Touche

Got absolutely smoked by a coach today.  Player from the opposing team did a poor jump stop, where he landed with the quick "thu-thump".  I didn't see it or hear it.  It wasn't in my area.  Coach wanted to tell me about it.  My response was, "We don't want to be splitting hairs on travels."  Coach response, "Well, you're doing good!" implying that we were certainly letting travels go.  The good news was, it was not a malicious zinger.  Great retort.  I was very impressed.

Another Good Friend: Inadvertant Whistle!

Inadvertent whistles are nefarious.  They happen when you anticipate something happening, lose your patient whistle, and react before you actually see and process everything.  They happen a lot more than you think.  Phantom fouls are really inadvertent whistles, you just don;t always realize they were because you guessed and/or anticipated.

You also very rarely see an inadvertent whistle identified and fessed up to during games.  Why?  Because referees don't know they did it, as described above, or they would be too embarrassed to admit it and administer it. If that is the case, get over yourself.  It's a good way to build credibility, believe it or not, and sometimes can minimize the damage caused by them.

How do I know this?  I've been there, done that, and seen the mistakes on film.  Three years ago, I was the C and the shot clock was about to expire.  A terrible flip towards the basket that had no chance of drawing iron was aimlessly flying out of bounds.  Shot clock was less than 1.  As the buzzer sounded, being alert and as greatly aware as I am, I hit the whistle and tapped the top of my head.  Problem was, some offensive player jumped up, reached way out, and somehow redirected the ball towards the basket.  Guess what?  It grazed the rim.  And I was standing right in front of the offensive team's coach (darn second half).  "It hit the rim!" he screamed.  I knew he was right, and I asked for help from the T, who said it did not hit the rim.  The coach was still chapped, and I said, "I think you're right, I anticipated it, and think I blew it.  We're going to just go the other way," and we implemeted the shot clock violation, giving the ball to the other team.  The other coach loved it, "Great call, it didn't hit the rim."  I started wondering if my call was correct, but didn't feel like it was.  End of game, the L said it did noth it the rim.  I asked someone in the hallway on the way out of the locker room, who said it did not hit the rim.  Got in the car, and my wife, who knows little about basketball, told me it hit the rim.  That's when I knew 100% I blew it.  The film later confirmed it.  No damage was done, but I thought about how I could have fixed it.  The answer:  Inadvertent whistle.  Could have gone to the arrow, and the offensive team would have kept the ball.  Could have also said that the offensive team controlled the tip after it grazed the rim, so POI give it to offense.  Admitting my mistake would have allowed me to attempt to mitigate the negative consequences levied against the offense.  I vowed to never be afraid to call inadvertent again.

Earlier this year, working 4th grade girls (yeah, a big big favor to a good friend), one team was blue and one team was purple.  Loose ball, frantic and crappy pursuit by several players.  Kind of lost track of which team was which and who was going which direction...and I called an over-and-back based on the offensive team being the last to touch...and realized I got it wrong.  I right away called inadvertent, went to the arrow, and got on with the game.  The defensive team got the ball based on the arrow--so my inadvertent still hurt a team unjustly, but at least they gained the arrow back, and my proclamation of "my bad" did not get screamed at.  I was kind of proud of myself to have learned and implemented this lesson.

Think of hypotheticals.  Scrambling for a loose ball in a close game, no team gets possession, but a referee guesses visually, reacts to a coach/player yelling for a timeout, and grants one.  You know the film will show that the team did not have possession.  The crew can discuss inadvertent whistle.  It the R has stones, he can and will make that call, and try and fix the damage.  Still a lot of variables, but these situations can and do happen, and can ruin a game if done at the wrong time.

Inadvertent whistles happen.  We all have the "Oh s&*t!" moments when we hear a whistle we wish we could immediately take back.  Acknowledging it, and being quick enough to decide whether inadvertent whistle is the right call will help you be a better official.  Of course, if you do it 5 times a game, you're dead meat.  But on rare occasions, it can be a crew's good friend.  Hope this gets in your toolbox.

Newbie Advice: Tough Coaches

Started going through my files, and found an Excel file that logged every game I ever worked.  Since I keep getting a lot of e-mail from first-year guys asking questions, I have a few more things that stood out when I saw the games I worked as a rookie.

