That is a practice appropriate for MS officials. I would suggest that you discard it and just look at the arrow on the table after every AP throw-in to confirm that it is properly switched.

And apparently a couple D1 officials I have seen on tv recently.

Really? You are saying that officials with access to a courtside video monitor and play-by-play technology are using a whistle in their pockets to track AP?

Yes. I guess some habits die hard. :cool:

When In Rome, Old Habits Die Hard ...
 

Here, in my little corner of Connecticut, we are very strongly encouraged (from the get go, during training) to keep track of the possession arrow with an extra whistle in our pocket. We've been doing this since the invention of the possession arrow. Last week, during our Cancer Awareness Week (one quarter game fee donated to American Cancer Society), we used pink whistles. Since using a pink whistle was not part of my usual pregame routine, I forgot my backup pocket whistle. It was a varsity game, I knew that the table had the arrow under control, and I knew that my partner had his backup pocket whistle, but I still felt totally naked without it. I couldn't wait for halftime to stuff that extra whistle in my pocket.

Some Of Us Work Middle School Games ...
 

Damn right. Our Catholic middle school games don't even have an arrow at the table. Never had. They leave it up to the officials to keep track, and there are a lot of held balls in a middle school game, especially a girls middle school game.

This is how it should be. As others have noted, the official putting his thumbs in the air does not always result in the switching of the arrow. There are a lot of situations where a held ball can be ruled and the arrow would not switch.

I have quarters go by all the time where we don't use the arrow. I don't even remember them anymore. I do remember a game this year where we went three quarters without using it, then had 4 within the first two minutes of the 4th quarter.

I believe your point is that there are several different things that can result in an alternating-possession situation (held ball, simultaneous violations, etc), but as a point of clarification, there is only 1 way for the arrow to be appropriately reversed and that is the completion of an alternating possession throw-in.

It is theoretically impossible to go more than a quarter (or halves if you play that) without using the arrow.

Theoretically, I could start every quarter with a T….

Theoretically, you'd be right.

Actually, it's not. It's theoretically possible to go the entire game without using it.

= comeback of the month. Oh, snap!