A table crew can make for a long night

[JetMetFan]

Originally Posted by SCalScoreKeeper

JetMet-I take it this wasn't the school's regular crew? Yesterday was senior day at my school and I was pressed into service during the JV Girls game running the shot clock for the first time in 8 years.Officials said I didn't do a bad job for someone that out of practice.This should be one of the topics of said meeting-Coaches/AD's please make sure your scorer's table is staffed by qualified and competent adults.Maybe tell one or two horror stories.We're on the road next week and one of the school's we're visiting employed all kids at the scorers table on JV.Mercifully the football coach came in to run the board for varsity.

SCal, I don't know if the school even HAD a regular crew. I've run into more than a few situations in the NYC public school where coaches are literally finding kids right before the jump ball to run the clock(s).

I'd say 95% of the public BV/GV games I worked this year had kids working the table so it's very hit or miss in terms of ability. The highlights:

*I've yet to find a kid who understood how the AP arrow works until I explained it to them. Then again, most schools don't even have an AP arrow at the table. They say it costs too much. I walk with my own. I made it with one of the blocks my sons used when they were toddlers.

*Timing time outs? I walk with a stopwatch, give it to them and tell them what to do.

*Shot-clock operation? All NYS GV games use it so we can't avoid it. I will say most of the kids understood it but there are still a decent number of play stoppages to fix it.