OT - The Rout is on - 100-2

[just another ref]

What about the guys on the losing team. Did they run the clock, or make a suggestion to do so?

[Rufus]

Originally Posted by just another ref

What about the guys on the losing team. Did they run the clock, or make a suggestion to do so?

That's what I was thinking - do they not have any kind of mercy rule to use? Most HS/sub-varsity do. Maybe they should look into that.

Don't blame the winning coach as it sounds like he did what he could (yanked starters after 2 minutes, no press, told the kids not to play D, etc.). Crazy that they'd have their season cancelled because of this.

[bainsey]

Originally Posted by just another ref

What about the guys on the losing team. [sic]

What about them? What are you looking to do for them?

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by bainsey

What about them? What are you looking to do for them?

In the course of play, they could "take the air out" of the ball, and just hold it at midcourt. If the winning coach had instructed his team not to play defense, they could have just let the clock run down for a minute or more on each possession.

Beyond that, the coaches could agree to shorten the length of the quarters to 4 minutes or something like that.

If the winning team really wants to be a good sport, there are legitimate ways to avoid these outcomes.

[eyezen]

I remember playing in a Freshman game against this one team where we put up like 90+ points. They had maybe 10 or so. They were so pissed that during the 4th quarter they kept inbounding the ball to one of my teammates on purpose who scored like 4 uncontested layups in a row. Of course when we all gravitated toward the basket to get a piece of that action, they thew a long snowbird pass for a bucket. Then our coach almost got into a fight with the other coach in the hallway. Good times.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by eyezen

I remember playing in a Freshman game against this one team where we put up like 90+ points. They had maybe 10 or so. They were so pissed that during the 4th quarter they kept inbounding the ball to one of my teammates on purpose who scored like 4 uncontested layups in a row. Of course when we all gravitated toward the basket to get a piece of that action, they thew a long snowbird pass for a bucket. Then our coach almost got into a fight with the other coach in the hallway. Good times.

Up by 90 and pissed that the other team was able to get your team to fall for that play....sounds like your coach was an @$$. He should have smiled and applauded the creativity of those kids.

[bainsey]

Originally Posted by Scrapper1

In the course of play, they could "take the air out" of the ball, and just hold it at midcourt. If the winning coach had instructed his team not to play defense, they could have just let the clock run down for a minute or more on each possession.

Right, the teams could do that, but I asked what are YOU, the official, looking to do about that? Aside from suggesting shortening the quarters (which I've done once, when it was 52-2 at halftime), I don't see what officials can do about these lopsided games. All you can really do is keep playing, and tell the kids that this happens sometimes, and you have to deal with it accordingly.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by bainsey

Right, the teams could do that, but I asked what are YOU, the official, looking to do about that? Aside from suggesting shortening the quarters (which I've done once, when it was 52-2 at halftime), I don't see what officials can do about these lopsided games. All you can really do is keep playing, and tell the kids that this happens sometimes, and you have to deal with it accordingly.

The only think you can do is hold each team to a standard that matches their abilities.

Contact one way just doesn't have the same effect as the same contact in the other direction. Just like we draw the line at a different point for 6th grade games than we do for varsity games, do it between the two teams. It does't have to be (and probably shouldn't be) dramatic, but you can have an effect.

I've had a game in the past where one small Christian school had a player on the squad who was a special needs kid. They would put him in the game for a couple minutes at a time. The other coach recognized what was happening and was very accepting of our treating them just a bit different by not calling a travel as they shuffled their feet around 25 feet from the basket. They just smiled and nodded as if to say it was OK with him.

This is not all that different when you have even typical youth players who are just at dramatically different stages of development.Some will say that we should call it straight down the middle and make no adjustments. I don't do that. I call the game where I feel it will be most beneficial to both teams.