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.
This entry was posted
on April 16, 2007 at 10:16 am and is filed under Commentary, Mechanics.
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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.
This entry was posted on April 16, 2007 at 10:16 am and is filed under Commentary, Mechanics. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.