This past Monday evening, I wrapped up PLAYING in one of my summer basketball leagues. With only five players, my team (White) raced out to a 25 point halftime lead and hung on for a 60-50 victory over the Gold team. We finished with a 3-4 record which could have been better if a few bounces had gone our way in the previous two games.
The next evening, I flipped hats and officiated a few games for the same league. I worked with a friend who briefly officiated high school basketball for a couple of years but stopped. We started off with two women's first round playoff games. Both games went uneventfully except for a technical to one of the women for swearing (this is a christian church league).
The final game of the night was an interesting one. It was not a playoff game but just an exhibition game between the Blue and White teams. The Blue team played in the summer league's "A" Division. The White team was a traveling tournament team that was sponsored by the league itself. The White team had spent the summer playing exhibition games against different teams throughout the league.
The Blue team was bunch of young college aged guys. They had finished second in the league and are preparing to play in their semi-final playoff Friday evening. The White team had some youth but also some veterans from years past. Blue was looking to earn some respect but White was looking to show they could hang with the young guns.
The game was close throughout but White's experience proved to be the difference as they won by 7 or so.
It was also a bit of a learning experience for Blue as there were a couple of things that happened that hurt them:
1.
A Blue player nailed a contested three pointer early in the second half. As the Blue player (and I) ran back the other way, I saw the Blue player turn around and point his finger at the White defender and shake his head. I immediately blew the whistle and issued a technical for unsportsmanlike conduct / taunting.
2.
Late in the game, White had pulled away to 3 to 5 point lead. Blue was trying to play pressure defense and get some steals. White broke down the defense and went in for a layup. A Blue player (different from #1 above) went to contest the shot at the rim. Alas, it was to no avail. The White player got the shot off and the basket was going in. The Blue player, who was still in the air from contesting the shot, grabbed the rim all of a sudden.
I immediately blew the whistle. I counted the basket and also handed out a technical to the Blue player for grabbing the rim.
In analyzing the situations, the first technical was fine. However, the second technical was a little questionable. My partner and the player said he was trying to protect himself (at least a little bit).
From my perspective, I had closed in on the play and my focus was strictly at the rim. I felt the player had grabbed the rim unnecessarily. I wish there was a tape of the game so I could review.
But regardless of whether I was correct or not, the game was interesting and I learned a few things. The taunting was an obvious ons and I did what was needed. The second situation was slightly different. I called the technical and according to the rule book, I was RIGHT in calling in (if the player just grabbed the rim in frustration). So even though I didn't really remember the rule, I did the right thing (at least based on the information I had on hand).
All in all, it was a fun game to officiate. There were some things to deal with afterward (some heated things as I knew people on both teams) but those were taken care of. Tomorrow, I get to work with some fellow high school officials on more league playoff games. That should be fun!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Summer League / Tournament Time
Around 2nd second week of April, I formally inquired with my high school officiating association when I needed to inform the group if I wanted to return for the 2012-2013 season. I was told before the end of April. After taking a few weeks, I formally requested to be reinstated for the 2012-2013 season. After paying some dues, I was back in action.
I officiated in some youth tournaments and a couple of high summer basketball tournaments in mid June. While the youth tournaments and the high school summer tournament was relatively competitive, the tournament I officiated on this past Sunday was definitely a big step up.
Unlike the previous high school tournament, the teams participating were playing most of their varsity squads. In an odd twist, my partner and I were informed that player fouls were to be COUNTED officially (most summer tournaments don't really do this). My understanding was the tournament hadn't done this most of the weekend and even the coaches were surprised. This made for some intense basketball as all three games I worked were nail biters (3 point game, 2 point game and 1 point game).
My partner was a veteran official who works in my association and so I talked to him quite a bit. We double whistled a few times and one time he disagreed with my call of a player control foul. I also got a coach in the first game annoyed (and on our cases throughout) with my foul call and reporting of the wrong player number. I fully admit to missing the player number. However, this was due to the fact that the players were wearing summer league uniforms with only numbers in the back. It was not a good way to start the game but I felt we did fine overall during the game.
