Yesterday, I didn't have much to do, so I stopped by a local gym to watch an adult league basketball game. Weird? You could say so since I wasn't actually playing in the league. However, I knew one of the teams that was playing. I had played with and against the guys on the team so I thought I go support them since they were playing in a playoff game.
Interestingly enough, I knew one of the officials that was working the game (I actually knew the other guy too, but not that well). I got a chance to talk to the official during halftime and breaks about a few things. One interesting thing we discussed was that it was slightly difficult to officiate this particular adult league. It wasn't because the players were being difficult or anything like that.
It was the fact that the league uses modified NBA rules (8 second backcourt count, no backcourt throw-ins until the 4th quarter, 24 second shot clock, etc). The official said that some of the NBA rules are so different to the typical high school or college rules that it takes a while to adjust to them.
The point I learned that is that all basketball officials are creatures of habit. Whether it be how we report our fouls or how we position ourselves (among many other things) during a game, all of this (after the initial learning period) becomes a regular habit. If you develop good habits, then you are in good shape. Alas, if you develop bad habits (and we've all done it at some point), then it will take time to break the bad habit and relearn. It's difficult but it helps to work with good partners and possibly have videotape of yourself to see what you are doing.
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