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.

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