Talking to players
 

Over the last few years, I have been mostly a JV official working an occasional small school varsity game. I was taught earlier in my career that an official should talk to the players to sometimes avoid calling a minor foul. For example, "34 red, get set on that screen". As I watch more veteran officials work, I see less talking. Should talking to players stop as you get to the varsity level? Any advice.

They are just better at talking to the players without making it look obvious. ;)

No, most good varsity officials talk to players. They just pick their spots. And they say a lot in dead ball periods when hardly anyone knows they are talking to them. That is an art, not a science.

Peace

As a rule of personal thumb, I never talk to varsity players in obvious spots. It's a foul. Borderline stuff, yeah, quick 3-second reminder, yeah, but beyond that they know what to expect at that level, so talking to a player should be minimum the higher up.

On average in a varsity game I may talk a handful of times (single digits). The best advice is a whistle. I talk more when the ball is dead and to address a specific player or issue.

I have found free throws or throw-ins are the best time for this. If a player is setting a marginal screen I might get their attention and let them know. If they are using their hands perhaps you can yell "hands!" during play. I usually step onto the court a little bit to talk to post players -- it shows up on video and lets everyone watching know that I am on top of that play.

I'm still trying to figure things out too, so I would love to hear more from other guys.

As a coach, I don't think it's right for refs to talk to players in ways that give them an advantage. For example, "watch the 3 seconds", "watch the handcheck", "keep still on that screen". Just call it. Why are you coaching/advising them? I like to think my team knows how to avoid 3 second calls, guard without handchecking, set proper screens, etc... Why is my opponent being aided?

I've sat courtside at many NCAA and NBA games, and I can't remember hearing an official saying a word to a player about what he is currently doing wrong. They just blow the whistle and call it.

Don't see why high school varsity should be any different.

To follow up on Coach Bill's comment, I know at NCAAW's camps I've attended they're telling us to get out of the habit of talking to the players while the ball is live and I've carried the habit into HS games. I'll say "keep moving" to get players out of the lane but apart from that I don't say much. The feeling is the player has already committed a foul by the time we say "hands" or "get set on that screen" so you might as well call the foul. Also, if the opposing coach hears you (s)he will probably say, "Just call the foul!"

Rarely go out of my way to talk to a kid. I agree that is a good time, but it is still rare. Usually a kid comes to me before I say anything to them on my own.

Peace

Big Brother, With the Stripes, Is Watching ...
 

Early in the game, I don't like players putting me in positions where I have to make tough decisions on borderline (advantage/disadvantage) calls, so I give them some preventative advice. A player gets lost in the lane, not really gaining any advantage (oh, oh, now I've done it), so it's easy to say, "Get out of the lane". A player extends an elbow while setting a screen, without making any contact, I don't need to see that, with contact, later in the game, so I say, "Hey watch the elbows on the screen". A player runs slightly out of bounds, running around a screen, on a set play, I don't want to see that again in the game, more out of bounds, and gaining more of an advantage (damn, I've got to stop doing that), so I yell, "Hey stay inbounds on that play". Player moves in a little early on the first of a one-and-one, that goes in, I don't want to see that again, so I remind everyone (not just that player), "Let it hit".

I just want to let all the players know that I'm keeping an eye on them. Just a friendly reminder that I'm out there, that I know what how to do my job, and that I have a whistle and I'm not afraid to use it. Preventive warnings are just one of the many tools that we have on our black toolbelts (oh, oh, that may have been poorly worded, now I've done it again) to insure that we have a smooth game, no surprises, not ticky tack calls, etc.

This is exactly why we're discouraged from talking to the players.

There's a difference, I think, between saying "That was a foul and if you do it again I'm going to call it" and "You're approaching the line so don't go any farther" or "That would have been a foul but .... (e.g., the ball was already dead, you tried to set an illegal screen but there wasn't any contact)"

Not that we would use any of those words.

NCAA and NBA officials most definitely talk to player about such stuff, you just don't hear it, and that's not by accident.

I will talk, but it's always so generic that players just assume I'm talking to them.

My usual line is, "EASY!" and magically the banging stops and the knee comes farther out of the player's butt.

(I'll do this once on a matchup. If that doesn't fix things, the next time I'll simply call the foul. Three seconds? It's not worth a talking to, at least at the varsity level, cause it rarely becomes an issue that needs addressing. I'm not one of these officials who "won't call it" and I think I've called it four times all season.)

If i'm not mistaken, the last couple of years, IAABO has been emphasizing blowing the whistle and to stop talking to players ... at least that's what has filtered down through our organization.

I'm glad you asked! Here are our four objectives as officials:

1. Ensure player safety
2. Ensure games are played fairly, according to the rules
3. Help players develop skills and knowledge of the sport
4. Promote sportsmanship

If a player is setting a marginal screen I will pull them over and let them know that by rule they cannot be moving. We are not just enforcers of the rules, but teachers and communicators of it, especially at the development levels.


I would say that is exactly the college philosophy. HS may be different however.

There is something called preventative officiating. I tell players a lot of things if is going to prevent me from making a call that interrupts the game. And you only talk when you see someone do something borderline or it might not have actually created an advantage or was not clearly a violation. And players nowadays come to us often (at least in my experience) about things they get called for. So yes, we are going to talk to them and we have the right to talk to them.

I cannot speak for the NBA, but I know at the NCAA level, many officials talk to players when they can. And at least on the Men's side, they often want us to talk to players when we can. And I have seen many NBA official talk to players and the NBA made many videos public that officials talked directly to players. Not every conversation is going to be out in the open or where most even know what is said, but it is part of what we do in officiating in all sports and all levels.

Peace

Who do you mean by "our"?

I was thinking the same thing, but I was going to just let it go. ;)

Peace

According to whom?