One of the lasting memories was getting assigned to a particular coach 7 times, which equated to 13 games since, most of those assignments were freshman games where each school had a freshman A and freshman B team, so you called 2 games.  Richland was, and sort of continues to be, a cool place where the former varsity coaches, who were extremely successful during their turns as the Varsity coach of RHS, would coach the sub-varsity teams at Richland, and also the junior high schools that feed Richland.  It established a pipeline of kids that maximized their talents, and fostered extreme success for the school.  My first year of officiating, the freshman coach at Richland had been a State Championship coach at 2 schools and also coached the local CC team.  He was a great big bear of a man, who wore a perpetual scowl and growled all the time.  Absolute intimidator.  Combine Bobby Knight and Walter Mathau, and this was the guy.

First game with this coach, after my initial fun scrimmage, was with another crusty old guy who was short on people skills.  I'm sprinting around, trying my best to hustle, and work on a couple of basic things.  Richland is dismantling another opponent by about 40.  All of a sudden, the Richland coach doesn't like a few of my calls.  I pretty much start to put him on ignore as he gets madder at me.  I don't really know what to say, anyway.  Them, one of his players makes another poor decision and turns the ball over.  "Time out!" he bellows as he glares straight at me.  He could have been heard for a mile.  I hit the whistle, made the signal, and then realized that something was strange.  The opposing coach was yelling, but my partner was right in my grill.  "Don't you know you they have to have the ball to get a TO, you f&ck^&^g idiot!  Jesus!"  I felt pretty small and pretty stupid.  I also saw the contented smirk from the Richland coach.  Embarrassed and angry at everyone, I finished my games.

Next week, same deal.  Same yelling.  Same attempts to intimidate.  I vowed never to get unnerved again, and I did not, but I really hated working those games.  The reason I hated it?  I knew that I was making mistakes, and I hated getting called on it that loudly.  I had little basis for giving him a T, unless I wanted to get back at him for pointing out mistakes or 50/50 calls that did not go his way.  I asked my assignor why I had so many of those games with that school.  My assignor said, "George, keep working.  He's making you better."  Year 2, I had 12 more games with that coach.  By the end of year 2, he was killing my partners and kind of leaving me alone.  Year 3, I didn't really work freshman games any more.

Point to new guys?  Understand that you make tons of mistakes.  Don't look to penalize coaches because of them.  Tough coaches are not fun to deal with--I still have assignments that I know are not going to be much fun--but as a new guy think of what they are communicating more so than how they say it.  Some of these guys can teach you an awful lot.  Don't miss the message through the yelling or sarcasm.  Embrace the adversity that your mistakes can create, and learn from it.

This coach is now retired, but he is a fixture at basketball games, and still scowls all the time.  However, he is always willing to give opinions, good or bad, about games and officiating.  I've had the chance to watch major college games with him, and he is incredibly observant an intelligent about basketball.  He has helped me to this day be a better official.  I would have never thought that in a million years during my rookie campaign.  Think about that.

Have a great Christmas!

"Is that his call?"

I absolutely hate it when I hear officials say, "Ask him!" when a coach questions something that happened right in front of a partner.  Especially on scoring plays, because you should have 2-3 sets of eyes on scoring plays around the basket.

At best, you are telling a coach that your partner may have missed on and it is not your problem.  Typically, since most of these situations occur on scoring plays when you are near the coach, and probably saw something similar to what set him off, it's a passive-aggressive swipe at your partner.  Neither one espouses the mantra of teamwork, brotherhood, and backing each other up that all referees claim as their religion.  Wanna be a respected R and leader?  Read on...

I had a situation where a ball was fed into a post player who was probably camped for a while.  I was the T right next to the opposing coach.  Post player caught the ball 3 feet from the basket, and took his sweet ass time to gather himself and moose a shot up through a much smaller defender who was fighting all the way.  Boop!  3-point play, call made by the L.  Problem was, the kid was probably in there 5 seconds prior to shooting.  It should have been a 3 in the key.  No question.  Can't correct that.

Coach got excited.  "That's 3 in the key!"

George's brain: "Oh, s^&t!  S*&t, s*&t, s87t 1"  George's mouth:  "You're right!"

Coach, heading towards L and gaining emotional steam:  "How can he not call that?!  It's right in front of him.  That's his call!"

George:  "No, it's all of our call, Coach."

Coach:  "What?!?  It was right in front of him!"

George: "Hey, I'm standing right where you were.  I saw what you did.  I should have called it."

Coach:  "But that's HIS call!"

George:  "No, it's all of our call.  Any of us could have made it, and we didn't.  It's on me, too."

It ended right there.  Coach never even addressed the L.  I doubt the L even knew what went on.  Now, I had time for this extended conversation because I stayed there for the reporting and the free throw.  How do you think that coach views me now?  Think I earned some credibility?

The best thing?  It's the truth.  I could have and should have made that call.  I didn't register quick enough, and didn't hit the whistle.