That was one of my biggest take aways from officiating on Sunday. In the past, I would have been a little wound up or bothered with the coach on my case. I listened to his complaints, addressed it and keep on officiating. I did it for all three games. The coaches may not have liked every call (or no call) but they had to accept it.
All in all, I felt my confidence in officiating has jumped up a bit. The question is why? The answer is actually pretty easy. As an official, if you are making the effort to be in position to see the majority of the plays in a game, you will be in position to explain a call (or non-call ) to a coach who disagrees.
I can't emphasize how important it is to talk to coaches. It was NEVER my favorite activity in years past. But in my regular job as a Sales Engineer, I talk to Sales people at work all day and to potential customers. As a Sales Engineer, I get a ton of technical objections from potential customers. I have to know my products to overcome these objections. The same principal applies to officiating. You have to know the rules but also see the plays to tell the coaches what you saw. They may not like it but they will have to accept it.
Overall, I felt super comfortable officiating three high level boys varsity summer tournament games. I felt good considering I had not worked anything remotely close to this level since the 2010-2011 high school season. Maybe the time off helped! All in all, it was a fun Sunday and looking forward to working other games in the future.
I officiated in some youth tournaments and a couple of high summer basketball tournaments in mid June. While the youth tournaments and the high school summer tournament was relatively competitive, the tournament I officiated on this past Sunday was definitely a big step up.
Unlike the previous high school tournament, the teams participating were playing most of their varsity squads. In an odd twist, my partner and I were informed that player fouls were to be COUNTED officially (most summer tournaments don't really do this). My understanding was the tournament hadn't done this most of the weekend and even the coaches were surprised. This made for some intense basketball as all three games I worked were nail biters (3 point game, 2 point game and 1 point game).
My partner was a veteran official who works in my association and so I talked to him quite a bit. We double whistled a few times and one time he disagreed with my call of a player control foul. I also got a coach in the first game annoyed (and on our cases throughout) with my foul call and reporting of the wrong player number. I fully admit to missing the player number. However, this was due to the fact that the players were wearing summer league uniforms with only numbers in the back. It was not a good way to start the game but I felt we did fine overall during the game.
That was one of my biggest take aways from officiating on Sunday. In the past, I would have been a little wound up or bothered with the coach on my case. I listened to his complaints, addressed it and keep on officiating. I did it for all three games. The coaches may not have liked every call (or no call) but they had to accept it.
All in all, I felt my confidence in officiating has jumped up a bit. The question is why? The answer is actually pretty easy. As an official, if you are making the effort to be in position to see the majority of the plays in a game, you will be in position to explain a call (or non-call ) to a coach who disagrees.
I can't emphasize how important it is to talk to coaches. It was NEVER my favorite activity in years past. But in my regular job as a Sales Engineer, I talk to Sales people at work all day and to potential customers. As a Sales Engineer, I get a ton of technical objections from potential customers. I have to know my products to overcome these objections. The same principal applies to officiating. You have to know the rules but also see the plays to tell the coaches what you saw. They may not like it but they will have to accept it.
Overall, I felt super comfortable officiating three high level boys varsity summer tournament games. I felt good considering I had not worked anything remotely close to this level since the 2010-2011 high school season. Maybe the time off helped! All in all, it was a fun Sunday and looking forward to working other games in the future.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Interesting Day....To Say The Least
I had a very busy week overall. I was in San Diego from Monday to Friday for business and returned late Friday evening. I had some dinner after landing and then went home. I spent some time uploading photos and doing a few things. Alas, I stayed up rather late and that led into my day today.
I was supposed to officiate a girls basketball tournament (9th grade) at 9 AM this morning. I accepted the games knowing full well I was coming back from San Diego. Alas, sleeping late last night did not help. While I had my alarm set properly, I slept right through it. I woke up at 9 AM and thought "CRAP!".
I got myself ready in 5 minutes and went out the door. My partner had held up the game a bit but couldn't wait forever. So I showed up at 9:20 AM or so with about 3 minutes left in the 1st quarter of the first game.
