Great Moments in Youth Sports

About one-third or halfway through each season, we must take time to reflect on why we encourage our youth to take part in sports. My commitment to officiating comes from my personal passion for “age-appropriate youth sports experiences”. Youth sports create many “teachable moments”. Modeling good sporting behavior while teaching the intricacies of the game set the tone for a rich learning environment and set the scene for truly memorable events. Children learn how to respect opponents, accept losing, and “be good winners”. Youth sports build character and creates the important opportunity for our children to feel that they are earning respect.

We can only be involved if we agree to play by all the rules. Leaving out some rules simply for convenience, because they are tough calls, or since “coaches don’t like them” is not acceptable. All rules carry equal weight. Punishments, however, vary based on the severity of the offense. “See it, think it, call it” makes sense in officiating every aspect of our games.

Remember, the game is always bigger than the officials, and, frankly, the game is much, much bigger than the coaches and players because they are not expected to be versed in the rules. Fair play and the integrity of the game must be first and foremost, and the game officials are responsible for managing the game and demanding expected behaviors. Yes, good sporting behavior is expected. . . so PLEASE enforce it and applaud it when appropriate.

Every once in a while we hear about a great display of sportsmanship, but we all have recent memories of conflict, disputed calls, disrespectful behavior by the coach, or poor choices by a participant. When spectators yell at an opposing child, we know it is wrong. Thankfully, we all appreciate officiating most when we witness the right things happening during our games. Many hesitate or fail to appreciate the power of these moments. I thought I would brainstorm a few and then challenge you, the readers, to respond with good moments that you have witnessed or would like to see. (Just click on “Comments” below.)

Great moments in youth sports happen when:

• opponents help/assist injured opponents,
• apologize/feel remorse for their aggressive foul,
• coaches compliment the officials when they lose the close game,
• players really mean “good game” when they say it to opponents and officials,
• participants and spectators feel empathy for a player that fell short in his attempt at greatness,
• teams are amazed and almost cheer the great plays and hits by the other team,
• a player called out on a close play says, “Good call!” to the umpire, and more.

I believe these moments are too often missing from youth sports competitions. We must remember that youth sports includes high school sports. These educational moments are meant to shape our children for decision-making in their future. For this reason alone, let’s do whatever we can to do our jobs well. The coach and the overall educational experience are very important. Thankfully, the rules clearly lay out the expectation of all parties. Game officials are challenged with the duty to enforce the rules as written. I fail to see many collegiate and professional leagues enforcing their rules as written. That’s a topic for a future article.

Generally problems arise when people try to do someone else’s job. When fans start to coach or officiate, coaches start to officiate, or officials start to coach, trouble ensues. If we all do our jobs with vigor and enthusiasm dedicating ourselves to learn continually as we go, our games are in good hands. The rules are working or the games would require constantly changing rules.

Did you notice that spectator behavior was lacking from this list? The few cordial cheers during the pre-game announcements is about the only times when I recognize the other guys getting “a hand”. Respond and give more examples of “good sporting behavior”. Recognize and appreciate proper behavior in an appropriate way (telling other officials or thanking coaches for modeling good behavior at the game-ending handshake. Just because we expect it, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t applaud it!

Now that I have you thinking about great deeds, check out this news worthy deed that earned national coverage. Despite the fact that the rules were misapplied, this is a great story. Click on title for a news article from ESPN or click on the youtube video to see the post-game interview.

ESPN Article–Ultimate
Act of Sportsmanship

Trained, “Focused” Eyes & Additional Officials per Contest

As a sports official, one the most important skills that we need to develop and constantly maintain is the ability to focus on the player activity that is assigned to us per recommended mechanics. Trained eyes make it possible to see most of what we are supposed to see so we can properly officiate our games.

This following video helps me make my point about “focus” and the need for additional officials. How did you do? Could you count the number of passes by the white team? How aware are you of what happened. Please take time to read the rest of this blog entry after watching the video.

Most officials will agree that at the high school level in most sports, we would benefit greatly by having an additional official. The way that basketball has changed over the years (esp. 3-point line and motion offenses), we can serve the game best by having three (3) officials. In football, officials cannot cover some blocking infractions and actions against receivers without five (5) officials. In baseball, we can cover a game best with three (3) which allows umpires to move into the outfield to rule on catches, accurately rule on base-touching and fair-foul balls, and have the ability to create good angles and be close enough to plays. Hockey also needs to move from two to three (3) officials. When you are focused on a potential off-sides call, you are not capable of seeing the whole play related to a possible penalty call.

