New Mechanic? Da Chop
 

Heard thru grapevine that a new mechanic is being implemented. When the lead inbounds the ball from base line, the Trail is to mirror his clock chop.

Shed some light please...Thanks!

When the lead inbounds the ball, and the ball is staying in the frontcourt, the T should mirror the L's chop. Don't lose sight of your primary as T though. Even if your chop is a split second late, at least the clock operator can see a chop

New for 2-man?

In 2 man, a new mechanic is being implemented.

When the lead inbounds the ball from base line, the Trail is to mirror his clock chop.

I used to do a lot of two-man. So, when the directive came out a few yrs back, I started doing it this way during two-man anyway for good practice and to ensure I wouldn't forget for three-man.

Just curious - with both sets of eyes watching the ball on the throw-in, who watches off-ball?

Is it really THAT much of a problem where the timer cannot see the L chop in time?

You sound like our state supervisor, who abhors this mechanic and will not let us do it in 3 man. Stay wide, watch the whole play and I don't see it as a problem.

It can be, when the L is opposite in the far corner on the end line.

You can still watch off ball and chop in at trail...you don't have to be staring at the ball. Been doing this in 2-man for awhile, and it's been no issue.

+1

There are situations where the timer is unable to see the chop due to either a coach in the way or players in the way.

It also depends on where the table is located on how easy it is to see everything needed to be seen.

Yes, in many of the gyms I worked the timer had a difficult time seeing the chop by the L.

This will be an adjustment for me, I have to say. When I have the ball, and I see my partner's hand up, that means "Don't put the ball in play." Eye-contact and a quick nod will probably be all it takes to let me know it's ok to resume play. But it will definitely be an adjustment.

As APG said, it's quite possible and is not new for those of us in Texas.

Many timers don't watch for a chop at all.

It is an adjustment at first, like the new mechanic was when instituted for three-person. Pre-game it and then a reminder to partners during the game if required, and then it all irons out.

+1

First time I encountered this (as L), I stepped out to see what my partner was stopping the game for. Then, he was confused, wondering why I wasn't starting play promptly. Happened twice in same game, sort of keystone kops moments.

Comments here about pre-gaming it ought to do the trick.

Sounds like a smart guy. :)

But hasn't that always been the case? How did timers handle this before the mechanic change?

I understand that, and I believe most good officials can handle it that way. But I have 2 problems - I believe less experienced officials will be more inclined to ball-watch, and it still won't help start the clock correctly if the L isn't being seen. How does the T see the tip on the inbounds pass if they aren't watching either the ball or the L directly?

I believe most timers watch the ball and start the clock when they see it inbounds, and don't watch the chop from the administering official, no matter where the ball is inbounded. I've also seen many delays between the chops of the L and T, so I know they aren't always seeing the same thing.

In 3-person, the C can still handle a lot of the off-ball activity, but the T has more responsibility in 2-person. It just seems like an unnecessary mechanic that may promote more bad habits than problems it corrects. JMHO.

Hopefully the Trail isn't putting his/her hand up until after A1 has the ball at his/her disposal.

+1 This is what I've done so far, and haven't had a problem. That being said, I've only worked with officials who only do junior high ball thus far. Not sure they know the new mechanic.

Eye Contact!
 

Another thing I would do, after pre-game, and maybe before that first stoppage time to chat, in the event this occurred, is make good eye contact with my P and kind of emphasize, AHEM, raise your arm, by holding the ball a sec or two longer while looking at them.

Again, they eventually get it and then you can move on.

I was told, at least in the 3-person mechanic, that the L should have their hand up to chop before the L administers the throw-in. This tells the L that they're ready.

If the T is holding up play (subs, etc.), they should have the hand closest to the L up and out as a "stop sign". If they are simply ready to chop in time, they would use the hand closest to the table (and away from the L). It shouldn't be too difficult to tell the difference between the two.

I was thinking the same thing M&M. I always chuckle when I see other officials with their hand up as a "stop sign" but they aren't pointing it at anything in particular especially not the administering official. Not that I've ever done that myself....

We've been doing this in Georgia for several years now and it works fine. I wait until the administering official has blown their whistle and is in the process of handing/bouncing the ball to the throwing-in player to raise my hand.

What's interesting is that they don't require the official administering the throw-in to chop the clock, only keep the 5-second count. It would actually be a large adjustment to go back to chopping if I'm L and administering a throw-in.

That's how I've always been thought as well.

This is the new NFHS mechanic. IAABO has not adopted it, precisely for this reason.

No Blind Jokes Please ...
 

Hey? You mean to say that IAABO has done something right for a change?

IAABO not switching the T's side for FT administration was a smart move too if you ask me.

For clarity, you've been taught that the L does NOT chop? That is different from what we were taught. We were taught that the L has the chop and the T is simply mirroring his.