First playoff assignment
 

I just got my first playoff assignment! I'm both excited and nervous. It's a three-person game and I haven't done many of those. Quite a few in the summer but not much this season. Any advice from the vets?

I Might Have to Get Out More . . .
 

Congratulations. I think.

I want to be supportive of all fellow officials, and I'm sure that the posters on this forum will give you some great advice, and I certainly do wish you all the best. In fact, I especially hope the John Wooden quote in your thread signature works out that way for you. But I gotta ask . . .

:confused: Is it common in your area for officials to be put in situations such as this? :eek:

All our post-season games our three-person. Regular season is up to the schools, and only a handful use it, some for all games and some for select games. So there is almost no way to avoid it.

Congratulations!

Just concentrate on having a good game in your area. Since you've done 3 before at least it's not completely foreign. Again, handle what's yours and you should do fine.

One way to practice: when you watch games on TV - or in person if you see one on a night you're not working - look in the three-person PCAs during each possession to remind yourself what you should be watching. I've found it's a good way to train yourself not to watch the ball when it's outside your area.

We are very fortunate around here to be able to work 3-person crews for all levels of H.S. ball. We even do 3-person crews for some M.S. games...but only pay for 2 officials. (The third person rotates in from a group of newer officials that show up and want to learn the mechanics of 3-person)
this is strickly voluntary for the newer officials

I work with a guy that officiates in Oregon. He tells me they do 2-person all year long...and then when the playoffs come, they go to 3-person.

I would think that would be tough to do. Especially since I believe he even said it was 3-person ONLY for the State Playoffs. :eek:

Maybe Camron, or other Oregon officials, can shed some light on this?

Advice- While I am in pre game warm ups, I move from Center to trail and say to myself, "When I am on C this is my area, when I am on trail, this is my area. I remind myself that on lead, I don't look outside the 3 point line and don't give a 3 point signal.

On the jump, I remind myself of where I am going base on where the ball goes. So if I don't toss the ball, I am lead or center

As for the game, I don't find it any different than a regular game. Relax and have fun.

Congrats and let us know how it goes.

Connecticut, The Land That Time Forgot ...
 

Very common here in my little corner of Connecticut. 99% of our regular season games are two person games. Only one of the leagues that we service uses three person crews, and only for the semifinal, and finals, of the boys (not the girls) league playoffs. Three person crews are used only for the state tournament in the quarterfinals through the championship games.

I worked a game last week with one of the top officials on our local board. Although he will certainly get to work a three man game in a few weeks during the league and state tournament, he hasn't worked a three person game yet this season. There are a few college officials on our local board who are very familiar with the three person game, but the majority of our local officials have very little experience with a three person game.

Why? Although money does play an important role here, it's actually the coaches who don't want a three person game. They're afraid that it would lead to extra whistles in the game and slow down the game. The coaches that play the most aggressive defense, are the most vocal, and since they have had a history of being the most successful, they seem to have a greater "say" in the matter.

Congrats on the playoff assignment! I would try to get in contact with your partners and talk to them before hand and get some help from them. Even reach out to a veteran official who is a good friend/colleague that might be able to help answer any questions you might have with 3 man!

Once again congratulations!

Oregon works 2-person crews all year long, including all state playoff games. I agree that it would be difficult to work 3-person crews for playoff games when many officials here aren't well versed with 3-person rotations, primaries, etc.

Same in Mass. Some reg. season matchups ask for (and pay for -- you get $68 instead of $77 ... I think) three-man.

But then the entire state tourney is three-man. That's a tough spot for most non-college guys, imo.

Based on a quick count, I have about 16 3-person games out of the 50 regular season games that I'm working. I'm willing to guess that in my immediate area, few are working more high school games 3-person unless they are working in conferences that allow 3-for-2 and then take 3 to those games.

(I work in a couple of conferences that allow 3-for-2 checks and we don't take 3 out of general principles. I don't do this for the money, but I'm not going to let conferences get 3 working officials for the cost of 2 -- they need to have SOME skin in it.)