However, given the financial times and some resistance to additional officials amongst some of our coaches and athletic administrators, we must try to do our best with one less set of eyes. This makes our pre-game conferences and adherance to prescribed mechanics even more important. We must know our responsibilities and strictly follow required mechanics. These mechanics (positioning, signals, and use of the voice/whistle) determine how we view and rule upon what we see. We all know that we make hundreds or even thousands of rulings during each contest we officiate, only to interrupt games (making calls) at appropriate times.

Some officials quickly and easily learn what to focus on early in their officiating careers. Others take a great deal of time to properly train their eyes. Some never master this part of officiating. “Focus” is very important but we must be careful not to focus our eyes or our mind too much on one or more concerns. Looking for that illegal screen/block or holding (basketball, football, and hockey) can sometimes avert our focus from seeing the entire play that is often necessary. With an additional official, you may be able to focus on one thing (and sometimes the mechanics provides for this).

When we say to ourselves/others that we would like to see that play again, do you think we might have focused in on something a little bit too much? I know that I have been caught by this many times. Now that it has come to my attention, I know that I need to add this comment and thought to my pre-game preparation checklist.

If you really want to learn the rules, help teach the rules to others!

IAABO #111 is venturing into the world of using online software to teach basketball rules and mechanics.  Moodle, an online course management sytstem, will serve as the main artery for the sharing portion of the prospective officials’ course.  With content and learning materials available online, learners take on the role as assistant teacher when posting questions and answers and discussing the intricacies of rules and the purpose of the rules.

Online learning reduces travel expenses for those that live in rural areas and allows the learner to access the learning process at her/his leisure (preferably at times when there won’t be a lot of interruptions.  With all the web 2.0 tools (ie. Google Apps., Bubble.us, del.ici.ous, wikis, blogs, forums), discussion evolves into collaborative writing and learning.

Other benefits include the relative ease of sharing documents and other digital information. Online reduction reduces the wasteful stream of paperwork and allows students to access, study, and communicate their learning at their leisure.  Some students will put forth a valiant effort since they are excited to learn and their energy can lead the participants and on an over-achieving and reflective journey.  Home-based learning just might be one of the healthiest winter activities only second to running up and down a basketball court.  This says it all, “Basketball officials get the best of both worlds–basketball and financial compensation for doing something you will love to do.

Obviously we will not replace all face-to-face meetings because we have to learn court mechanics on a basketball court with other students and rule situations are always integrated during on-court sessions.  The essence of basketball officiating is  Consistently enforcing rules and dealing appropriately with all kinds of learners (spectators) is the essence of basketball officiating.  People skills are part of the package.  It is imperative that people discuss and describe rule situations accurately and thoroughly.

The course remains available online so people can constantly refer back to previous learning linking new experiences to the foundation that comes with the prospect of becoming a certified IAABO official.  I especially would feel good about eliminating most of the wasteful printing of documents and handouts.  People print only if they want a hard copy.  Today’s officials are used to reading online and must be online regularly to monitor games being assigned which is also done online.

Overall, a collaborative course with pre-determined lessons allows participants and teachers to fit the learning into their lives wherever it fits best.   Officials in the course should be expected to reflect on their work discussing their learning experiences.  Add a mentoring program to Moodle, regular meetings, and real game experience and you have an efficient learning process where learning is dynamic and demanding by nature.  I have learned that additional rule study will never make you a worse official.

My prediction:  You will see some poor officials who may know all the rules, but you will never see a great official who doesn’t know the rules.

Coach Concern over Rough Play

Mike Lawrence, presumably a quality high school basketball coach and person, previously asked some interesting questions about officials’ pre-game preparation (see these by clicking here). My response resulted in Mike sharing some comments and valid concerns. I hope this will present a real-life learning opportunity for officials and coaches alike.

Mike wrote:

My ‘previous’ questions were spurred by a comment made by one of our local referees. He said he felt the job of the referee was to make sure the better team won the game. I was just wondering at what point and how does a referee determine which is the better team?

I understand there are rules and a rule book for a reason. I’m just not sure about each referee’s individual interpretation. It is hard to teach kids when the foul or violation criteria changes from game to game or ref to ref. I try to teach solid fundamentals, teamwork and sportsmanship. I’m concerned that our obsession with winning makes these skills secondary. Over the past few years we’ve seen the trend where the more aggressive, physical, hands-on type teams are winning our divisions. More and more, referees are allowing this style of play. I would like to see us get back to more strict and consistent officiating.

Wow! I am so glad that you took time to explain the reasons for your questions. I presume you are a coach and from your communication, I can tell you are a good coach focusing on the expectations placed upon you to teach the game in accordance with the rules.

