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.

+1 That's the protocol around here as well.

That said, when I was in Des Moines, we wouldn't know who our partner was (for subvarsity games) until we showed up at the game site.

Yikes! Those crazy Iowans....

Yep, but then again, that's back when schedules were done by telephones and paper calendars.

Exactly. It's officials taking care of officials. When the schools do the assigning, I think they have to be nudged to do the right thing, sometimes.

Just curious
 

What is your rotation or court coverage gonna be in one-man? I'll bet somewhere in everyones' past we've had to do it. I remember working foul line extended to opposite fl extended (opposite table) such as a C. I even asked table personnel to help me out by calling oob on that sideline with a hand gesture. Anybody got any pointers here?

I've done it for little kids recently, and I generally work C to C; occasionally dropping down into L, and occasionally working the middle of the court.

I've done it in the past, although not in the past 15-20 years (that I can remember). I always worked opposite the table, mainly FT line to FT line, although I went where I felt I needed to go.

I didn't require a touch of the ball on endline throw-ins, but I wouldn't allow the throw-in until I told them to go (this was in the days before we bounced).

I took no crap from the benches (and rarely got any). They knew I was doing the best I can.

Some schools in our area are far enough apart that the game would be over by the time you drove from one to the other....even if they figure out their mistake right away.

Also possible here. Most schools, if I show early enough to the wrong school and learn it soon enough, I could make it by game time; but there are a couple of exceptions. Particularly if one of the schools is up in the mountains.

+ 1 and as far as I'm concerned, if this is the worst thing that happened while you were working a HS game solo, you deserve more varsity games!!

You are too kind. The game pretty much called itself. The freshman game afterwards would've probably hit the toilet if I had called that one solo.

Admittedly, I did not communicate with my partner before the games so I certainly share some of the burden. I chalk that one up to being lazy since that is not really the standard practice around here.

The other school was a pretty good distance away so I'm actually surprised he made it to the second game before half-time.

Not sure how everyone else gets their assignments but ours are made using Arbiter. You get an email informing you that you have a new game (or games), you log into Arbiter and accept or reject. If you accept, all the information about the game is there to include which position you are (R, U1 or U2), who your partners are (with all their contact info), where the game will be played (with address & phone number), who the game adminstrator is as well as who the billing official is. If a supervisor will be observing, you know who that will be as well. I love this system. It also sends you an email reminder 3-4 days prior to game day with the information in it as well.

In other words, there is no excuse for showing up at the wrong location.

Part of the problem is you also get the visiting team information. I'm not saying it's excusable, but in the middle of a busy season it's definitely possible to get your wires crossed and mess this up. That's why it's standard protocol here for the R to call the rest of the crew two days ahead of time. If I'm the/a U and haven't heard from the R, I'll initiate the calls.

Sure there is. I've had the game location in Arbiter be wrong. All the officials showed up on time at an empty soccer field.

I agree this doesn't take the place of making the phone - definitely needs to be done as well.

I was speaking of when one of the officials shows up in the wrong location Granted if the info is wrong in Arbiter, everyone will show up at the wrong location but when everyone shows up at the right location except one official, that official has no excuse IMHO.

As Smitty noted in his area, the whole crew would be held responsible to a certain degree if the phone calls weren't made.

We use Arbiter. Last night I get to my game site an hour before game time. I have the girl's JV/V. There's a guy already there starting to dress and I know both my partners are female. He claims to have the boy's JV/V at the same gym. He has no smartphone, so he asks me to log into Arbiter for him on mine. Turns out his games are this Friday, not Tuesday. He didn't appear to be a moron - people just make mistakes sometimes. On his way out, he said "no wonder none of my partners responded to my emails today". Phone calls are really the best way to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Another example. Last Saturday I had a couple games from another chapter who uses a different assigning software than Arbiter - some home-grown thing. My crew all got an automated email on Thursday stating the time had changed for our Saturday games. No problem. On Friday I get a call from my 'R' asking me if I noticed that the site had changed as well. I say no - thank goodness she called me because I would have gone to the original site. Sure enough, at the bottom of the email there was a note saying the site changed as well. I was so thankful she called.

Smitty, is the other assigning software Zebra-Ware?

Yep. I like Arbiter a lot better. And Camron's software (Reftown) is better than Zebra-Ware as well. But ya gotta use what they use.

We use Zebra Ware here for football. It's OK, but a little dated. I like the points and game fee tracking tool they have built into it.

For basketball it is either Ref Town or Arbiter. I like Ref Town the best.

