How to ask for help - Page 2

ChuckElias · #16 (**permalink**) Sat Feb 22, 2003, 10:22am

Biggest lesson of my first camp experience: Don't call what you don't see. Don't guess!!!

Just my two cents.

just another ref · #17 (**permalink**) Sat Feb 22, 2003, 04:11pm

Quote:

Originally posted by Jurassic Referee
[

Sorry,JAR,but I agree with the coach.
1)If you aren't 100% sure,it's a jump ball.
2)If you're not certain of the contact,it's not a foul.
3)If you're not sure of ANY call,don't make the call.
[/B][/QUOTE]

We may just be playing a word game here. There have been a lot of comments on other threads about being decisive, selling calls, and yes, even about having court presence.
Let's look at it this way. Don't we all have calls every night that we thought were easy calls that draw a huge negative reaction from players and coaches. Yes, sometimes this is due to lack of rule knowledge. Sometimes they are just being difficult. But sometimes we are wrong. Recently
there was a quote that an official had made that went something like, "I'm just saying that's what I saw, I'm not saying that is what happened." When I say that I am not 100% certain of every call, I am acknowledging that I am sometimes (often?) wrong. I personally find it no more distasteful to be wrong on a call than on a no-call.

bludevil1221 · #18 (**permalink**) Sat Feb 22, 2003, 04:19pm

Don't call what you can't explain...

just another ref · #19 (**permalink**) Sat Feb 22, 2003, 06:53pm

Quote:

Originally posted by bludevil1221
Don't call what you can't explain...

I agree with that, too, but that was not what we were talking about here. Example: JV boys game, kid had a steal and a breakaway layup. I whistled it off and called a travel. Coach stood up bugeyed. "You want to explain that call to me?" No problem. Between quarters I talked to him. "He took a little extra step in there, coach."
I demonstrated it for him. He was obviously not convinced, but made no further argument. I was about as certain of this call at the time as I had ever been. I later looked at video of the game. Guess what? No travel. The play bore little resemblance to the demonstration I gave for the coach. We can be wrong even when we are 100% sure. With that in mind, if I'm 99% sure that it was a foul, I think that I have to make the call. At what percentage do we draw the line? That is up to each individual. It is really impossible to name a number that means anything in this case, anyway.