First of all, you are not alone in questioning the true role of officials. Without going directly to the rulebook for a response, I can only state that officials represent the integrity of the game and are expected to call a game in accordance with the rules (every rule–leaving none out). It’s about “fair play”, not making sure that the better team wins as an official told you. As an official, you should never leave a game feeling that roughness contributed to a team winning a game. Please don’t confuse this with aggressiveness because basketball is a sport where players move at full speed and contact is going to occur. Sometimes contact is a foul and sometimes it is not. The rules cover contact very well and the “incidental contact” rule (4-27, pg. 36) helps everyone understand when contact is or is not a foul.

In the state of Maine (USA), we are blessed with Peter Webb, Maine’s basketball commissioner and national advisor for IAABO basketball rules interpreters. He also happens to be our local basketball association rules interpreter. From listening to his presentations, I know that there is a nationwide concern that allowing rough play gives an advantage to teams not playing by the rules. The rules committee and rulebook have tried to address these concerns by stressing such things as hand-checking, rough post-play, body bumping, etc. I think we all know that finesse and sound fundamentals should win out over physicality.

Please continue your teaching fundamentals, teamwork, and good sporting behavior because it is proper and it will win games. Push your local officials’ associations to rely on the rulebook and use that only when making rulings in high school games. Sometimes top officials who also work college games allow their philosophies to creep into their mentoring/teaching of other officials. Every player is entitled to her/his space on the court free from contact/touching such as leaning, pushing, chairing, holding, bumping. Defensive players get a distinct advantage from touching. Just ask a player to play defensive with and without contact and you will see that they have to adjust their position to see the player they are guarding.

Much of the game is about advantage and disadvantage which control what we now use as we rule on incidental contact (4-27). In my opinion, this is the most important rule in the rulebook. It speaks of favorable positions and hindering opponents. Spend some time reading and use this rule to communicate with your local officials. If you get an advantage by illegal contact, it is not incidental and therefore a foul. Fouls result in free throws and foul trouble forcing players and coaches to adjust to the rules of the game of basketball.

In closing, the rules committee agrees with you that we must get back to more strict and consistent officiating. Whether your official’s group is an IAABO group (www.iaabo.org) or local NF association, we all use the same NFHS (National Federation of State High School Associations) rulebook. IAABO appears to have purposes beyond that of NFHS. IAABO can do this because it focuses solely on basketball.

mike lawrence <mike_27577@msn.com> writes:
Hi Shawn,

NASO-Referee Basketball Officials 07-08 Quiz

See how well you can do on the attached NASO/Referee Magazine basketball officials 2007-08 quiz.  The answers are included with the quiz so you won’t have to go away wondering if you got them right.

NASO-Referee 07-08 Basketball Officials’ Rules Quiz

IAABO #111 Dues Form Download

The Executive Committee of Board #111 wishes to clearly communicate the board’s minimum requirements. The form which must be signed and returned with the annual dues payment lists exactly what is required in order to receive regular season game assignments. An additional copy is provided for each official to keep for her/his personal records.

IAABO #111 Dues Form Download.

07-08 Questions with Interpretations by Peter Webb, IAABO

Check out the following questions and see if you would have ruled legally in the following situations.  Thanks to Peter Webb for providing this learning resource.  Click on the following link to take advantage of this important learning opportunity.

07-08 Questions with Interpretations

Peter Webb’s Maine Mid-Season Notes 2007-08

Peter Webb plays a significant role in high school basketball internationally with his IAABO interpreter position, serving as Maine’s basketball commissioner of basketball, and as IAABO board #111’s local interpreter. The following file download are Peter’s notes presented to Maine’s officiating groups on January 13, 2008. Click on the following link to download this important document.

Mid-Season Notes (January 2008)

 

Link to 2007-08 Rule Changes

Ever begin your pre-game conference and not be able to recall this years’ rule changes?  Just in case you want to glance at the rule and editorial changes and list of “points of emphasis”, you can click on the following link.

2007-08 National Federation Basketball Rule Changes 

http://www.nfhs.org/web/2007/04/200708_nfhs_basketball_rules_ch.aspx 

Concern About Resistant Staph Infections

After noticing the “skin infection procedure” on page 6 of the 2007-08 NF rulebook, I was unaware of the full story surrounding dangerous staph infections.  When I went to the National Federation website, I discovered the following article written by Linda Stanton, ATC.  As officials, it is important for us to understand the symptoms and modes of transmission of drug resistant staff infections for our own personal safety.  In addition, this information further emphasizes that we expect players to treat and cover scratches whether or not blood can be seen.  

from 2007 Fall Coaches’ Quarterly Newsletter:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Linda Stanton, ATC, works for HealthSouth, coordinating sports medicine outreach programs in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. She has been a certified athletic trainer for more than 20 years and coached field hockey for two years at Kean College in New Jersey.

MRSA: How does it relate to athletics? (Fall 2007 NFHS Coaches’ Quarterly)
by Linda E. Stanton, ATC

What is MRSA?
Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) is an advanced strain of a “staph” infection that is resistant to antibiotics such as methicilin, penicillin, amoxicillin and oxacillin. Some people refer to it as the “Super Bug.”

