was beckoned, the player had to leave the game for a sub. He also explained when the kid could return and mentioned the kid could stay in if the team took a timeout. I told him he handled it correctly.

I then asked him if he made the correct call when this happened. He asked me what I meant. I told him that a player puking was an illegal dribble. There was a long pause on the phone. I then said that if he did it twice, it would be a double dribble. Another pause. Then he said he really had to go and he hung up.

Gee, some guys have no sense of humor.

[grunewar]

Gee, someone who refs with you and doesn't have a sense of humor? Shocking, I tell ya. Just shocking!