Traveling Violation - Coaching Points (VIDEO)
 

I'm looking for some coaching points. In the video, the dribber is called for a travel. The kid does this move pretty often but the travel calls only come about 10% of the time. But this game, it was called a lot more often.

http://youtu.be/i2x_NPLYIVs

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How can I help this player understand why it's called and improve his technique?
Is it simply because he didn't land on 2 feet?

Background -- I think it's a travel too but when it's call so inconsistently, I start to doubt myself. Also, when it's called inconsistently, the player starts to doubt my coaching points. Also, the definition of traveling seems to have
evolved from when I was coached 30 years ago (i.e. the dribbler seems to have more freedom/creativity).

Lastly, I've never been formally trained on traveling infractions. I only go by what I think I can learn by watching games and searching youtube (and trying to comprehend the rule book).

One of two things would make this legal:
1. Gathering the dribble after he makes that last leap.
2. Landing on both feet at the same time. Note, if he does this, neither foot can be a pivot.

The fact that it gets missed 90% of the time is likely a factor of the level of play and the officials are either inexperienced or don't want to call a lot of travels at that age.

I'd call it.

It's close but I have the player gathering when he is in the air. Thus, he can land and establish a pivot foot which is his left. I do not see his pivot moved in excess of the rule limits after that.

I agree it's close, but I see the gather with the right foot on the floor. If he gathers in the air, then the official incorrectly called a travel. If he gathers with the foot still down, then this is a travel.

Gathered In The Air ...
 

Tough call. Real time: Legal. Left foot is the pivot foot before the pass.

guess I don't see it
totally legal. I'd never call that a travel in HS.
edit- I don't really see any of the feet moving after he lands.

I'm not sure what your final point is looking for. His feet don't move after he lands, that's not the question.

Where are his feet when he gathers his dribble?

I actually missed this one the first time, but in retrospect was embarrassed about it. Seems obvious to me now that he caught the ball in both hands before jumping and landing with a one two count.

I have a legal play.

Peace

Also, understand that officials are trained to watch the defense and sometimes miss very close travel violations.

Travel...The dribbler catches the ball with the right foot on the floor, he then jumps and lands on the left followed by the right. Both feet must come down at the same time to be legal.

It isn't always caught and some people can't even see it in slow motion but it is what it is.

Looks legal to me, but to answer your question about why it's not consistently called one way or another? It's really close. The fact that we have a slow-mo on the play and the forum is still split is proof of that. As some others have indicated, if he gathers with one foot still on the ground, even if it's just his toe as he is leaping, then he can't land 1-2. If he gathers in the air, he's all set. So if you want to minimize (though not eliminate) the times it is called a travel, the coaching point would be to try to gather the ball just a split second later, so that it is a little clearer to officials that he is grabbing the ball with both hands while in the air, rather than making them make a close-call decision.

Travel, but close to legal.
1. At 2 second point of video (in real time) and 8 second point in slow motion, dribbler ends dribble while foot is on the floor. Right foot becomes pivot foot.
2. Player leaps, causing pivot foot to leave the floor.
3. Pivot foot lands before the ball is passed (or shot); resulting in travel.

Had the ball been gathered to end dribble a half second later, after the leap, no pivot foot would be established until he lands. Legal play.

That is how I see it anyway.

I'm joining the no travel club because I think the dribble ended post-leap. But yeah, it's very close. Hard to tell with this camera angle. Probably hard for the officials, too. This was a 2-person game, and the trail wasn't even in the picture, meaning he was probably too high and not in good position to see the play (so he guessed...a cardinal sin). If he's lower, or if this is a 3-person game and there's a reliable C accepting this play, the officials probably get a much better look. And even then, I'm not sure they'd have enough evidence to call a travel here in real time.

At a recent association meeting in my neck of the woods, leadership noted that they were unhappy with the amount of non-travels being called travels. If anything, they'd rather we err on the side of travels not being called if we're not sure. So I'd probably let this go. It's also probably why 90% of officials in the OPs area do as well.

I had to watch it a few times trying to see when he gathers the ball. Looks like a travel in the video for reasons already posted.

As to it only be called some of the time I would suggest that perhaps he is gathering at different times even though he's trying to execute the same move.

Also, as officials, we try not to guess. I had a game today where I thought it likely that the player had travelled, but I wasn't sure so I passed on it. Even talked about it with my partner who happened to get a look at it as well. With this move I think officials may be in that situation.