There are two types of MRSA:
1. HA-MRSA, which is hospital associated, usually affects individuals with a compromised immune system.
2. CA-MRSA is community associated and can affect healthy individuals. Athletes, coaches and athletic trainers can become infected and, therefore, prevention should be a key focus.

How Do You Get it and What is the Treatment?
Common bacteria live on our skin. In fact, many people are carriers of “staph” but don’t know it because they never have a staph infection. The problem starts when this “staph” bacteria find their way into the body through an open wound. This occurs either through direct contact of a person who is a carrier or by touching an object that has the bacteria.
The site of the wound becomes infected, showing signs of swelling, warmth, redness, puss-like pimple or boil. This time, immediate referral to your doctor is vital. Here, the infected area may be drained, a sample will be taken to be cultured and further evaluated. The doctor then may prescribe a course of antibiotics such as bactrim and vancocin. As with all antibiotics, it is important that individuals complete all medications prescribed by their doctor and also should not resume practice/competition until the lesions are adequately healed.

“Prevention” – What Steps Can I Take Now?
- Wash your hands often using a antimicrobial, antiseptic skin cleanser such as Hibiclens® (sing “Happy Birthday twice” or the CDC recommends saying the alphabet once).
- Shower immediately after every practice and game.
- Wash athletic clothes daily in hot water and dry on a hot setting.
- Cover all open cuts prior to practice and game activity.
- Do not share items such as clothing, towels, soap, razors, water bottles.
Additional steps that can and should be taken
in the athletic setting:
- Use an antiseptic, antibacterial solution to routinely wipe down athletic equipment such as gymnastics and wrestling mats, and headgear of any type.
- Wipe down treatment tables and weight equipment between athletes.
- Wear barriers such as non-latex gloves when treating open wounds.

Conclusion
Germs are all around us and simply put “An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure.” So, reinforce to your athletes and athletic department that everyone should practice good daily hygiene!

Resources:
Overview: HA-MRSA CDC Infection Control in Healthcare http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa.html.
Understanding MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) http://www.webmd.com/content/article/113/110688.htm.
Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/communicable/staphlococcus_aureus/methicilin_resistant/f…
Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia: MRSA infection http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007261.htm.
Understanding MRSA – Prevention
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/113/110694.htm.
Understanding MRSA – Detection and Treatment http://www.webmd.com/content/article/113/110692.htm.
MRSA: Protecting Yourself against Locker Room Infection http://www.athleticperformance.com/spj/article.php?id=121.
Hibiclens® www.hibigeebies.com/sports.

National Federation Provides Online Rulebooks & Casebooks

The National Federation of State High School Associations establishes the rules for all high school sports and publishes the rulebooks and casebooks for coaches and officials. When I was asked to make a presentation to high school baseball players a few weeks ago, I turned to the internet to find a resource for high school baseball rules and recent interpretations since I did not have a current baseball rulebook.

Rule changes and related interpretations were available on the NF website for 2006 and 2007. These documents were very helpful and as I dug deeper, I discovered that the National Federation now has online rulebooks. For just $20 per year, you have access to all the NF rulebooks and casebooks.

Register and pay for full access to all the online rulebooks and casebooks by going to http://www.nfhs.org/. Click on “Sign Up” in the Members Only box on the upper right center of the website. It will take you through 2-3 screens where you fill in various forms registering and finally using your credit card to purchase your membership. The cheapest option is $20.

The following rulebooks and casebooks are available organized by season:

Fall Sports: Field Hockey, Football, Soccer, Spirit Rules, and Volleyball

Winter Sports: Ice Hockey, Wrestling, Basketball, and Swimming and Diving

Spring Sports: Baseball, Lacrosse, Softball, and Track and Field

Coaches and officials can also join their respective National Federation Association for a fee slightly greater than the $20 fee that I mentioned earlier. Additional benefits come with these memberships. Remember also that all of these fees are tax-deductible.

Did you ever wonder what the lacrosse rules say about whacking the opponent with the ball with your stick? Are you considering officiating another sport? Let the rulebooks help you decide.

Call for Increased Involvement in Your Association

If you occasionally have suggestions or complaints for your local officiating group, it is time for you to put this negative energy to good use.  Most associations have an executive committee or governing group that take care of most of the day-to-day operations for the group.  Share your concerns with one or more members of this governing group.  Often you will answer your own questions or better understand why things are the way that they are.  My father used to say, “Put your money where your mouth is!”  I knew he wanted me to do something about it or stop complaining.

