Big Screw Up
 

Alternatively titled: How to ensure you do not get varsity games.

I had a rather big screw up yesterday that was so painfully stupid I just feel compelled to share.

Working a JV Girls game by myself (my partner went to the visiting team's school instead) with a Frosh game to follow afterwards. We are a few minutes into the third quarter when the visiting team makes a basket. The home team calls for a full timeout before the throw in.

As we're coming out of the timeout, I get the teams lined up for the throw in...on the end line underneath the home team's basket. Not wasting the gift, the home team executes a quick throw in and attempts a shot, which is missed.

Admist the mass confusion, the ball ricochets off of some players and the visitors are the last to touch before it goes out of bounds. Just as I blow my whistle, I hear the visiting coach screaming at the top of her lungs and is a few feet on the court.

It hits me like a ton of bricks as I feel the color drain from my face. I gave the home team the ball on the wrong end of the court. :eek:


I walk over to the visiting coach and tell her: "Coach I screwed this one up, I realize I gave it to them on the wrong end line...but it is too late to fix it now."

All she can muster at this point is "Well...fine then."

Fortunately they were up by 15 at the time with no sign of losing the lead and the home team did not end up getting any points out of this.

Let this be a warning to all of you...keep your heads in the game. I've learned my lesson. The next time I work by myself, leave the ball at the throw in spot during a time out.

No excuses if you had a partner, Welpe, but these things are more frequent when flying solo.

I wouldn't kick yourself too hard for this. And frankly, if the coach hadn't dropped it at that point, I wouldn't have given her much more rope in a solo game.

I did that once when I was a rookie. Yea it bothered me but I realized that it was mistake I couldn't correct BUT it was one I could learn from. It caused me to be very sure of which team had possession on a TO and I never made the mistake again. I have, OTOH, had to correct my partner a time or two in a game.

He gave it to the right team, he only messed up on the throw-in spot.

Whoops - missed that the first time.

I could see this happening while working a freshman game solo.

Fortunately she did drop it...both were pretty well behaved most of the game.

I lied: There are two positives about WI. You cannot start any game under the WIAA umbrella with fewer than 2 officials. This game wouldn't have started here until a second official arrived or was found.

I can only dream, Rich.

I am really starting to loathe working solo...especially since it seems to be rather common for sub-varsity ball here. I'd rather work a football game with two officials I think. We don't even get paid extra.

I think that's why the rule is in place -- schools would start thinking about saving $40 here and there and get much more lax in their assigning practices. Schools assign all subvarsity games here, so the rule forces them to hire 2 officials for every FR, SO, JV, etc. game.

That makes perfect sense. We just have a lot of flakes for partners here. :rolleyes:

All of our games are assigned by the association assigner, and I have yet to work a hs game solo.

Just wondering....
 

I get that your partner went to the wrong school. But after he figured out that he was at the wrong school, why did he decide not to go to the right school? Never having gone to the wrong school(yet), if I did, I would hurry as fast as possible to get to the right school. What was his reason for not showing up at all?

Doesn't seem like that big of a screw-up since you were working solo. Did you and your partner communicate prior to the game? If my partner went to the wrong school, the first thing I would be asked by my assigner would be if I had talked to them prior to the game and made sure we were on the same page with the game time and site. If I said no, I'd be as responsible as him for working solo.

This one does not rank too highly IMO, and if I were an assignor I would not be scratching you from the varsity list for this booboo.