rookie ref makes the right call

[Mark Padgett]

This past Saturday morning, I worked three 6th grade boys local rec league games with a HS kid in his first year as an official. About 5 minutes into the game, he blew his whistle for a violation, then kind of froze for a second or two, then declared an inadvertent whistle and that it would be green ball OOB.

I went over to him to see what happened. He said a kid on green was laying on the floor, grabbed the ball and stood up so he blew his whistle for the travel. Then he realized that the player started a dribble while still on the floor and stood up while still dribbling and that's not a violation, so he had to change the call to an inadvertent whistle. I told him that was the right thing to do and he just smiled.

I've worked with experienced guys who've gotten this one wrong. This kid went on to call two more really good games with me. Maybe there's hope for this world after all.

BTW - I worked a total of 11 games in less than 48 hours this weekend including three HS boys rec and five "tournament" games. I'm glad my pharmacy is open late.