All associations/officiating boards should have a constitution and by-laws that direct all activity laying out all policies and procedures.  Read these documents and question the purpose of each of the sections.  If more people understand the goals and structure of your officiating group, more people will be better fit to intelligently discuss concerns and make necessary changes at annual meetings.  At the same time, more people will be qualified and ready to serve the group as an elected/volunteer executive committee member.

More specific to our local Board #111, I wish to encourage my fellow members to let your concerns be known.  Lots of good ideas are out there.  I have heard many of them on the ride to games and when visiting with you in locker rooms.  Our executive committee meets year-round.  I am confident that your ideas can lead to some valuable discussion and improvements.  What would you like to change?  What can you offer to make our officiating experience more productive and worthwhile?  Should we change our educational approach?  Have meetings at different times?  Have our peers observe our work and give us unofficial feedback? Work games closer to home or have more say in where we work?  Want changes in how we learn the rules and the structure of our meetings?  If you do not push for change, I can assure you that the executive committee has plenty of other things to do and your concerns may never be heard nor discussed.

Share your feelings here in the blog by clicking on “Comments” below or emailing me at kimballs@hermon.net.

Ethics Concerns in College Basketball Officiating

Once again, I feel compelled to make a comparison between college and high school. When living in Iowa during my professional baseball umpire career, I officiated games in the Division 3 Iowa Conference. I understand the different challenges of college with the increased speed, greater athletic ability, and play above the rim.

Unfortunately, from what I am hearing this year more than ever before, coaches are complaining whenever an official makes a call out of their primary coverage area. Let’s not allow the pressure of college coaches to prevent necessary calls from being made. My observations tell me that an increasing number of fouls that should be called are not being called. Excessive contact where one of the players is more at fault for the contact and his team benefits must be called when it is in your field vision cone. Yes, you should give your partner(s) a chance to call this contact, but do not let it go unwhistled because a coach might complain.

Once again, we must remember that coaches generally do not know the rules as wells as most officials. Coaches do not have trained officiating eyes. They watch the ball while we focus much of our officiating attention on defensive positioning and the feet of the player in possession of the ball.

MY BIGGEST CONCERN

Of a much greater concern is what I have begun hearing more often over the past couple years. Officiating supervisors at the college level are expecting officials to be aware of and adjust to the number of team fouls. Yes, you heard me correctly. Supervisors are not using the rulebook, official interpretations, and points of emphasis to primarily direct their teaching.

Having attended many University of Maine women’s bsaketball games over the past two years, I have seen blatant, even hard fouls not being called. Now that I have begun to focus on this potential misdirection, I have seen an obvous pattern in these occurrences. The foul that goes uncalled happens when the defending team has committed three or four team fouls more than their opponent. How can coaches agree to this? Maybe if coaches realized what officials are being told, they would begin to stop pointing to the team fouls on the scoreboard and solely share their opinions based on the contact.

I still will not and cannot charge any fellow official with cheating. But as officiating supervisors put pressure on the officials who wish to progress to higher levels in college play, their actions are not fair. In effect, supervisors are telling officials to change the way they officiate during a game. There is no rule support for this action and I call their directives highly unethical. I encourage college officials to share any printed documents and expose supervisors who demand that team fouls must be kept close.

Haven’t you seen or officiated games when there was a big discrepancy in team fouls in one half only to flip the other way in the second half? I credit teams in this situation for adjusting to the officiating and the rules of the game. Should we be helping the rough, less finesse teams when we don’t call fouls on a team that continue to foul and be rough beyond fair play? Officials must be the protectors of the game and guarantee that both teams have equal opportunity to win every game.

It is time for officials to put their integrity above their part-time college officiating dreams. Question your supervisors! Obviously these supervisors put their loyalty to those whose put them in their position above our great game of basketball. The game is much more important than their personal feelings and loyalties.

How can we allow the high school and college game to drift further apart when the rules are almost identical?

Hopefully those at the top of NCAA basketball can reign in and discredit those who seem to think that they have the right to change the rules!

Will High School Signals Follow Changes at the College Level?

Over the past 30+ years since I became an approved official, I have seen a consistent pattern of the National Federation adopting most of the same rule and mechanics changes as the NCAA. Most of these changes have been made just one or two years after the college adjustment. I would assume that many of the top high school officials and rule makers eventually move on to the college ranks causing this pattern. Our own Peter Webb has shared his expertise working with the college men’s and women’s officiating education programs over the past decade. I am sure that his work has resulted in many common mechanics. Now, I wonder and even fear that this trend is going to continue.

College mechanics have begun to follow those of the NBA. Officials at the college and pro level have become part of the entertainment. The basic mechanics of stopping the clock before making a violation or foul call have been conceivably dropped from the college game. Officials seem to make up their own signals assuming that everyone will understand them. (Note: I do have to claim ignorance here as I do not have a NCAA basketball rulebook and have not read their mechanics manual or looked at their pages of signals.)

