Backcourt Violation Coverage
 

Worked three-man for the first time in a long time this week as part of a clinic.

Had this play come up a couple of times during the games...

I'm the T tableside, and A1 has the ball in the frontcourt, opposite the table. A1 dribbles the ball off of her foot and the ball rolls into the backcourt. A1 is the first one to touch it in the backcourt.

Obviously, we have a violation, but my question is who should make this call? The T, who is closer to the division line, or the C, which is whose area the ball came from?

While working only about 5-10 3 person mechanics a year, I'm going with the C's since it was in their primary.

According to the mechanics handbook, that's the T's line to call - the division line. However, the C needs to have a look and an opinion, just in case.

The violation in this particular case was obvious....

...but the T should have the better look at the division line for those not-so-obvious violations.

In our games the other night, both times the C and I both whistled and signaled the violation. Our evaluator didn't say anything about the play, which is why I bring the question here.

I agree. The line belongs to T, so I'd say if it's a matter of a dribbler stepping on the line or a pass receiver having backcourt status, it's T all the way. But in terms of who was last to touch in C's PCA, I think C should defer momentarily to T in case T has a call to make, but if T doesn't and C has a violation, C has to come in with a secondary whistle.

Now let's say C gets a trap in his primary near the division line. This is that situation where C has to go officiate the trap, thereby forcing a rotation (the one time that L doesn't initiate the rotation). When this happens, C becomes T, and if there's a violation (or a foul), the "new T" makes the call as he well should.

The responsibility for this call rests with the Trail. However, before whistling the violation the Trail should look at the Center to determine if he is providing information via the new tip mechanic. Since the ball came from the Center's PCA, he should have the determitive opinion on which player was last to touch the ball.

If you see a violation, you call the violation. Both the C and the T could have one as the entire play could take place in their primary. I have no problem with the C calling this if they clearly have a violation and the first touch of the ball took place right in front of them. The T might be guessing in this situation.

Peace

the answer to this question is not black and white. Study the mechanics and understand the philosophy of the mechanics. In most cases, this will be the Trails call. But that doesn't mean that sometimes the C is going to come and get this.

The philosophy for the Trail to get this call is because the line is his. IN most cases he will have the players receiving the ball. The C will frequently have other players in his PCA that require attention. The C should not turn and watch a ball in open space when there are other competitive matchups in his PCA, especially when the ball is moving to players in the Trail's PCA.

Therefore, the trail will usually pick this up, have the line and the touch and will look to the C for a tip signal.

Mechanics are "GUIDELINES" not rules. Get the call right, first and foremost. The T will often not see everything needed when the ball comes from another primary and, as a result, can't make a call with high certainty. The C, who has all of the necessary information, can. That makes it the C's call regardless of who's line it is. This is different than an out-of-bounds line since a whistle may or may not be needed at the division line. For OOB lines, he covering official will always blow the whistle and, if needed, ask for input. For the division line, the official with the best information should just make the call....even if it is the lead.

I meant to say that sometimes the c will need to come in and get this. It's worded awkwardly in my previous post, but the point I was trying to make is that mechanics are guidelines, not rules and it is perfectly acceptable for the C to make this call.