Halftime
 

We all do a pre-game conference. Now how about half-time? Not a lot of time during a high school game only 10 minutes....what do you talk about? (Are we calling the fouls equally on both ends-- block/charge, block shots? Are we getting all the travels?, Environment of the game. Is it close/blowout, Coaches?)

I'm sure someone out there has something typed up that they use at halftime. I talked to a college official who has a list of things they go over at half-time.

I would like to make a similar list... What do you talk about with your partners at halftime?

I don't have a list. At half we usually review what we saw, liked, disliked, POEs, etc.

Me - I do a self analysis first. That double whistle was my fault - as L I shouldn't have been looking there - I'll work on that, I didn't like that foul I called on B24, or, I missed the travel on B13, or W24 has his hands on the offensive player and we need to watch that more, or we missed an illegal screen foul on B32 and need to watch that inbound play, or B coach is chirping but he's been ok so far, etc.

Obviously, I'll also ask my partner(s) their thoughts too. What did you think about that back court call I made? What did you see on the inbounds play?

If my partner made a great call or I saw something, we'll talk about that too - great call on that team control foul on W22, thanks for bailing me out on the out of bounds call as I didn't see it clearly, great hustle and position on that charge on B11, etc.

Basically an honest assessment of what has happened - good, bad, or indiffernet, what you want to continue and what you want to tighten up on and fix.

At first, I was astounded by what V refs remembered about the first half during their reviews - like every play! But, as you do more games, there is more to talk about - and I like partners who take it seriously and do pre/ mid, and/ post game conferences and reviews. JMO

mattk,
I think that your question is a good one. The answer, however, is going to vary based on a number of variables. First of all, how familiar are you with your partner(s).

If we are very familiar with each other, we will likely be doing a quick review of the first half (fouls called, fouls missed/passed on, violations called, potential violations missed/passed on, review of coaches' mindset, etc.). Based on what we saw in the first half, we will then talk about what we are likely to see in the second half. Typically, the second half is more intense than the first half. We discuss whether we have to tighten things up early in the second half or if we are doing a good job of maintaining control. We discuss who we have "talked to" during the first half. Warnings about contact in the post or out top, etc. We prepare for what we are likely to see in the second half -- more trapping, more pressing, pushing the ball more, etc. We also discuss any situations that the teams either created in the first half or we have seen them create in the past that might cause us to modify how/when we rotate (for example, if a team is frequently throwing multiple skip passes vs. a zone, we may rotate either more frequently when the skip pass is made to a particular post player's side, etc.).

If I am working with a new partner or new partners, we will discuss the above, but we will focus a bit more on how our crew is performing. Are we calling a consistent game? Are we seeing each other's rotations? Are we "square" on our primaries (some crews have some minor modifications from standard mechanics, I like to make sure that we are on the same page -- a review of the pre-game to see if any adjustments need to be made)? Are we doing a good job of communicating with our partner(s) in terms of shooting fouls vs. spot locations, etc.? Are we in unison when switching/not switching after fouls (in some lower level games, some partners don't want to switch except on shooting fouls, for example)?

These items are not written down, but they become somewhat second nature. Bottom line is that just like each of the two coaching staffs and teams are making adjustments at halftime to put themselves in a better position to win/compete in the game, the officiating crew must make adjustments to call a strong second half.

Me - I do a self analysis first. That double whistle was my fault

Why are double whistles bad?

They're not bad as such, they're just risky. Classic risk is that of calling a blarge.

Sometimes they're good as an indication that 2 officials saw the same thing.

Double Whistles
 

In that case you have something you need to be talking about at Half time :rolleyes:

Double whistles in the right places, on the right plays are not a bad thing!
There is no need to be afraid of them, entry pass into the lane, on a drive down the center of the lane, rebounding in the lane, these and others would not be a bad thing, now how you handle them could be a bad thing.

double whistle on a dribbler standing at mid court with one defender guarding him - that would be a bad thing.

They aren't necessarily bad, but I'd say their red flags that should each be evaluated.

The problem: It means you had two sets of eyes on two players and one (at best) on the other eight.

That said: Sometimes they happen legitimately in dual coverage areas. Also, it's not bad to have a DW on a train wreck. Non primary official waits a second, then, as he blows his whistle the primary official makes the call after seeing the whole play.

They aren't necessarily bad, but they should be talked about.

"That was a good spot for a DW."

I usually spend halftime making fun of the player with the worst haircut.