My point here is that I do not want IAABO/NF signal mechanics to follow those of the college ranks. I believe that consistent signals and dead ball procedures educate players, coaches, and spectators. They also keep a common calm flow to the game.

When we immediately know that the whistled call is a foul (closed fist high in the air) or a violation (open hand high in the air), there is less time for one to think that the call went their way only to be surprised and upset when the true results of the call are known. A fist focuses the entire gym on who committed the foul and whether there will be free throws while an open hand awaits the signal for the violation and which team and where the ball will be put in play with a throw-in.

Honestly, there are some of the robotic, rigid mechanics that I do not fully appreciate, but I much prefer being more of a robot than a freelance arm-waver flicking fingers on both hand in the direction of the scorer. Would you wonder why there might be a discrepancy in the scorers’ totals? Even the approved instant replay used in the college game cannot go back and fix most of these potential mistakes.

Hopefully, the recently, highly developed IAABO mechanics manual will change very little over the next several years so that the membership across the country can become proficient at covering and signaling the game using consistent methods. A few common sense changes are to be expected.

After watching many NCAA March Madness games, I prefer watching a composed official calmly communicate something that I can thoroughly understand. I sense that spectators would also appreciate this same communication system.

Future comments in this blog will certainly address some suggestions and call for you as fellow officials to make your own suggestions. These are my opinions. I welcome yours. Simply click on “Comments” below to share your views.

Positioning Mechanics Education Much Improved

Positioning on the court has become a science over the past several years clearing up many frustrating contradictions of the past.  It seems that every year over the past decade or so we changed several of our position mechanics.  Now I believe our position mechanics education has evolved into a complete package so that officials no longer have to find what works best for them personally.

Our mechanics educators, namely Peter Webb, Jeff Jewett, and others on the local and national level, have persistently evaluated all changes, deleted inconsistencies and pulled it all together into an excellent training package.  Expectations make much more sense, are clearly laid out, and the IAABO mechanics manual fully covers the game of basketball.

Thanks must be given to everyone involved at the high school and college level for all your years of discussion searching for the optimal officiating system.  I think a great foundation has been set for the future of basketball officiating.

A BIT OF AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

In order to develop officials in the past, we had to set strict rules governing what each official watched and called to prevent officials from watching the ball the entire game.  This was a great step moving beyond the times when every foul or violation resulted in two whistles.  I remember when coaches would sometimes complain that there was only one whistle on a critical call.  “How come your partner didn’t see the same thing?”

Then as our mechanics training improved, we instructed new officials to learn their designated areas telling them that making calls outside of one’s area resulted in missed calls.  As officials gained experience, they would then be more able to get involved outside of their assigned area.  “Don’t look outside of your area!” was a common statement heard from evaluators during tournament games.

I felt compelled to ask, “How about when no one or no action was happening in your area?”  I sure wanted my partner(s) to help me out. Basketball is a fast-moving game and officials have exact moments when they must make an official observation (ie. establishing pivot foot and defensive guarding position).  A player briefly moving in front of you screens your vision and adds doubt weakening your ability to make a ruling.

SUMMARY

Personally, I believe that you should not venture far out of your assigned area and blow a whistle especially when you do not have a good angle.  However, if you are sure (90+ percent sure) of the foul or violation and your partner is not going to make the call, I believe this is the time to stretch the mechanics rules and get involved.  Two or three of these calls in a difficult game can make the difference between an outstanding officiated game and an average or below average one.  Personally, I know how good it feels when I get screened out of a situation forced to hold my whistle when my partner comes to my rescue.  Suddenly the obligation to purchase the snacks and beverages on the way home becomes my responsibility.

Thankfully, vision cones, better positioning to cover our own officiating area, and three-person officiating has improved officiating to the extent that most of our disagreements concerning court coverage have been resolved.  We can now use the IAABO mechanics manual to guide all of our actions on the court.

Block/Charge — Same Rule for NF and NCAA?

Often I wonder why high school and college officials call the block/charge so differently. I watched many great, entertaining March Madness games seeing a consistent difference in the interpretation of the screening rule (the rule behind block/charge decisions).

I can accept that the superb, athletic ability of these athletes requires a slightly different interpretation. Most officials feel compelled to adjust their officiating to the skill level of the participants (middle school compared to high school varsity).  But once players have the skills, I believe that we should enforce a common rule with consistent rulings.

If we don’t work to address the different interpretations at high school and all higher levels, basketball at each level will continually become less similar as the years pass. We already know how differently the NBA game is played. I blame this on the officiating and not on the rule differences.

How Difficult is it to Call a Technical Foul on a Coach?

