Long Distance Call

[Adam]

Originally Posted by just another ref

You tell me. Is it possible to make a call 40 feet across the court which is 6 feet in front of your partner while the other 8 players between you and the matchup mind their own business?

I thought the goal was to get the right call regardless of WHERE the call is made.

[zm1283]

This is a timely post. I had a partner last night that I have worked with before, but mostly small school varsity stuff and we haven't had any issues. Last night in a tournament we get a 5A school (largest class) against a 3A school, and they're right next to each other so the place is packed.

There were three or four times where he reached really far out of his area to get stuff right in front of me. They were mostly when I was the Lead and there would be a play either right on the block or even outside the lane right in front of me. At one point a V player gets fouled by a H player on the block on my side and as I put my hand up, he is stopping the clock and starting to call a travel. We get together and I tell him we are going with my foul since the play was in my area. He would also talk to coaches entirely too much when they complained about a foul call, including turning his back to me to talk to the coach on the other end when we were about to shoot free throws.

He also never instructed the timer to start the clock for the replacement interval when a player was DQ'd. He would go notify the coach of the player's fifth foul, then proceed to stand there and have a discussion with him about the merits of the fifth foul instead of asking for a sub. About the third time this happened, the other coach asked me what we were waiting on. I just kind of shrugged and looked at the other end of the court.

I have to work with him at least two more times, so I'm going to hold off on saying anything until I can slip some of this stuff into a pregame and hopefully get the point across in a tactful way.

[Rich]

Funny you mentioned the clock after a DQ foul. I was watching a game a few years ago where one of the officials did the same thing. On the second player fouling out, one of his crew mates walked over and started the clock over him. I could tell he was pissed, too.

The lesson is easy. If the coach wants to complain about the call, he does it WITH THE CLOCK RUNNING. Coach, that's 5 on 24. Timer: GO. Can't complain much in 5 seconds, can he?

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by zm1283

We get together and I tell him we are going with my foul since the play was in my area.

Assuming that this was a double whistle, this is how the conversation would go between me, and my partner:

Me: I saw your travel, but he traveled because he got fouled first.
Partner: OK. The foul came first. Go report your foul.

Or:

Me: What did you have, because I've got a foul?
Partner: I saw him travel right before he got clobbered.
Me. OK. The travel came first. Go ahead and signal your travel violation.

If we can't acknowledge the other official's call, or if we can't decide which call came first, then we're discussing who had the best look, which would probably be the official who had the play occur in his primary coverage area.

That's the way we handle double whistles here in my little corner of Connecticut, but, as usual, when in Rome ...

[Rob1968]

Originally Posted by Adam

I thought the goal was to get the right call regardless of WHERE the call is made.

In our area, where all Varsity officials are expected to come early and evaluate the sub-varsity officials, such a call, as in the OP, will be a topic of the evaluation, and definitely in a negative manner.
This year, I've opened my early afternoons to work more sub-varsity games w/newer, younger officials, at the request of our assignor. Last week, late in a game with a first year,/first HS game official, he made such a call, and the call was wrong. I addressed the situation by saying, "You would have to do something really terrible to upset me, as a partner, which this was not. You may have 99 good call/no-call's in a game and the one - "across the key, out-of-your-area, on-top-of-your-partner" call will be the only thing the evaluator will focus on."
The local mind-set is that to make such a call, it must be a sportsmanship or safety issue, or a game-saver, and/or crew-saver.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Adam

I thought the goal was to get the right call regardless of WHERE the call is made.

Your "confusion" is making me laugh.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Rob1968

In our area, where all Varsity officials are expected to come early and evaluate the sub-varsity officials, such a call, as in the OP, will be a topic of the evaluation, and definitely in a negative manner.
This year, I've opened my early afternoons to work more sub-varsity games w/newer, younger officials, at the request of our assignor. Last week, late in a game with a first year,/first HS game official, he made such a call, and the call was wrong. I addressed the situation by saying, "You would have to do something really terrible to upset me, as a partner, which this was not. You may have 99 good call/no-call's in a game and the one - "across the key, out-of-your-area, on-top-of-your-partner" call will be the only thing the evaluator will focus on."
The local mind-set is that to make such a call, it must be a sportsmanship or safety issue, or a game-saver, and/or crew-saver.

Oh, I agree.

Originally Posted by Rich

Your "confusion" is making me laugh.

[just another ref]

Originally Posted by Rich

Your "confusion" is making me laugh.

I was afraid Adam had been hacked, or had an evil twin.

[RookieDude]

2nd Year Official doing Boys Varsity? WOW!

This post got me thinking...HOW rare is it that a 2nd Year Official could even be ready for a Varsity contest?

Example:

Rarer than a four leaf clover?

[Rich]

Originally Posted by RookieDude

2nd Year Official doing Boys Varsity? WOW!

This post got me thinking...HOW rare is it that a 2nd Year Official could even be ready for a Varsity contest?

Example:

Rarer than a four leaf clover?

Sometimes people think they're ready when they're really not. What's odd about that is that you don't really know that you're not ready then until you are...sometimes years later.

[RookieDude]

Originally Posted by Rich

Sometimes people think they're ready when they're really not. What's odd about that is that you don't really know that you're not ready then until you are...sometimes years later.

True...

and I believe if you get that call to do Varsity...

you had better be ready.

If you are not ready (rules knowledge, court presence, mechanics, etc.) it can really hurt your advancement. You may get there eventually...but, it usually slows down your climb compared to if you were more prepared to start with.

Moral of Story: Be Patient! Be Prepared! Be Ready!

[egj13]

Originally Posted by RookieDude

2nd Year Official doing Boys Varsity? WOW!

Here in my neck of the woods we put first year officials in varsity contests...when I say "we" I mean my pool of course of which I have zero input in decisions.

[RookieDude]

Originally Posted by egj13

Here in my neck of the woods we put first year officials in varsity contests...when I say "we" I mean my pool of course of which I have zero input in decisions.

No way they are ready!!

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by RookieDude

No way they are ready!!

Understand that in some necks of the woods, there are varsity games that are perfect for newer officials to learn to be veteran officials. Especially outside of district play when games are sometimes 70-13.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by just another ref

I was afraid Adam had been hacked, or had an evil twin.

I am often my own evil twin.