Odd scenario tonight.
 

Girl's MS game (that tells you a lot right there). Visitor's coach had been a little vocal all night but not enough to give her a T. Game goes into OT.

Home team scores with 2 seconds to go to go up by two. I am transitioning to Lead opposite table side. I glance at visitor's bench expecting a TO to be called. I can't hear her so I keep watching and she keeps looking towards the court gesturing with her hands as if she is telling her players where to go. Time runs out and then she says "why wouldn't you give me a TO?" I say "Coach you never requested a TO - you waved your arms around like you are telling your players to get down the court - you never gave me an indication that you wanted a TO" Then she said "You should have known I wanted a TO " I said "Coach, I am here to officiate basketball - not read minds. If you wanted a TO you have to request it with a mechanic I recognize - I don't understand waving arms around aimlessly".

I have her again in two weeks - will see if she learns the TO mechanic by then. :rolleyes:

The weirdest signal I've seen given by the coach was a full timeout signal. I'm used to the "T". I'm used to the 30 second timeout signal. But the full timeout I've only seen one coach use that (and that was of course in a middle school game). It took her waving a couple of times and screaming at the top of her lungs to finally get her timeout. At the end of the timeout, I gently remind the coach that the universally recognized signals are a "T" or 30 second.

Those two you mentioned and I've also commonly seen a clenched fist in the air too.

Clenched fist in the air? :confused: Like a personal foul signal?! Never seen a coach call for a timeout with that. The only other signal I've seen regularly is a simple point, but that's usually at some point when everyone knows the coach is calling for time.

The fist in the air for a timeout is common around here. Except that some coaches run a play that's (you guessed it) a fist in the air.

Yep and yes, the first time I saw it I thought the coach was hacked off about something, they yelled time at the same time. Must be a local thing. I did have a MS coach stand and give the double foul signal. I looked at him twice and he just smiled at me. I said, is that a time out request? He says well yeah! After the time out I told him I wasn't trying to be an arse, but his signal was for a double foul. I encouraged him to yell time and use the "T" symbol. He laughed and said oh. Since then he's started to officiate lower level games. Incidentally, was the old way of indicating a full time out the double foul signal? Last year I saw two older varsity reffs use this to indicate a full time out.

On the opposite side, I worked with a guy early in my career who told the captains (this was back when players had to request TOs) that the "T" sign was for a technical, and if they made it, he'd give it.

New for me too
 

Had the "fist time out" from a coach for the first time just last night. Took me a couple of times to realize exactly what he was doing.

I had a game last year where I was the new lead after a basket, oppisite the tabel. I saw the HC do a sideways "T" above his head. I blew the whistle, pointed to their bench, ran over ans asked what he wanted, 30 or full. It turns out it he was calling a play. I said sorry coach,and went on with POI.

I believe he was trying to form an "A" but one his fingers were not together one set came down to his palm.

".....which in your case would be particularly difficult". :p

I had a partner report a time-out to the table like that once.:eek: [Yes, that was my facial expression].

Back when I used to do volleyball, it would take me a few games to stop making a T to signal timeouts as that is (or at least was) the volleyball timeout signal.

WOW! :eek: I don't have the words to describe the stupidity in that.

My favorite is the play some coaches up here run. It 's called 5 out. So imagine them stading up yelling this real fast. Needless to say i granted a time out when there was no request. :D POI

I call in the southern US and during a middle school game the Home coach started yelling at "Tom," who never answered. During a break he asked why I wouldn't give him a "tom ayouuuut." Sheesh. I grew up here and couldn't understand him. Try explaining that one to an already irritated coach.

Or try explaining to a coach who quietly "confides" in you as you move up court that "Number 33 is bleeding" and you nod and just let play carry on ... until your partner whistles the play dead about 45 seconds later because someone is in fact bleeding.

Coach had been harping on me all the first half and I told him he needed to tone things down. And, alas, he did. Hoping to show him I was going to give his girls a good look because I thought he said No. 33 was "leaning" on his player in the lane, I had simply misheard his well-intended comment to me. Ugh. :o

My very 1st game, V coach asks for a TO, I whistle and signal "T", point to her bench, and before I have a chance to ask "30 or full", she asks loudly " What did I do?" I say "you wanted a TO!" thinking to myself-what a clueless coach....
Soon realized who the clueless one was......

But I bet you never made that mistake again ;)

LOL

We all have ones like that. When I played youth basketball, I thought for a year that my teammate's name was "J.I." Strange name, but I went with it. I didn't know until next year it was "J.R."

That's Maine for ya.

Anybody Remember 1968 ???
 

Inadvertent Whistle, then he want's time. Go figure.
 

8th grade boys rec. A lot of talent on these teams, probably could have spanked a few of the JV teams for the schools they are being tracked towards.

Anyway unless a coach is giving a common mechanic for a T/O such as the "T" or "30sec" signal, they usually have to verbally call several times before I grant them a timeout.

So crowded and loud Aux. Gym, Im transitioning to trail and coach is following me along sideline (within his litter box of course) and is yelling repeatedly what I hear as "Timeout Timeout timeout!" so I blow it and announce timeout for his team. He gets the most ridiculously confused look on his face and asks who called the T/O.

He then realizes the confusion was caused by him hollering at one of his players... named "TYRELL" But saying it 10-times-fast and loud sure sounds like T/O in a loud gym.

Coach, needing a word with Tyrell anyway, asks if he can go ahead and take that timeout. Hahaha! Sure thing coach.