Deciding to call a technical foul on a coach who questions your ruling is not easy. First and foremost, we must understand Rule 10 Sections 1, 4, and 5 and remember that a coach by rule is never responsible for the actions of a player (the five players participating in a game and during time-out) unless it is during pre-game or an intermission between quarters. However, if you read the rulebook closely, you may agree with me that we as officials do not enforce the rules as strickly as we probably should.

The rule book places great responsibility on our coaches. Our coaches are not perfect, nor do we expect them to be. Spending so much time working tirelessly with student-athletes creates an intense desire to succeed and builds strong emotional relationships. Coaches understand that they are expected to control their emotional responses to officials’ decisions throughout a contest.

I believe that coaches, especially those that follow the rules, become frustrated when the opponent’s coach is not held responsible for her/his behavior. A screaming coach’s behavior even if it is not disputing an official’s call can be interpreted as unsporting behavior. The coach that travels beyond the confines of his coaching box gets an unfair advantage by being out of her/his box.

Given all of this, I wish to add another layer of expectations put upon coaches in the NF Coaches Code of Ethics. Since this Code of Ethics is in the rulebook that we are expected to enforce, I feel that it is fair that we expect the same.

Excerpt from the National Federation of High School Coaches Association’s Coaches Code of Ethics:

“The function of a coach is to educate students through participation in interscholastic competition.”

“The coach shall be aware that he or she has a tremendous influence, . . . thus, shall never place the value of winning above the value of instilling the highest ideals of character.”

“The coach shall master the contest rules and shall teach them to his or her team members. The coach shall not seek an advantage by circumvention of the spirit or letter of the rules.”

“The coach shall respect and support contest officials. The coach shall not indulge in conduct which would incite players or spectators against the officials.”

In summary, if we as officials punish improper behavior, coaches will improve their behavior. We are fortunate here in Maine to have the overwhelming support of our school principals and many athletic administrators. If we cannot be consistent as a group, then coaches will never learn how to behave as demanded by the rules. Many officials tell me that on more than one occasion, they should have called a technical foul. I believe that most of the time these officials are correct. Call the technical foul. It is not easy but you will be doing the right thing, and just as important, when an official the next night calls a technical for a same or similar infraction, coaches will no longer act so surprised and claim that officials are out to get them.

Once again, the message is clear! Enforce the rulebook! That is our job. Coaches’ actions do not involve contact which should make this decision easier for all of us. The punishment is stiff, but then look at it this way–the punishment at most is 5 points. For those of you that might hesitate to call a technical because it is too great a punishment for the coach to inflict upon his team, remember most of the time it only amounts to 1-3 points. Actually, in some sports, points are deducted for misbehavior.

Thanks for reading and please share your comments by clicking “Comment”.

The 3-Point Shot –Is it worth taking time to hope for a future without it?

Chris Gorham, a fellow IAABO #111 member who recently transferred from western Maine shared the following response elsewhere in this blog when I called for responses to some poll questions.  I fear that many people will not get to read it.

(User Note: Some readers find it best to click on the title of blog entry that you find interesting.  Then you are assured to see the entire strand of comments tied to the same topic.  If you see a number after the “Comment” button at the bottom of a posting, a response has been published.  This appears automatically if you click on the title.)

Shawn, you know I’m “old school,” but I don’t understand the purpose of the 3 point shot, feel that it doesn’t belong in high school basketball and has made the game worse. People our age probably think of the Golden Age of basketball as a time when the Celtics were running their fast-breaks up and down the courts or John Havlichek was moving around non-stop throughout the game or the New York Knicks were working it around to an open guy coming off a screen. Basketball was a team game based on movement. I think with the 3 point line you get a lot of people standing around or spotting up. Maybe the guy with the ball penetrates and kicks it out to someone on the perimeter…who invariably hopes he is standing outside the arc. It’s not my idea of beauty. I can’t spout you any statistics on accuracy, but I could give you the name of some one who could…my old coach John Shaw. He let it be known to his players that a shot from 3 feet away has a lot better chance of going in than one from 23 feet. He got a lot of great shooters to believe in this philosophy… like Jim Mooney and Stan Kaubris to start with… and his teams won a lot of games and scored a lot of points and played like a team. Some guys saw the beauty in a nice pass for an easy 2. I watched in amazement a few years ago a Mountain Valley team with similar personnel to those teams (3 guys over 6′4″)go through a whole season without effectively running a fast break. Their guards were too concerned about peeling off to the 3 point line for an open 3 bomb than they were cutting to the hoop for a layup. You have also probably heard this question lately too: Is there anyone out there with a mid-range jump shot? Some coaches probably think the worst shot in basketball is one where you are standing on the line. I say if you are thinking about that youare probably not concentrating completely on the shot you are taking. I will close with a story of one of the hardest games I had to ref this year. It involved 2 junior high girls JV teams…one of them that relied on a perimeter offense. They would pass the ball around the 3 point arc until someone felt they had enough room to fire one at the basket. While the high archer was on it’s way the shooter’s teammates would stand and watch (they must have been sure the ball was going in). Time after time it came down about three feet short of the basket into the waiting arms of the 4 or 5 opponents standing under the basket. It was about a 40 point blowout and felt like a marathon. I just don’t think that would have happened without this wonderful thing the 3 point shot. It definitely doesn’t belong at that level of ball. The 3 pointer …exciting-sometimes. Good thing to have if you are losing-probably. An idea that made high school basketball better-I think not.