One View Of One Man Machanics ...
 

Our Connecticut state board came up with these guidelines. This is the initial draft from back in 2008. I'm sure that there have been updates, but I don't have access to them. Much credit should be given to the sources listed at the end. Also note that, by state contract, we get 150% of a game fee for working alone.

ONE-PERSON OFFICIATING GUIDELINES
INTERIM DRAFT – OCTOBER 2008

It is quite possible that you will eventually officiate a game by yourself. This document offers officiating guidelines and one-person officiating mechanics you should follow.

Assignment Commissioner
- Contact the Commissioner either before or after the game.
- If you are assigned a game by the Assignment Commissioner, DO NOT accept an offer from a parent, coach, or a non-IAABO certified official. Work alone. Liability issues arise if you work with anyone other than a certified IAABO official.

Coaches and Administrators Conference
- Conduct a pre-game meeting with both coaches and the game administrator.
- Confirm that everyone is in agreement.
- Request coaches cooperation and express advance appreciation for them assisting you in keeping themselves and their teams under control.
- Stress and remind them of the importance of good sportsmanship and the example that they can and should set for their players.

Pregame Captains-Coaches Meeting
- Conduct at 2-minute mark
- Explain that you will appreciate and expect the cooperation from both teams.
- Explain that you expect the players to retrieve all loose balls once the whistle is sounded.

Floor Coverage
- Work the sideline, (choose either nearest or opposite) from the scorer’s table, moving from free throw line extended to free throw line extended. This will give you the same angle as both coaches to help reduce any disagreements, since you will be on the same side of the court as the coaches.
- As the ball goes toward the opposite sideline, you will have to move off the sideline toward the center of the floor.
- Avoid getting caught on the end line.
- You must work hard at getting open looks and move to obtain proper angles in order to be in the most advantageous position to referee all players. Have a high level of awareness on plays to the basket and shooters.

Start/Stop Clock
- You must stop/start clock at all opportunities using the proper mechanic. For example, after a missed free throw that will remain live, you must start the clock.

Out of Bounds
- Request players and coaches to assist you on out of bounds violations if necessary.
- If disagreement results, use the alternating possession arrow to make decision.
- After designating the throw-in spot, move to your position (see Floor Coverage) and either bounce or toss the ball to the player for the throw-in.

Time Outs
- Stand at the division line, ¾ away from the scorer’s table with ball on hip toward the teams’ basket which will have control of the ball. After 1st horn, move to area on the playing court where play will resume.

Three Point Shots
- Do not guess. Move to improve your angle, if you don’t know, it counts as 2-points the same as if there were two officials working the game.

Reporting Fouls
- Move towards an area visible to the scorers and keeping as many players within your field of vision.

Free Throw Coverage
- Assemble the players and administer every free throw from the Trail position.
- Ensure proper alignment of players on free throw lane lines, leaving the first spaces between the end line and neutral blocks vacant.
- Closely monitor disconcertion.

Presses
- Remain at the free throw line extended in the backcourt, (nearest or opposite) the scorer/timer table and move up the court with the players.

Maintain Control
- Maintain your composure.
- You may need to blow your whistle more so players do not take advantage of the situation.
- Take charge early to help keep the crazy stuff in check.
- Do not argue with the coaches. Keep your cool and remind them that you are working hard for them.
- Do the best you can. It is not your fault that this situation occurred.
- Remember that, if approached properly, people will almost always be willing to assist.
- Remember that you are the best official on the floor, albeit the only one.

Sources: Greater Sudbury Board of Basketball Officials (IAABO Board 106) and
Topeka Officials Association (Kansas State High School Activities Association)

My problem with the state coming out with guidelines, is they have, in essence, condoned 1 person games.

It's sort of a catch 22, though.

One Person Games ???
 

Sorry if I didn't make myself clear. Our state interscholastic sports governing body (CIAC) didn't come out with these guidelines, rather, our state IAABO board, did. The CIAC did contract with officials to pay 150% of a game fee for a one person game.

99% of one person games, here in my little corner of the Constitution State, are 3:30 p.m. middle school games, or 4:00 p.m. high school freshman games. We simply don't have enough officials available for these afternoon starting times to cover the forty-five towns, many with multiple schools, in our geographic area. We have about 300 officials on our local board, but almost all of us have day jobs.

Need not be a catch 22, if 1-person games are sanctioned only at certain levels (sub-MS, rec ball, etc.). That gets the info out with the message that HS games need 2 officials.

Or you could require explicitly 2 to start a HS game, as WI does. Good policy, IMO.