Backcourt Violation
 

A1 picks up their dribble in the frontcourt. B1 knocks the ball out of A1 hands and it hits A1 leg and rolls in to the backcourt. A1 goes in to the backcourt and picks up the ball. Is this a backcourt violation?

NFHS 9-9-1, my friend. With a little 4-12-2c and 4-15-5 added in for good measure.

Criteria for a backcourt violation

1. Team control (and player control when coming from a throw-in)
2. Ball achieves a frontcourt status
3. Team in control is the last to touch the ball while the ball has a frontcourt status.
4. Team in control is the first to touch the ball after the ball gains backcourt status.

From that, you should be able to deduce why the play was correct.

Would you have called it a violation? The debate at the time was that it hit A1 after B1 knocked it out of their hands. I did not think it should have been backcourt because the ball was knocked off of A1 by B1.

Are you asking as an official or a fan? Because I posted the pertinent criteria for a backcourt violation. From your description, there's no debate as to the correct call on this play (trying to lead you to the correct conclusion rather than outright tell you the correct answer).

Yes you call it. And we have seen it called in several D1 games this season. Your personal feelings on the rule only matter in Montana.

I've called this every time I've seen it. I get some grief, but not as much as I did on the call I made today.

A1 standing in her FC near the division line. Throws a bounce pass that bounces in the BC before being caught by A2, standing in the FC.

Whew, that sounds like a hard pass to complete.

All day, every day.

Team control does NOT end when B1 touches the ball, nor when A1 loses player control.

Not really.

You and I are facing each other. You're standing with your left foot a foot from the division line, bounce pass the ball with your left hand on the line. I catch the ball with my right foot a foot from the line. BC violation.

You sound like the coach.

BktBallRef laid it out perfectly, almost as if he was there.

Ha! Well, I did say it was hard; but not impossible. If I sound like a coach that's a good thing. I find if you put yourself in the coach's shoes and try to think like he does, you can anticipate what he will say and be prepared to respond!

If B1 knocks the ball off A1 and the ball goes OOB, are you giving the ball back to A? No.

While it is not entirely the same as OOB, the Backcourt, for the offensive team, is quite similar except that it only becomes a violation if they are the first to touch it again after it goes to the backcourt.

I know what you said, and it's not that difficult at all. It's rare because of the positioning requirements, but if two people are standing near the division line, on the same side of that line trying to keep the ball from their respective defenders, then it's pretty easy to accomplish.

Yep, I should have said "rare" not "hard". I see your point!

What if the ball went out of bounds untouched after it hit A1's leg?

You going to say it's still A's ball because B hit it off A's leg?


Didn't think so........;)