Double Foul?

[Troward]

High School JV game last night where A1 got locked up with B1 displacing him durring rebounding action in a rough manner. I whistled this and my fist went up, simultaneous with the whistle B1 pushed A1 to get loose of the tangle up. In my mind the push by B1 was an unnesecary retaliation AFTER the first foul had been whistled, so I am thinking about the second push as a dead ball technical foul. However I had not given any mechanic for what the foul was to be yet and on the fly I'm thinking what is the best way to get this game under control? So I rationalized that A1 was the rougher player who initiated this scenario and thus B1 did not deserve a harsher penalty (tech) and I signaled double foul, reported this, and went to AP.

At what exact point is ball dead and the second foul a Tech? at the whistle/fist or at the mechanic of the actual call?
Is it appropriate to consider the game circumstances for calls like this or is it not within my authority to rationalize this call into a double foul?

thanks for your opinions,
GTW

[Nevadaref]

The ball is dead when the foul occurs.
That being said, I would have to be there and see the play to give my opinion on your judgment between foul and tech or double foul.
Consider how blatant was the push, how hard, how long after the first foul, etc.
All in all I'd say you made a good choice.

[rainmaker]

I think you did well. At least several seconds are needed by most players to realize that the ball is dead and no more "hustle" is needed. Kids get so wrapped up in the play that they sort of lose track of whatever else is going on around them. They've had just enough practices, or rec games, where there is another game on another floor, that they have developed the habit of not stopping their play the instant they hear a whistle somewhere. It seems reasonable to give them a few seconds reaction time.

[Hawks Coach]

Others may choose option 3, pass on the foul on B and have a word with him, depending on how hard the push was. You have a clear foul and two players tangled after the foul initially occurred. You do not necessarily have to call anything, but I didn't see it, so I can't say.

[devdog69]

Troward, I got myself in a little trouble last night doing the same thing you did, i.e., coming up with what to call after the whistle. I had some extracurricular activity going on, inconspicuous bumping and jawing in a boys high school game, fourth quarter 2 to play, probably a five point game. I was waiting on A to come get the ball and was starting to address it when all of a sudden A1 says something to the other kid that I felt was a T. So I blow the whistle, give the T signal and decide on my way to the table that I should give them both one, A had the arrow and therefore the penalty would be minimal as opposed to just giving them one. It seemed like a great idea at the time...Well it was B2's fifth personal foul and he was gone, both coaches weren't happy about it, but we got through it and I don't believe it affected the outcome in any way. In retrospect, I think I overreacted and should have made a better attempt to take care of it internally, it has been bothering me today.

[Nevadaref]

Originally posted by devdog69
it has been bothering me today.

It bothers you because you are a quality official and care about doing a good job. I'm sure your work is appreciated by the coaches, players, and your peers in your area.