evaluation

[mbyron]

Strictly speaking, my seat is not in the peanut gallery, since I'm a fellow official. But I'll hazard a response, seemingly unbidden.

Letting the game come to you refers to an approach to officiating that is more relaxed and patient. Rather than the official ferociously focusing on the ball handler and attacking every touch foul, the evaluator is recommending relaxing, widening your field of vision, and waiting to whistle contact.

This approach gives your brain some processing time, which is crucial for judgments of advantage/disadvantage. In real time it's only a fraction of a second, but the game improves dramatically when all and only disadvantageous contact gets whistled.

[DonInKansas]

Originally Posted by mbyron

Letting the game come to you refers to an approach to officiating that is more relaxed and patient. Rather than the official ferociously focusing on the ball handler and attacking every touch foul, the evaluator is recommending relaxing, widening your field of vision, and waiting to whistle contact.

This approach gives your brain some processing time, which is crucial for judgments of advantage/disadvantage. In real time it's only a fraction of a second, but the game improves dramatically when all and only disadvantageous contact gets whistled.

This relates to something I was told at a camp before the season started. One of the teachers told me to really pay attention to my posture. He found that I was bent over slightly at the waist, almost as if I was "looking for a foul." It wasn't something I realized I was doing until it was pointed out. Relaxing and "hanging back," which was merely standing up straight to be honest, gave me a much better field of view and made the game easier to officiate.

It's amazing how much the little stuff matters.