We still do the first two rounds 2-person and then the rest of the tourney is 3-person. Too bad the state won't make the full commitment to 3-person in the post-season -- I know at least one conference who has put off moving to 3 in the regular season because the state still plays some post-season 2-person.

Time for 3 man crews
 

We have used 3 man for about 12 years or so here. It increases the number of assignments, which means you need more officials and better officials.

But you miss fewer fouls. I did a game with 2 man the other night ( JV level ) and we had 2 players hit the ground, I was trail and had the ball, lead had the lane, if there were a C, he would have had it, as it was, everyone scream, coaches, fans and players, but we had no idea what happened.

It's time for everyone to be using 3 man crews for, at the very least, all varsity games.

Anyone read the article in Referee Magazine?

I did. I forwarded it to a local assignor of about 20 schools who quickly responded that a majority of his coaches prefer 2-official crews, ending the conversation.

I worked my first 3-person game in 1993. My third 3-person game was a postseason HS game in 1996. We had no training whatsoever and there was no such thing as a rotation during live ball play (which, to me, makes a 3-person crew only marginally better than a 2-person crew).

Hard to believe that was so long ago.

I guarantee you that there will be some people where I live who work their first 3-person game this year during the HS postseason. 3 years ago, I worked a regional final (3rd round) with 2 officials who hadn't worked a 3-person game all year. It was a *long* *long* game.

It would take about 5 years for us to forget that 2-person ever existed. That would require the state do more than "allow" 3-person crews.

I thought the State Finals games were 3-person in OR.

I don't think so...I watched a buddy work one two years ago and it was two- person.

Congrats A Pennsyylvania Coach!! Enjoy it! Advice: don't get so caught up in floor coverages and rotations and all that goes into three person that you forget to blow your whistle! Call your game, the other stuff will be fine.

Nope. I would bet a bunch of people wish they were, but to this point all 2-person

Confirmed...all 2-person at all levels all the way through the final.

Well-deserved congratulations! Excited and nervous is just about right, I would say! :)

Couple of things.

1) Since you haven't worked a lot of 3-whistle, there will be a natural tendency to think about where you're supposed to be. That's totally understandable, since you haven't worked it enough for positioning and PCA's to be second-nature. Wherever you find yourself on the floor, don't forget to officiate! :) When I first started, I was so worried about whether I was exactly on the free throw line extended as the C, that I wasn't really focused enough on officiating screens and weak side post plays. It's good to be where you're supposed to be, but it's not as important as calling plays.

2) Over-communicate. It's possible that your partners won't have much more 3-whistle experience than you have. Any chance you get, make sure you're on the same page.

3) As everybody else has said, work your primary area hard and trust your partners to do the same in their areas. We all know that our accuracy goes down when we reach outside our primary. That doesn't mean you ignore an ax-murder, just because it's on the opposite block; but I think you know what I'm trying to say.

Try to have fun! You've been here for a long time and working hard to get better. You deserve it. Have a great game.

Surprise
 

I have anxiously been awaiting my first ever post season assignments. I rated high enough in the association to get both girls and boys games in the post season. So, two days ago I get an email via Arbiter that I have new games...and knowing that the remainder of the regular season has all been assigned I got excited.

Well, I logged into Arbiter and with great trepidation I opened my schedule to see a middle school 7th grade girls C squad game. I came off my high fairly quickly.

ps have since been assigned three post season games so all is well!

Ha!

And congrats!

Now that I think of it I recall watching a girls final one year and it was 2-man. I think I'm thinking about McAllister's summer tourney where they use 3-man in the championship. Ooops.

That's funny! When I saw the Arbiter email last night I talked myself into it being some stray junior high makeup game until I got logged in and saw the game!

Thanks everyone for the advice.

Congrats! Have fun and enjoy the fruits of a good season.

Ah, good old trolling assigners. Well played, assigner, well played indeed.

Congrats. I haven't received any post-season assignments (and since this is my first year with much of a varsity schedule, I wasn't expecting any).

I found a couple vets doing a men's rec game tonight and I'm jumping in and doing that with them for the last-minute experience.

I was going to recommend this. Also I would watch some TV games and watch the lead and try to figure out what made him flex across the key.

