They see this play called a travel so seldom, many probably don't think it is a travel.

He not only picks up his pivot foot once, but twice, without shooting or passing. This is an easy travel.

I don't understand why we make this so difficult: Pivot foot up + pivot foot down = travel.

That said, the first time I had a move like this was two years ago at camp. I was the trail, and was so dumbfounded by it, I froze in silence. The camp director was right there to rightly give me an earful.

It's not difficult. But, unlike what JAR said, we still have to identify the pivot foot and recognize it coming back down. We can't use items like, "he took too many steps" or "he covered too much distance."

I agree. But I guess whatever works. Just get the call right. *shrugs*

Player A1 stands holding the ball with both feet on the floor. I'm on his left side. He leans toward me, faking a pass, and may or may not have lifted his right foot briefly before returning it to his original position. B1 bites on the fake and lunges for a steal. B1 now lifts his left foot, steps forward, and puts it down. He then follows with the right foot, lifts it, steps forward, and puts it down before shooting a 3. Are you telling me I can't call this a travel because I don't know which foot was the pivot in this situation?

Regardless of whether or not A1 lifted his right foot while faking the pass, he proceeds to lift and put down both of his feet before shooting. Therefore you know it was a travel, and can explain the call to the coach.

If the player would only have traveled had he lifted his right foot during the fake pass, and you don't know if he did, then you shouldn't make the call. You can only call what you see. If you don't see him lift the foot, then you shouldn't assume it.

I'm not suggesting that you assume anything. I was just giving an example which shows that a travel can be called without knowing which foot was the pivot.

When a player leaves point A and ends up at point B with one foot followed by the other, this is a travel, whether you saw which foot was first or not. This is not something that happens a lot, but, in varying degrees it happens. If you only call a travel when you can exactly retrace every step, you probably aren't calling enough.

An earful about what? How he doesn't call it in his games either?

JAR is right here. You don't have to know which was the pivot foot if both feet end up in new locations. Sure, one of them was and it would be nice to know but it is a travel not matter which one was when both feet have moved to a new spot.

There is, however, a window of time after the first foot comes down and before the second foot comes down where it could be a travel and you must know which was the pivot in order to know. But, again, once the 2nd foot comes down, it doesn't really matter. You could declare either one as the pivot and still be right.

The most common place I see this is around the 3pt arc....player catches the ball on the floor and inside the arc and steps back to take a jump shot from behind the arc and didn't do a jump stop. There is no possible way to get there without a dribble without traveling.

Then you need to do some serious work on your communication skills. It's quite simple:

"Coach, he lifted and replaced both feet, so I can call a travel for either."

Your point is the one I'm trying to make here. If you don't identify the pivot foot, you could very well call traveling on the play in the video before that right foot comes down. I want to know and want to be able to explain that well. I'd rather miss 5 close travels than call one that isn't there.

The play you mention at the end of your post -- I've seen that called many times on a player when he's already taking that step as he's catching the ball. Sure, it's traveling if he catches the ball and THEN moves both feet to square up to shoot, but that's not always what's happening there. If the first foot is already moving to the line, it becomes the pivot foot and the other foot can join it when the player squares up.

Just reinforces that it's important to know when the player gathers/controls and which foot's the pivot.

What makes you so certain that he doesn't call it?

He's been to enough camps to know?

He knows for a fact that this specific camp director, not knowing a name or anything, doesn't practice what he preaches? That's one hell of a clairvoyant talent.