I'm 4 years in so not brand new, but no respect yet either I suppose. I've shown I know the book from exams though too.

I just punch with my right hand and kind of pull my left hand into my chest as I punch. It's kind of hard to describe. For those of you that work baseball, it's kind of a reverse chainsaw on a called strike three mechanic.

I used to go behind my head, but like other said, it feels very odd and looks weak. I see very few guys that look good going behind their head.

Bob, I almost had one of those last night. It was a 50 50 play, and I'm thinking "Is defender legal? Yes, wait oops, he moved to a new spot while A1 was in air." Had hand behind head and then signaled block. What a mess. :o

This is definitely a "Rome" thing. I don't remember the last time I put my hand behind my head on a court, or didn't use my fists on a block charge. The other aspect of "Rome" in this discussion is this (and it did not originate with me): mechanics are what we do as a crew like rotate, signals are what we do as individuals when we have fouls, violations, etc.

Rules knowledge (check), mechanics (?), rules application (?), judgment (?).

I'm in my 11th season and still work on improving my mechanics. I am very strong with my table presentation but seeing myself on video a lot this season I see I still need a lot of improvement with my mechanics/posture/body movement after I blow my whistle and before I move to report my fouls.

Also, a lot of what observers tell you is to see if you can listen and adjust. Next time that observer sees you he'll notice whether or not you changed your mechanics accordingly. It also prepares you for when you start working for mulitple supervisors at the HS level and above.

That's why you got to practice in the mirror. I try to look like I am punching the air, and give the air a big wallop. The further apart your legs are the better, and if you run forward a few steps before punching, even better. After I master this move, I will move on to the Joey Crawford Block Special.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UdMMYz0fKpI?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The running start, the hop(s), the look-back to check for technical-worthy behavior....this video screams professionalism.

For us "mechanics" are signals and reporting (Think anything contained in or involved with the NFHS signals sheet)

I agree, the day I don't feel I can continue to improve is the day I need to quit, its just annoying when I hit your other 3 points relatively well so they decide to go after a mechanic not by the book instead of saying I had a good quarter/half/night that specific time or whatever else.

Apparently the "block" was so egregious is counted as 5 fouls. That or he's practicing his high stepping to be a drum major. Awesome video.

Well played sir, well played... although I am not the one who picks the names, I just get to live with them

I know man, just messing with you. If I say mechanics, some people around here will say, "You mean signals?". That extends to officials from California. I didn't make it up, I just deal with this version of Rome.

Our Rome
 

Seems redundant, but I and others on our most frequent crews first do the hand behind the head then give the team control punch for which way it's going.
What I eschew is the weak, wimpy index finger at the end of a slightly bent elbow just pointing "the other way." :o

No no, I knew you were. Trust me I'm not one of the oversensitive ones.

Definitely the worst of all!

Where's the word 'effete' when you need it? ;)

game management (?), experience (?), court presence (?), ...just to add a few more.

I am sure there are many more we could add to create a well rounded official...

...I know Mark, BEER (?) is one of them...;)