fess up

[Rich]

Originally Posted by jTheUmp

For me, it was last Friday, hands-down.

Situation: boys 10th-grade/JV doubleheader, between two of the best programs in the Twin Cities.

The ominous signs first appear on Tuesday, when I email my partner to confirm the details of the game time and location. I receive a one-sentence response: "I show up dressed and on the court, so don't look for me in the dressing room"

Gulp.

Partner shows up about 9 minutes before tipoff, leaving us virtually no time to do a pregame.

Double Gulp.

The first game is very fast-paced and physical... the second game is a step above the first game in both respects... both games were faster then I'm used to, and I was having a very hard time making calls because of the speed and athleticism of the players. I never could get into a good rhythm the entire night, and it seemed to be painfully obvious to everyone in the gym that my partner and I were outclassed. I lost count of the number of instances where there was foul-level contact that I "passed" on because I couldn't get the whistle blown or couldn't figure out what to call. (and before you say "not all contact is a foul"... this contact was definitely a foul... I just kicked it... more times then I can remember.)

I was never so happy to be done with a doubleheader as I was that night.

Luckily, I got to get back to the gym on Saturday with another boys 10/JV doubleheader. The games was just as quick and athletic, but I was able to keep it in control, and my partner was MUCH MUCH better.

I just wish I could figure out what I could've done differently on Friday.

There's an old saying that it's better to get to a level a little late than too early. Do you feel like you, personally, are ready to be working games like this?

That said:

I've worked boys games involving some of the top teams in the state -- most all of those are worked 3-person. I frequently show up early to watch the sophomore (essentially, the JV) game that's played before us. Worked 2-person, those games always look a lot harder to work from the stands than the varsity games feel from the court.

Of course, about 6-7 years ago, we worked those varsity games 2-person and while I felt I had no problems with the pace, it was just a lot of running up and down the court and getting the fouls we felt we needed to get.

If you feel you missed a lot of fouls, that can lead to the perception that the game got "out of control." Sometimes getting those fouls can slow down the pace of the game and clean up the activity. Sometimes not, in which case you'll be shooting a lot of free throws.

The lack of a pregame sounds and your reaction to it makes it sound like it pushed you out of where you needed to be mentally to be on top of the game early. Don't let your partner distract you (if possible) from being strong and aware early in the game.

That said, you crawled back on the horse -- it's all you can do.

[jTheUmp]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

Sometimes the most important benefit of a pregame is the process of getting us into the proper mindset for a game. Yeah, you go over various things that need to be addressed; double whistles, OOB lines, blind spots, etc. But you've also mentally prepared, which is just as important as warming up your body.

100% agree... earlier last week I was late getting to a game site due to a work emergency at my "real job", arriving 16 minutes prior to tipoff while still needing to change clothes. I had no time to mentally prepare, and I could tell my game suffered for it. Luckily, it was a 9th grade game, so nobody really noticed.

My standard is to arrive 40 minutes prior to tipoff (most of my partners show up about 30 minutes early, so I'm usually the first to arrive). That gives me time to change, clear my head of any 'regular day' distractions, stretch, and pregame.

Originally Posted by RichMSN

There's an old saying that it's better to get to a level a little late than too early. Do you feel like you, personally, are ready to be working games like this?

Yes, I do feel like I'm ready. I had an off night but I know I can handle that level of play in general.

If you feel you missed a lot of fouls, that can lead to the perception that the game got "out of control." Sometimes getting those fouls can slow down the pace of the game and clean up the activity. Sometimes not, in which case you'll be shooting a lot of free throws.

Looking back, the tone was set early... my partner passed on several rough play instances in his primary in the first few minutes, and I think I ended up with the brain block because I got stuck in "he didn't call it earlier, can I call it now?" mode. I won't let that happen again.

The lack of a pregame sounds and your reaction to it makes it sound like it pushed you out of where you needed to be mentally to be on top of the game early. Don't let your partner distract you (if possible) from being strong and aware early in the game.

Agreed. And this particular partner's name is certainly in my "not blocked, but strongly prefer not to work with" list.