|
Tue Dec 17, 2002, 09:53pm
|
|||
|
|||
|
Looking for some advice here from the "veterans"...
I was contracted to do back to back games tonight(5th & 6th graders). Unfortunatly, my partner became ill shortly before the games and they could not find a replacement. I then step onto the court (I'm a 1st year official and this was my 2nd game of the season outside of Rec leagues) and I begin to have many things go through my mind. TRIAL BY FIRE!! Actually it didn't go too bad. I had an instance where I could not determine an out of bounds play and I went to the arrow but other than that nothing major went wrong. Has this happened to anyone else before? It may be something that never happens again to me but I'm looking for advice regarding floor position. I mainly stayed between the foul lines but I had a hard time with watching play underneath. Any help would be appreciated??? RR 
|
|
Tue Dec 17, 2002, 10:46pm
|
|||
|
|||
|
I think that you will find as many different approaches to this situation as there are members of this forum. They are also all correct because there is no perfect solution to the problem of working solo. My policy (and this has only happened to me once or twice) is to try to work from foul line to foul line and, when possible, opposite the table. By being opposite I am away from the coaches and get a different view of things. Also when putting the ball inbounds from a line, I use a bounce pass from a distance most of the time to allow me to get into some position for the play that I expect will develop. I agree that the hardest thing is to call OOB on the lines away from you and you may have to go to the arrow. Try not to rely on helpful coaches or table personnel - that may just get you into trouble near the end of the game, especially if it is a close contest. If you listened to the opinions of the table/coaches early in the game, you will be forced to listen to them at the end. Don't set that precedent.
In short, hustle as much as possible, and try to enjoy the game even though you are in a difficult position.
|
|
Wed Dec 18, 2002, 12:01am
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
__________________
~Hodges My two sense! 
|
|
Wed Dec 18, 2002, 02:09pm
|
|||
|
|||
|
I had about 3 years expeirence when I was told that I would be the only official at a H.S. boys Freshman game. The AD watched the game and told me afterward that "that game was officiated better than most of our games with two officials."
I felt good about that...and was rewarded by making the Varsity list the next year at that school. My point is, take advantage of these unique situations and make the best of them! I have found that in the few games I have done by myself that the Coaches can be more tolerant and may understand that you have increased responsabilities. Also, if I was to do a Middle School game nowdays by myself...I would simply tell the players I may ask for help on an OOB play...If "we" can't decide who hit it out, then "we" go to the arrow. NOTE: Check out a pick-up game sometime...you won't see as many arguments over calls when there are no officials as you do when there are 2 or 3 officials!! Funny, isn't it? Dude [Edited by RookieDude on Dec 18th, 2002 at 01:12 PM]
|
|
Wed Dec 18, 2002, 02:41pm
|
|||
|
|||
|
Working Solo
Working table side is the lesser of 2 evils because you will get less carping from the coaches. We have all had to do it from time to time. You may have to ocassionally go baseline for certain plays but try to avoid it as your endurance will be toast by the end of the game when you may need it most. Just keep calling those fouls i.e. resist the urge to let certain contact pass because you want to get to the end quicker. If you let the contact get out of hand you'll have a bigger headache than just working alone. The participants and administators have always appreciated the effort and hustle of a ref that has to work a game alone!
|
|
Wed Dec 18, 2002, 02:49pm
|
|||
|
|||
|
With players as young as 5th and 6th grade, you may find that stepping down to the baseline is worth the extra physical exertion. They really clump up under the basket and it can be very difficult to keep control if you're above the basket.
With older kids, there won't be as much bunching up and it's easier to get an angle in between the bodies. And they break faster! So you can stay out around the three point line. Similar to RookieDude, I did two JV boys games in a row one evening in June. The compliments that were given to my assignor were one factor in moving me up. I warned the players ahead of time, "I'm calling anything that even smells like a foul" and then I did. They were great games, and I pulled them off. I then went home and soaked in a hot tub -- I was tired!!
|
|
Wed Dec 18, 2002, 02:53pm
|
|||
|
|||
|
I agree with your comment Rookie Dude about the OOB play. Key word "if we decide" if not we go to the arrow. If there was any hesitation we would go to the arrow. As far as working foul line to foul line or table side or opposite. I mix it up.... That way the players are not sure where I am going to be.
AK ref SE
|
|
Wed Dec 18, 2002, 03:45pm
|
|||
|
|||
|
In my area, only one official is assigned to jr. high games. An old coach of mine (who was also an official) was blackballed from the association for suggesting that two officials be assigned to those games. The reasons for it are purely economic. The schools don't want to pay an extra $20CDN a game to have two refs and the officials association is unwilling to reduce the rates for these games. I can't really blame the schools, this is in Ontario and our current provincial government has decimated educational funding. I think it's pretty selfish of the association because it means that these players are getting generally terrible calls because there is only one, inexperienced ref per game.
Yesterday I did two Junior High girls games on my own. The first game was a blowout and finished pretty quickly. The second game was ridiculous. The home team was in double bonus with about 2 minutes left in the first quarter. (6 minute quarters) One player on the visiting team picked up 4 fouls in the first 2 minutes. These weren't ticky-tack fouls either. The girl with four fouls kept leaping into the path of the dribbler and sticking her hip into the dribblers path. Both girls would go down hard and I'd have to blow the whistle. The home team picked up about six calls for holding because when they'd fight for a loose ball with one hand on the ball and the other grasping their opponents wrist. It would have been so much easier if I'd had a partner. Easily worth $4 or $5 a game.
|
|
Wed Dec 18, 2002, 03:57pm
|
|||
|
|||
|
The rare times that I've ever gone solo, I've made it a point to include the following in my pre-game conference:
"It is impossible to see everything with a single ref. I will hustle my rear off and do my best, but you need to be patient and have some compassion because some things are going to be missed." That pity factor always seems to work pretty good and I've actually never received much guff when doing a solo game. Z
|
|
Wed Dec 18, 2002, 06:17pm
|
|||
|
|||
|
When I have to fly solo, I perfer to work opposite the table. That way you have a built in "Not from my angle" response. Last time I was in this situation, one team kept trapping near midcourt and pressuring the ball above the arc. I would peak down and use peripheral vision for off ball stuff as much as possible and called a few fouls because it look odd out of the corner of my eye. Players got the hint after the calls and my talking to them in transition and cleaned it up.
I did have the coach of the team trapping yell for 3 seconds a few times. At half time I asked him if he really thought I was going to try to count for a lane violation when there was a double-team trap right in front of me. He said "I know you have that play, but your..." and stopped. I smiled and said "Go ahead, finish your sentence." He just grinned and mumbled "Oh yea, I forgot". I started to take it as a compliment but decided he was just being a coach (present company excluded Hawks Coach).
__________________
I didn't say it was your fault...I said I was going to blame you.
|
|
Wed Dec 18, 2002, 07:05pm
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
 |
| Bookmarks |
|
|
Linear Mode