I disagree with the last 2. I am not their coach and/or mentor and I enforce sportsmanship standards. The coach and school district needs to promote it.

Totally agree. It's not like we are allowing illegal contact and then saying "tsk, tsk don't do that, I'm going to call it next time." It's smart preventative officiating to talk to players when they are toeing the line between marginal and illegal (at the right time of course).

Coach, you get the same courtesy at the other end...

The first one is also untrue. We can't "ensure" safety -- players get hurt on legal plays and on illegal plays that we can't prevent.

Why do you say stuff like this? If that's something you want to have in your job description, I suggest you take up coaching. This is NOT the college philosphy, and not the HS either.

Honestly - I can only see that applying if you're working a youth league somewhere or at the VERY most 7th grade B&C games.

Uh-oh. I need more...

If I don't deem contact to be sufficient enough to warrant a foul, I may say something about cleaning things up to avoid it escalating into pushing or fighting-like activity later. It's not necessarily to avoid one or both of them drawing fouls. IMO, it's more important to avoid a fight than to possibly give one or the other coaching-like advice.

As for talking players out of things, as I get into sub-varsity and lower levels, such a thing will happen more and more. All of which gets into the part about helping players develop skills and knowledge of the sport.

I get the preventative officiating is important and plays a role. I think at a HS level you've got to read the level of the game, players and coaches involved to make preventative decisions. Anything higher then high school though unless you are cleaning up borderline plays that may escalate. You have to make calls or let it be.

With kids/coaches/teams who know the rules they are playing at the edge of the rule intentionally. Accidents/crossing the line they expect to have called. Coaches in those games don't want you telling kids not to reach or clear the lane. They either want their kid to keep playing the way they are playing or make an adjustment once you've called it a couple of times.

Absolutely, I agree with this. And, I encourage my players if they're unsure what they did wrong to respectfully talk to the official. If done properly at a dead ball, most officials don't mind. On the NCAA level, each year the officials come in before the season and talk to the players/coaches about new rules and things they're emphasizing, and they'll officiate scrimmages/exhibition games to get the kids/coaches used to it. It's a good practice. I'm guessing they probably do it in the NBA, too.

I've never thought of it as a courtesy. And, like I said, I like to think that we play the right way. So, teams, that aren't, are indeed getting an advantage if they get a warning instead of a foul (for example).

Help players develop skills? Really? I think you're messin with me.

I don't offer advice to players or tell them to watch it or be careful why? It's not my job I am there to call the game not be there coach. I think you are setting yourself up when you do that. If I tell gold to get out of the lane and the other ref pops black for 3 seconds now the game is not being called fair. If they ask I will answer but never offer.

I guess I'm getting fired because I'll tell a kid 'hey watch your screen, they are getting close to a illegal; or hey watch it with the elbows after a a whistle.'

Are you saying it's not done at the HS level? Because it is, here.

Here too.

Here, too. See above.

Here - the HS coaches go to a pre-season meeting, with the assumption the info is trickled down. I don't know if it happens at all NCAA schools, but at UMD, officials came to the gym, went through demonstrations, situations, and interpretations, and the players and coaches got to ask questions. It was excellent.

There is a major change going on with how basketball games are called. We have seen it with the NCAA enforcement of handchecking, two-hands on a ball handler, armbars, etc. The instruction that has been coming out in the past couple of years is to blow the whistle and let the players and coaches adjust. This is replacing the previous method of talking to players early in the game about their hands or other transgressions. The philosophy that is coming down the pipeline now is to call the offense the first time that it happens without any warning.
People who have been officiating for 15-20 years will have to decide whether to get on board with this or continue to work as they always have. What those in charge in their areas desire will determine the impact of this choice.

I know that things are not as organized and there is far less oversight at the HS level than for NCAA. So some HS areas will likely continue as they always have, while others will proceed in a manner more closely resembling the current NCAA instruction. What one has to do depends upon one's local area.

I talk to players before they even do stuff. Even in many cases I say things so they can hear me. And when I do call a foul they are aware I was watching them. My talking is never a substitute for calling a foul. I do not think the two things are mutually exclusive. You talk to players when you have the opportunity to talk to them. You call the foul when something obvious takes place. And many times talking to players is after a foul or violation is called. I do not know how many times I have called a travel on a kid and had them ask, "What did I do?" Or when you call a foul the player says, "Well he pushed me first." Then my answer is often clarifying what I saw or letting them know "I saw exactly what you did......" and they react accordingly as if they know I saw what they did. And they are going to continue to talk to us when they see their pro counterparts do the same at that level when they watch TV. You can name any NBA player and when they disagree they are talking to an official. You have to learn how to navigate those interactions whether it is with a T or talking them out of other bad behavior. I do not think you have to be a robot and only call things when players and teams play differently and approach us differently.

Peace

In the season ending NCAA-Men's video, John Adams specifically tells officials to help prevent free throw violations by talking to the players. In fact, he added an animated cartoon dialogue bubble to the video to illustrate his point.

And if you watched the A10 final Sunday, there was one official who visibly talked to the players the entire game, even during live action.

What was he saying? I've seen/heard them talk to players, too, at the NCAA level. Lots of times. My point was I never heard them say "No two hands on the ball-handler", "remove that armbar", "move out of the lane #3", etc.... They don't tell them what they're currently doing wrong, they just call it. However, i have seen/heard similar things at the HS level.

I'm curious, what did John Adams suggest to say to players to prevent free throw violations?

I say all the time, "Hands, hands, hands" or "Lane, lane" and no one hears me but the players. And I never hear a coach say anything to me or even know I am saying anything.

Peace

It involved players not along the lane line crossing the 3-point line too early, and the bubble said "Wait until it hits!".