Long Switches
 

How do you handle these 2 situations for 2-Man Mechanics in your area?
1) Lead official calls a Offensive foul while in the front court on the endline.
2) Trail official calls a Defensive foul while still in the back court.
After reporting the foul do you make the long switch? Or go back to your previous position?

Book says switch on ALL fouls unless it is a shooting foul, then reporting official becomes the non-administrating (Trail) official.

Even though it doesn't make sense sometimes, it's best to make the switches as the book states. That being said, it can also depend on what your association or assignor wants/expects. Some want the long switches and some don't care either way.

So..... How do You and Your association handle the situations?

For me, I try to avoid long switches in 2-man mechanics. Save the steps!

I prefer to make the switches. The association here recommends doing the long switches but doesn't penalize any crews that don't. Its really up to the individual crews and decided on in pre-game.

By the book, we make those long switches.

No long switches here.

I haven't done any two-person for our Association yet this season. But, when I do, we're expected to make the switch each time.

We don't long switch in 2 man or 3 man for the situations above. Although the IAABO mechanics on some switches are different than NFHS in 3 man as well.

Does IAABO have a stance on long switches?

We don't do long switches. It is one of our local policies and procedures. When one of these fouls is called one official is supposed to be watching the players while the other is reporting. If we are busy switching maybe something will be missed or if we wait to switch then it is very time consuming. Just what we do. Most all our games are 3 person though.

In the 2 man games I've worked in this area, the only long switch that is made regularly is the one described in situation one.

No long switches, period. Switch on all fouls staying in the half court.

No More No Long Switches ...
 

A few years ago, Connecticut experimented with no long switches when a foul was called in the backcourt, and there was no change in possession. Some of our guys either didn't understand "change in possession", didn't understand "backcourt", or were just lazy, so we went back to switching all the time two years ago.

One example of a "confusing" situation for some was the classic player control charge foul in the frontcourt called by the lead. Another was an offensive "over the back" call before the defensive player gained control of a rebound, called by the trail. Yeah. I know. We've got some "dead weight" on our local board. These are the guys who will be working subvarsity games the rest of their career.

No "long switches" here, and that's by the (our) book.

If your book says to do it (and assuming you are expected to follow the book), then switch.

For High School games we switch on all fouls. Youth leagues where games are scheduled every hour and 20 minutes we don't make the long ones.

We long switch where it makes sense. If I call a charge, I'm usually initiating a switch since I'd rather come up and properly report rather than use semaphore flags from the end line. If it's a rebounding foul and I'm the trail (for example) and we're going long, we aren't switching.

I work with a handful of people and any switch that feels awkward we usually don't do unless one of us wants to get out of the T/L position and then that official initiates a switch.

When in Rome....

Maybe it's just the soccer referee in me, but I just don't understand all the work put into avoiding long switches on fouls. There isn't anything really long on a basketball court.

It's not the distance. To me, there are switches that look/feel natural and those that look/feel forced.

Let's say I call a foul as the trail in the front court, table side. Ball's going to be inbounded at the bench, front court, table-side.

What's the sense in me calling the foul and then forcing a switch after reporting? Give me the ball and let's inbound and get the game going again. Instead, I'm supposed to report the foul and then become the lead opposite the table?

I'm happy to do either, but it just makes sense to me to not switch in this situation.

I get that this isn't a long switch -- not all goofy switches are long switches, IMO.

Plus 110%.

The point of switches is that it ensures that both teams get relatively the same coverage from each official through out the game. In 3-man, live ball rotations usually make that happen any way, however. But, in 2-man, if you didn't switch, you'd be lead for the same team for possibly the entire quarter/half.

Let's say I buy what you're selling: Why don't we switch then on shooting fouls where the trail makes the call?

We switch often enough. No reason to do so on long switches and on switches where things feel forced. Leave it up to the crew to decide which switches make sense and which ones don't.

Board assignment: We switch on all fouls.
Youth/non-board assignment: That can vary.

Still, why WOULDN'T you switch in sitch 1, since the lead has to report the foul, anyway?

I'd Rather Fight Than Switch ...
 

Same here in my little corner of Connecticut. In the Catholic middle school games, we switch when convenient.

I usually do, personally. However, this is one where we don't in 3-person (unless working NCAAM) and that's trickled down into 2-person, too.

we're lazy
 

Not just our local association, but the state has officially said no to long switches.

We didn't long switch in Texas...so it was a big jump for going to a state that's fully by the book NFHS mechanics.

Here the only time we switch in two whistle is when the lead calls a shooting foul.

907op[
 

As Bob J said we do not long switch here, but guys screw this up all the time. It is no big deal and no one other than officials care. Actually I have never seen an tournament director, clinician (and I am one) or assignor care. We are human and things get screwed up sometimes. I think some worry way too much about what a book or someone says rather than just officiating sometimes.

