New Ref has a question
 

hi all, just found/joined the forum yesterday...relatively new ref. 3rd year...i try to do as many games as possible...will take anything, anytime. did my first varsity last friday night, it went well. however, i have a question which i am afraid to ask anybody in my pool, for fear of sounding stupid.

say a team is white, b team is blue...white has ball...shoots...if the rebound is contested, and the ball batted around a couple of times, i will not always remember immediately who was on offense. i get so into the game that i sometimes have to think to myself, "okay, white is at this end this half..."

is this normal? did any of you longtime veterans experience this? i work hard, try to do well, and have gotten positive feeback from my pool. but, well into my third year i feel that i should have a better handle on this.

thanks!!!

Haha...this isn't the first time this has been asked. It happens to the best of us. Like you said, sometimes you get so into the game, you forget which direction teams are going. The more games I did, the less trouble I had with this.

Normal nervousness. Often at the beginning of games I forget which way I'm supposed to point on OOB calls and will instead just yell out the color.

Just look at the bench closest to you and that will tell which way you should be going.

A quick glance at the bench should solve this issue until you get some experience. Teams should go to the basket opposite there bench in the first half, and with their bench in the 2nd half. Understand, this advice will only work if you can remember in which half you are, which is nbot so simple if it is your 3rd or 4th youth game of the day.

Also slow down. BTW - What level are you officiating.

The best advice is slow down. It works for a lot of things.

many thanks to you all for answering...i do the lower levels, jv/jr. high...i try to do a ton of junior high and heisey/cyo stuff, just for the experience and because it's so fulfilling. it has gotten better, but i just think i should be farther along by now.

again, many thanks.

+1

Just keep working hard and you'll be alright.

Upside Down, Inside Out, Round And Round ...
 

This happens to many of us. Yes, we are supposed to state the color, and point the direction, but sometimes we can get "turned around" and only know one for sure. You don't want to be doing this several times a game, but every once in a while it's alright to just state the color. Or, again, every once in a while, it's alright to just point the direction.

Also, and this is definitely not proper by the mechanics manual, and I'm sure that I will get many Forum members critiquing me; when you really get "turned around" but know for sure that it's off the offense, you can, only according the the BillyMac Mechanics Manual, state, "Going down", and point upcourt. Or, again, this is only according to the BillyMac Mechanics Manual, if you know for sure that it's off the defense, state, "Stay here", and point behind you.

Pretty much every time down the court as lead I tell myself which color is offense. That usually keeps things straight for me.

For those of you who don't know what "heisey stuff" is:

The Heisey Youth Center

Hey - I get so into the game sometimes that moons ago, when a dribbler stepped out of bounds, I marked forward progress and stopped the clock.

You're doing fine, I'm sure.

lol! :d

I do this too.

If you must use this technique, I would strongly recommend that you say something like "That way" as opposed to "going down."

I actually do just the opposite. Since we're told to referee the defense, I always tell myself which team is defending at the time. Especially when I am becoming the new lead. I say something like this in my head, "White's on defense. Where's my post players?" That gets me ready for the play almost every trip down the court.

Offense
 

I keep telling myself which is on offense. That way I'm prepared for that all-important 3 second call. I may miss the charges, blocks, double fouls, and illegal screens, but the fans will be happy I don't miss the 3 second calls.:D