Summer Ball

[Welpe]

Originally Posted by mbyron

If the evaluators can make it sound more complicated, then you're more likely to think that you need them.

Or pay that hefty camp fee.

[constable]

Summer ball is in full swing here. It is great for me to get some decent cardio in in some gyms that don't have air conditioning. I am working on judgment and having a patient whistle. I was at a camp a few weeks ago and a number of campers were lambasted for calling too many "And 1's". The evaluators point was " If the contact was THAT significant then they wouldn't have made the bucket". Obviously this isn't always true but I played it through in my head and I know I could have swallowed my whistle on a number of plays over the years. Getting a chance to officiate some university kids playing summer ball to keep in shape using a 2 man crew is interesting though.

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by constable

Summer ball is in full swing here. It is great for me to get some decent cardio in in some gyms that don't have air conditioning.

And I did two B15U games last night by myself......

Now, to go back to writing my assignor a note.......

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by grunewar

And I did two B15U games last night by myself......

Now, to go back to writing my assignor a note.......

Where was justacoach when you needed him?

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

Where was justacoach when you needed him?

or his boys!

Coach was probably at home taking a nap!

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

Where was justacoach when you needed him?

Hey BNR, guess who I worked with tonight?

Yep, the 4th best ref in his house!

Good fun!!

[Mark Padgett]

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.

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

he threw his open hand in the air and yelled "STOP".

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!

[DLH17]

Originally Posted by grunewar

And I did two B15U games last night by myself......

Now, to go back to writing my assignor a note.......

Quit whining. JRut could do 10 one man games consecutively w/o breaking a sweat. Of course, he'd just stand at half court.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by DLH17

JRut could do 10 one man games consecutively w/o breaking a sweat. Of course, he'd just stand at half court.

Maybe he could get one of those ladder things that volleyball officials use to work their games. Wait a minute. Did I say "work"? I should have said "officiate" their games.

[DLH17]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Maybe he could get one of those ladder things that volleyball officials use to work their games. Wait a minute. Did I say "work"? I should have said "officiate" their games.

One of the best ideas I've heard in a long long time.

[Back In The Saddle]

Summer is a great time to try out stuff you wouldn't normally do. Try a different approach to handling an irritating coach. Talk to players more. Try working wider or closer in at L. Try moving more or less at T. Try being bigger or smaller. Try to appear more deliberate or relaxed. Try out that super cool quadruple tweet thing you heard somebody use. Let 'em play more or tighten up more, and see what happens. Find a kid who lacks confidence and try using your demeanor and a little humor to give him/her a boost. Work on your partnering skills and focus on making a weaker partner better. Talk to a parent or two between games and ask them about their kid. Try working without a lanyard.

The idea is to stretch yourself in new ways and directions. If you make mistakes while doing it, it's only summer ball and nobody is going to care that much. If you don't make mistakes, you're not trying hard enough.

All this assumes, of course, that you are already capable of calling a decent game and don't really have to focus all your energy on reporting mechanics or calling travels.

Just my $0.02

[GoodwillRef]

Originally Posted by constable

Summer ball is in full swing here. It is great for me to get some decent cardio in in some gyms that don't have air conditioning. I am working on judgment and having a patient whistle. I was at a camp a few weeks ago and a number of campers were lambasted for calling too many "And 1's". The evaluators point was " If the contact was THAT significant then they wouldn't have made the bucket". Obviously this isn't always true but I played it through in my head and I know I could have swallowed my whistle on a number of plays over the years. Getting a chance to officiate some university kids playing summer ball to keep in shape using a 2 man crew is interesting though.

The one huge drawback for most summer leagues is working 2 person. We try to work 3 person as much as possible.