My first year refereeing I got into HS and Charter HS. Charter HS do 3 man for their playoffs and I got 10 playoff games doing 3 man including the state championship game. It has been an amazing experience.

Our playoffs start tomorrow. Small school districts. 3 teams boys and girls. Top seeded team gets bye the first night. 2 games each night Friday and Saturday. Have to drive about 3 hours one way. 2 man. It will be fun.

I have a bit of a different perspective probably because I have had the opportunity to learn 3 person very early in my career and have the fortune of doing almost all of my scholastic ball in 3 person now, I don't see it as that big of an adjustment as long as you have a working knowledge of 3 person positioning, and PCAs.

I do understand that it is a significant adjustment if you havent done much or any since the season began but I think some people focus a little too much on the 3 person aspect and forget about some of the other important things to keep in mind as you enter the post-season. I would add a few reminders to some of the good advice you've received on 3 person:

Dig back into the rules book. Just before post-season is a good time to scrub through the rules to make sure you have a solid understanding of any issues that came up during the season and are less likely to kick anything in games that have higher stakes.

Sharpen your mechanics. Over the course of the season it can be easy to get a little sloppy with our mechanics. I would get back in the mirror and work on a few things to make sure you look sharp and confident.

Know the history of the teams. At this point, you or someone on the crew has likely had one of the teams before. If you are familiar with the style of play, the tendencies of a few of the key players, etc. it can only help. Also a good idea to know how the reg. season games between the teams went.

Increase focus and concentration but remember to relax and have fun.

And congratulations. You must be doing something right.

So the game went smoothly last night. We were on the edge of Winter Storm Nemo (when did they start naming winter storms anyway?) so tip time got pushed up an hour to try to beat the worst of it. I thought that the weather might dampen attendance but by game time the 2,500-seat gym was about 85% full.

My partners are both veterans and we had a good pre-game. I had a quiet first quarter, C most of the time. The teams were tight. 5-2 at the quarter, 12-11 at halftime. This was the third time these teams played each other so it was a bit of a chess match. In the second half, one team got a few fast-break buckets and led by as much as 11 before their opponents hit a couple late threes to cut it to 4 with 30 seconds left. The team in the lead hit some free throws to clinch the win, 37-28.

I did over-rotate a couple times. When I was L and the defense was in a 1-3-1 it was tricky for me. I was able to hold off on a whistle a couple times when I was new lead in transition on an OOB. The one thing I know I missed was a free throw violation from the C. Teammate of the free thrower spun out of the lane space to try to go around the defender to rebound while the shot was in the air. I was concentrating on closing down and got surprised by it. When she did it again a couple minutes later I was C again and caught her that time.

My partners felt we had a good game. Since we were the only game of the night there were several other officials in attendance. I called a couple that I know pretty well and got some feedback. Apparently I looked nervous during pre game. One guy told me my first couple counts were ridiculously fast! He also thought I looked more comfortable after my first call.

All in all it was a great experience. Great crowd, good game, and I don't think I embarrassed myself. Now I can't wait for the next one!

First night went well. Girls game was between a 5 win team and a 1 win team. Went down to the wire. 5 win team won by 4. Really rough. Double bonus both halves both teams. They just wouldn't stop fouling. Boys game was a blow out. 30 point lead at halftime. Tonight I have a girls team ranked in the top 5, they are playing the 5 win team from last night. Boys game will be a track meet from what I hear. Playoffs are the best time of the year here as every high school makes the playoffs, crowd is great, intensity is amped up. Small school basketball here is huge, and most of the time has better crowds than the big schools.

The Good Old Days, When Hurricanes Only Had Female Names ...
 

The National Weather Service does not name winter storms. Unlike hurricanes which are long lived and move in a fairly predictable path, winter storms can quickly increase, and decrease, in intensity, they can dump various amounts of snow, or the liquid equivalent, on areas with different elevations, and can form anywhere along a frontal boundary, even forming several different storms along a very long frontal boundary.

The Weather Channel was one of the first to start naming winter storms. A few local television stations have followed suit, but with their own, different, names.