Unfair Correctable Error Situation–IAABO Basketball

John Hamnett of MA IAABO Board 175 while serving as a coach discovered an unfair ruling that is unfortunately supported by our rulebook. Should we call for an adjustment to the IAABO correctable error rule? This potential change in the rules or casebook is not about changing how the game is played. It is about making the game more fair. John’s explains the situation below in an email to me.
I wasn’t sure how to post a new rule interpretation on the blog. But here’s the scenario:

I read the excellent recent article in Sportorials about Correctable Errors and thought it was pretty good as it was always a little bit of a grey area for me. It reminded me of a situation in a Super Regional basketball game that my team was playing in last year. We were playing in a semi-final game against a team from Rhode Island that ended up winning the tourney.

In that game, we were down by about 4 points with around 4 minutes left in the game. My team was playing great basketball and we were easily in position to win that game. We fouled one of their players which was our 7th foul, but the scorer’s table didn’t notify the officials and their team was awarded the ball for a throw-in. They through the ball in and the clock started, drove up the floor and shot the ball and the shooter was fouled. The ball went in and we started to line up in the lanes spaces for the 1 shot foul. Before the ball was administered to the free throw shooter, the table notified the official about the previous 7th foul 1 and 1 that was not awarded. The officials conferred and they said it was a correctable error. They cleared the lane and administered the 1 and 1 and both shots were made. Then they filled the lanes spaces and the And 1 shot on the made basket was administered which they made. The result of all of this was a 5 point swing. They counted the made shot, plus the 2 shots made on the correctable error, plus the one shot on the made shooting foul.

I believe that the officials handled this correctly under the rules although I believe that there is some injustice to the rule in and of itself. When they threw-in the ball after the error of not awarding the free throw the clock started. Then when they made the shot and got fouled, the ball became dead (dead ball). Prior to administrating the free throw on the shooting foul they were notified of the error (1st dead ball after the clock starts and before the 2nd live ball). Equals a Correctable Error.

I have posed this scenario to several veteran varsity officials. Approx. 25% have agreed, most say that after points are scored it can’t be corrected. Some have said you wouldn’t count the activity between when the error occurred and when the error was recognized (disagree per section
2-10-5). When I went through this with them, most agreed

Our board’s Rule’s Interpreter agrees with the call at both the high school and college level.

I believe that there is injustice in the rule itself, since because of the scoring table’s error, the offense gets a back to back possession without the defense having a chance to touch the ball. If they had properly shot the 1 on 1 in the 1st place, the defense would most likely have gotten possession or at least had a chance for a possession and have had an opportunity to score before the other team could get the ball back again for a score. In this case, the offense gets to put up 5 points possibly even 6 points on essentially the same possession. Would you agree?

I guess March Madness has set in for me to be asking these types of questions, but these scenarios are not unusual when you’ve got parent volunteers doing the table in various AAU and Youth Travel games.

Thanks,
John Hamnett
MA IAABO Board 175

Call for Debate on Potential Rule and Mechanics Changes

Healthy debate supporting or refuting the credence of a rule is a healthy, professional development activity as long as officials have the integrity to enforce the letter of the rule and leave the interpretations to IAABO and the National Federation Case Book. Our opinions on what the rule should be can be expressed but should not affect rulings in our games. The rules are pretty much black and white. We should miss very few calls if we let the rules and mechanics direct our work.

We must be careful as we criticize rules because we may not immediately recognize the full impact of a rule change. Data gathering before and after rule changes can be very helpful. Well-designed online surveys could be 21st century tools to help people (officials, coaches, media, spectators) better understand the purpose and value of a rule.

The following is a beginning list of what I have discussed with officials as having potential for rule change/clarification. Please add your rule and/or mechanics concerns by responding to this post.

• Adjustment to Officials’ Pregame Routine– officials getting injured due to not properly warming up

• Switching back after calling a time-out.

• Fewer long switches!

• Over & Back

• Trail’s Sideline Call Responsibility — opposite sideline between free throw line and the division line

Please take a moment to click “Comment” and add any rules or mechanics that you would like to have included in this discussion.