Flow vs. Rules

[bainsey]

At last weekend's camp, I was praised by one instructor for a few off-ball calls. I appreciated the positive feedback, but it made me laugh at the same time.

One of the things that coaches' and fellow officials' evaluations dinged me on was that very thing -- "too many off ball calls" (partner) and "affects flow of the game" (coach). Granted, these were at the lowest end of the bell-shaped curve, and the instructor told me to heed none of it, but it makes you wonder how some people think.

I'm all for seeing a play through, especially the on-ball plays (contact affecting RSBQ, et al), but off-ball stuff happens that you have to deal with. I have to believe if some this "flow" garbage is "I want to get the game over with," whether the players are committing fouls or not. Do they expect us to ignore them, so they can get home earlier?