I agree I am not experimenting with much of anything unless it is something that I have been told I should add and I see the value in it. But I want the summer to be as normal as possible considering that there are almost never going to be all the same mechanics when it comes to switching or foul reporting.

Peace

Walk And Chew Gum ???
 

Tried it once, and only once. Kept on spitting it out. I got tired of picking the whistle off the floor, so I went back to my lanyard in the second half. We have a few "old timers" that don't use a lanyard. I guess that it takes talent, coordination, and a lot of practice.

I know one guy who does it, and he's not an old timer.

He looks silly sticking the thing in his belt to report fouls, IMO.

Hey BNR, guess who I worked with tonight?

Yep, the 4th best ref in his house! :p

Good fun!!

Speaking of not having a whistle around your neck...
 

I was told this story when I joined the board of our local kids rec league 18 years ago. It seems that about two years before that, we had a 3rd grade boys game which started on a Saturday morning at 8:15 and the two scheduled refs didn't show. This was before everyone had cell phones and they didn't have access at the school to the area where there was a pay phone, so they couldn't call the ref scheduler before the game started. As per league policy, there was a board member at the game. He decided to referee, even though he'd never done it before. He didn't have a whistle, so when he wanted to stop play, he threw his open hand in the air and yelled "STOP". It worked OK, especially since games at that level were (and still are) running clock.

The game was over at about 9:00 and he had someone drive over to a nearby drug store which opened then (this was before we had any 24/7 Walgreen's in this area) and buy a cheap whistle (no lanyard available). The same guy used a pay phone (remember those?) at the store to try to call the ref scheduler, but he was working a game at a gym. The board member used the whistle for another game, and refs finally showed up to work game three. They had no idea what happened to the guys who were supposed to work the first two games.

The board member who worked those games talked about it for years as an example of how you can improvise when necessary.

Even though it was "just" a 3rd grade game, I'd hate to try to work it without a whistle.

Hmmmm.......
 

I know you're on the west coast and I'm on the east coast, but I wonder if this technique will work when I start to read some of your "bizarro basketball experience" stories?

bwahahaha! :D

Why don't you put a lanyard around your neck and pull it really, really tight! ;)

We already have at least one apparently person here whose brain is apparetnly deprived of oxygen.

Two thoughts:

1. If an official still needs work on the basic skills, then my suggestion isn't for him. My suggestion is aimed at the "I've got the basics, now what?" crowd. Also I try not to set aside my core skills when I work summer ball. What I'm doing is in addition to my normal game, and summer is rife with opportunities because honestly most summer games don't challenge us the way regular season games do.

2. I threw out several examples, mostly to illustrate the idea. I wouldn't try all of those at the same time. Much of my experimenting has been more opportunistic. Have an early Saturday morning game and everybody's half asleep, that's a perfect time to work on projecting a little energy and talking to players. You've got an irritating coach and your usual tools aren't helping much, maybe you hold off with the warning and/or T and try something different. There have been an absolute ton of thoughts on how to handle coaches presented here over the years, and I'll bet there are some you've filed away under "I should try that some day". Summer ball is "some day".

As for sticking to things you'll actually use during the regular season, I have incorporated several of my successful "experiments" into my regular season game. They're not core skill stuff, but some are useful tools to have in my box for specific situations. But I am not suggesting that anybody experiment with weirdo stuff that he would never use in a "real" game. Unless you're really bored and just having a little fun ;)

That must be what's causing your poor spelling and grammar. :D

Nobody's said it yet, but I would think working without a lanyard would make it easy to violate the First Rule of Officiating.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie ...
 

There was a very good reason why nobody "said it yet".

But it is completely in keeping with the spirit of that rule. ;)