Some weird situations and a general Q about training

[dfscott]

During our recent rec league basketball finals, we had 3 crazy situations, all within the last 2 minutes of the game. I dug around on the internet looking for answers to these, but I couldn't find anything definitive (only armchair referee opinions). You guys were able to help me last time, so I'm hoping you can bail me out again!

These are 4th-6th graders, but the rules are loosely based on NCAA rules (our head official knows those rules but isn't as familiar with NFHS rules). One key difference is that we do not allow backcourt defense until there are 2 minutes left in the game. I want to get some opinions on these calls (not to protest, just to learn for next year - my wife is the league director).

1) With 1:50 left, A1 has inbounded the ball to A2 after B's score. B1 attempts to steal the ball from A2 as soon as it is inbounded, and the official blows the whistle just as B1 gains possession and signals illegal backcourt defense. The official then realizes the clock had ticked below 2 minutes so the backcourt defense is legal. She reverses her call, but gives the ball back to A to inbound, while the B coach argues that B should retain possession.

2) With ~30 seconds left, A1 is dribbling from center court towards the corner with B1 agressively defending. A1 swings wide and the official on that side can't get out of the way quickly enough. A1 runs into the referee, falls, and loses the ball out of bounds. Referee rules that since it was his fault, A get the ball out of bounds. B argues that the player lost the ball out of bounds and it's the player's job to avoid the referees.

3) A1 passes to A2 just inside the frontcourt with about 4 seconds left in the game. A2 then drops to the floor face down in the fetal position, covering the ball, letting the clock run out. Coach B argues that falling to the floor with possession should be an automatic travel. Coach A claims that even though A3's knees and arms were on the ground, his toes were still contacting the ground so he didn't move his pivot foot, thus no travel.

And it's not really a rules question, but I'll ask here anyway: what's the best way to get your refs trained? Sitting down and reading the rule book doesn't really prepare you for real game situations (not to mention, I could never get them to do it). I'm sure there are videos but I don't know which ones are good. Plus this is a church rec league, so I can't spend much money. However, I really think we need a bit more instruction than "put this striped shirt on and blow this whistle when you see something bad." It really helps to combat the boo-birds when your officials act like that know what they're doing.