Peace

Maybe it was just directed to me, but the clinician/assignor was concerned that I did not switch for either of the plays.

Switching ...
 

Proper mechanics is a part of good officiating. Proper switching is a part of good mechanics. When I work a game, I have three "official" sets of eyes watching me, my partner, and the two junior varsity officials, who will go home that night and give me a rating. This rating, along with some other criteria (peer rating is 80%), will determine my ranking among my 325 colleagues, which will determine the number of games, as well as the level of the games, that I'm assigned the following season. Mechanics makes up 10% of the "nightly" rating, and proper switching is a part of proper mechanics. So if the "book" says that I'm supposed to switch after every foul, even long switches, then I'm switching after every foul. After thirty-two years, it's automatic for me. Why not do it the proper way? Really. Why not? I'm getting $89.76 to work the game, so why would I try to save a few steps by avoiding a long switch, that, in the long run, could cost me a few assignments next year? Why?

We (in Oregon) do. Our state rejected the NFHS change on that mechanic. Word has is that the NFHS committee never voted on that particular change but it somehow made into the final list of changes.

I don't disagree, but it is probably a lot easier to teach that we switch on all fouls rather than try to define all the possible things that could be a long switch.

Do what you need to do in your area, but please don't even suggest this is the "best" way to officiate. There are many ways to do this.

That is the intention, certainly, but like most things, it doesn't always work.


Extreme example: You play 4 minutes without a whistle, then have a foul. 10 seconds later, another foul. Then 3:50 without a whistle. Around here, unless it is inconvenient not to do so, we don't switch on the second foul.

When In My Little Corner Of Connecticut, Switch On Every Foul ...
 

Agree. When in Rome, switch like the Romans. If the Romans switch on every foul, then switch on every foul. If, on the other hand, the Romans don't make any long switches, then, by all means, don't make any long switches.

Follow the mechanics guidelines described in your local manual, be it written, or oral. An official can never go wrong by following his local mechanics guidelines. Why not do it the proper, local, way? Really. Why not? Proper mechanics is a part of good officiating. Proper switching, that is, the proper, local way, to switch, is a part of good mechanics.

As usual, always listen to bob:

The proper way is always subjective and always will be subjective. And in my 17 years many things have changed. So it cannot be just the same way for you even in 32 years. `And what is the proper way anyway? We do not use NF Mechanics here. We use many things that we have had higher ups feel are important. And again I work in a lot of places and no one has said to me, "You did not switch properly on that call, I will not use you anymore." Maybe when they do then I might worry, but we all come to the table (at least here) from different experiences. Many work college, JH or even wreak ball and all have different goals. Yes we can teach a certain way, but that does not mean everyone is going to do it that way. There is not an official I know that does everything "perfect." But with that being said no one really makes that big of a deal out of long switching. It is screwed up all the time or not followed and no one of significance says anything.

Peace

Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes ...
 

Post #13:

The "Book" ...
 

Post # 34:

Nobody's Perfect ...
 

Post #13:

Subjective ...
 

If that's the way it's done in northeastern Illinois, then that's fine. It obviously works for you guys. Great.

Here in my little corner of Connecticut, it's not at all subjective. It's pretty cut and dry. For all of our board assignments, we switch on every foul. Period. It's in the IAABO mechanics manual. We teach our "cadets" that way. We expect all 325 of our officials to do it that way.

As we often say here on the Forum, "When in Rome ...".

Perfect ???
 

I don't know of any either. We have many officials who do almost everything perfectly. We also have officials who don't even come close to doing anything perfectly. Like every local board, or association, on the planet, we have officials that lie everywhere on the "perfection spectrum". We're all human. We're not "Robo-Officials".

It is subjective all over the country and that is obvious if you read this site as any indication.

And no one calls this place, Northeastern Illinois here unless you are not from here. ;)

BTW, this is a state issue, not something just in one part of the state. Our local officials associations do not assign games, they only train. The State is responsible for all the mechanics and procedural standards throughout the state.

Peace

Curiosity Killed BillyMac ...
 

OK. I'll bite. Since I've never had the pleasure of visiting that part of the country, what do the natives call Northeastern Illinois?

FIBA makes it simple. When you call a foul in 2-person - except the 'special' ones - you become the new trail. Not that we don't 'massage' the mechanics a bit during mens rec ball :D

Here we do switch if the trail makes the call and we stay in the half court. If it is a shooting foul we don't switch.

I prefer to go by the book as it's one less thing to pre-game. There is one thing I don't do by the book and that is pass off a 5th foul to the non-calling official in 2-person and have them tell the coach, get the substitute and tell the player. That is an idiotic mechanic imo.

Game management ...
 

From my pregame conference outline:

If I call a fifth foul on a player, I’ll tell the coach, unless I think it’s going to be a problem.
If either of us warns a coach, or the bench, let’s let each other know about it. If one of us calls a technical foul
on a coach, the noncalling official will remind the coach that he must sit down.