It happens other times.  "Yeah, coach, it looked like contact to me, too, but I had the third best look, and didn't feel confident calling it...but you probably have a point, and I'm aware of it."

"Yeah, coach, looked like contact, and I could have pulled the trigger, but didn't.  I missed it, too."

Don't be the Big V that points fingers.  Crew integrity is your best friend.  Everyone talks that game.  A lot of people don't walk that game.

Poor Positioning Illustrated

In three-man mechanics, as lead you must get ball side, period.  There are rare times where you will have a skip pass followed immediately by a drive or shot, where you would stop your flex, but that is a very rare occurrence.  Take a look at this:

 
Mr. Red is watching the ball on the opposite wing, while there is a competitive matchup ongoing on the opposite block.  He's also right on the end line, so even if he decided not to flex, like he would have done in the archaic days of 2-man, he has no depth from the court to see the post play at all--completely straight-lined.  It's also apparent that the defender got beat pretty badly, so you know this did not originate on a skip pass.  The C should be going top side on the drive, moving the opposite direction of the dribbler in his on-ball  matchup.  This is a prime example of terrible positioning that will absolutely lead to either guessing or missed calls.  That L is screwed.

Learn from this.  On about 4 levels, this is exactly what you are NOT supposed to be doing.  This positioning is even poor for 2-man mechanics, because he is is right on the endline.  Get ball side and flex.

Rookies...The First Steps

I am still astounded at the number of hits and direct e-mail s I have gotten the last few months, so it is pretty cool that what I am doing here is actually helping someone. I have gotten e-mails from several brand new officials, so I am guessing that others who are silent are out there, too.

My first year was interesting. I reffed intramurals at college and was considered "good". I did all the playoff and championship games. Big head. After I finished my Master's at night, I had some time, and was asked to ref high school games. I agreed as long as I was not stuck with HS girls' freshman games. Again, pretty arrogant, but off I went.

"Training" was a joke. A "veteran" official with no real personality or aggressiveness on the court would lecture for about 10 minutes after meeting. That's it. They then asked for volunteers to go do an intrasquad game, so I jumped.

Rode up to the game with 2 vets, one was a varsity guy, the other was a perpetual varsity wannabe guy. In retrospect, they were both big time, just ask them, and they loved to hear themselves talk. I got quite the load of war stories heading up.

Game started, and I was told to watch and learn. Then, they put me in there. Varsity boys, hothead coach. I got creamed. I was not positioned right. I was not signaling right. I was missing a lot of stuff because I was worrying about positioning and signals. Coach was screaming about me. It was embarrassing.

Post-game, direct quote: "You have no idea what the f%^k you're doing out there, do you know that? You're not even close to being ready to do games!" I got ripped all the way home, for about 35 minutes. I think the one guy was upset because the coach was pissy. It was a nightmare. Got home, called my "mentor" who got me into this, and told him I was done.

My mentor told me to chill out, and informed me that I was not quitting. He told me that I would be working Varsity games during my third year of officiating. He wound up being 100% correct, although I would have bet a testicle against that at the time. I could have been Ol' One-Ball Jackson. Seriously.

"Pick one thing per game, focus on it, master it, and move on." Great advice. Next game out, I vowed to put my arm straight up with a hand or fist on every whistle. That was it. Cared about little else. Felt good about it.

Game number 2, stand up straight when I signaled travel which I called a lot). Other examples: Go super slow reporting at table, beat the ball down the floor as new lead, only signal on my lines for OOB, don't call across key as lead, call only very obvious travels...The list is endless. I still do it. Last night, it was "do not get distracted by player reactions (grunting/groaning/profanity) to the point that you worry more about game management than balls and strikes".

February of that year,I get assigned a freshman/JV doubleheader. I had 64 games since the intrasquad game. That was 64 things I had tried to work on. Guess who my Varsity guy was? He watches a half of our JV game, and proceeds to absolutely rip my partner, who had transferred to Tri-Cities with 10 years experience in other states. "Got anything for me, God?" I asked. (His name was not really God, just changed to protect the jackass.) "George, no. I cannot believe how far you've come already. I really have nothing to tell you. I don't believe it."

Two years later, I was working Varsity games. Four years later, I was working college basketball games. Five years later, I had passed both of those guys by quite a margin. To be fair, both of those guys were cool with me as I ascended. But I never forgot how they treated me, and never did that to anyone else.

New guys, pick one thing each game to fix, fix it, and keep it fixed. Doesn't make many games to make a massive overall improvement. Believe me, it happens.