If you've ever been LATE to anything, you know it's not a great feeling. Fortunately, I eased my way into the first game and the rest of the games also went fairly well.
Some random thoughts about the day though:
1.
Waking up and jumping right into the game 20 minutes later may have been helped. I hadn't officiated anything about 8th grade in a while. While the games today weren't super competitive, it was an upgrade in competitive level versus some of the youth basketball I had been working in the past few months.
I felt I was pretty sharp and mechanics were fairly strong. My calls were pretty good and I felt comfortable out there. I had some hiccups early as I wasn't completely awake but those weren't a big deal. I was went with the flow and things went alright (with the exception of below).
2.
In the second game, I had to give a technical to a team due to the assistant coach constantly yapping. The assistant coach had complained a bit throughout the game. After one play, I ran over to the head coach and politely asked her to calm her assistant coach down. Of course, as I am talking to the head coach, the assistant coach made another snide comment. I just issued the technical at that point.
Though I wasn't paying 100% attention during a time out later, the assistant coach may have did a bit of a stare down. To be honest, I didn't pay attention and ignore the assistant coach.
In discussing the situation with a college official later on in the day, she said I could have gave the assistant coach another technical for doing the stare down.
3.
In talking to the same college official, I mentioned a couple of other things that happened. Mainly, it involved a situation during a youth game where a player committed an offense foul and then swung an elbow at the defender (did not connect). I issued a technical for the elbow and did not eject the player. Alas, later on the player swung her elbows again later in the game (I believe with the ball) and we called an offensive foul.
This is definitely something I need some clarity on and figure out if I did the correct thing. My partner that night said we were right. I will still double check the rule book.
All in all, the day started oddly but ended well!
Friday, April 20, 2012
Never Take A Game For Granted
Forgetting all the rules and mechanics of basketball officiating, there are usually two truisms that found to be true when officiating.
ONE - Never take a game for granted. No matter how team's records are or if they don't look too good during warmup, you always need to be prepared to work the game.
TWO - If you are working a set of games (usually youth or adult leagues), the LAST game is usually the hardest or most difficult to work.
I found both of these to be true tonight in working some youth games. I had a set of three games to work (6th grade, 4th grade and 3rd grade - all girls). It was a bit unusual to have a 3rd grade game to be the last one in my set but that was how it was on the schedule. Since the 6th grade game needed a partner, I had a partner to work both the 6th grade and 4th grade games with me. However, I was to work the 3rd grade solo.
The 6th grade / 4th grade games were mellow and uneventful. My partner was someone I hadn't worked with before but I knew him from seeing him around. We were just spending time talking about officiating and other things.
As the 4th grade ended, I noticed there was pretty large uptick in fans filing in for the 3rd grade game. In one sense, it was unusual but on the other hand, 3rd graders usually get more fans than the older kids. I didn't think much about it though.
As it turned out, the 3rd grade was the best game of the night. On one hand, it was fun to work. On the other hand, it was a bit of surprise to me to see the competitiveness. Right off the bat, I called 3 or 4 fouls on both teams as the kids came out hard.
The game was intense and I had to work hard (especially solo) to cover everything. Some parents were a bit idiotic as usual and the gym director had to calm them down a bit over some situations.
The final score was 20-18 and I exited the gym as soon as the game ended. While I didn't necessarily take the 3rd grade game for granted, I definitely didn't think it would be played at a high level. Fortunately, I was able to get my intensity level up and focus and get past the game relatively well (though parent may disagree). It was a good reminder that any game can be competitive and you have to be ready.
ONE - Never take a game for granted. No matter how team's records are or if they don't look too good during warmup, you always need to be prepared to work the game.
TWO - If you are working a set of games (usually youth or adult leagues), the LAST game is usually the hardest or most difficult to work.
I found both of these to be true tonight in working some youth games. I had a set of three games to work (6th grade, 4th grade and 3rd grade - all girls). It was a bit unusual to have a 3rd grade game to be the last one in my set but that was how it was on the schedule. Since the 6th grade game needed a partner, I had a partner to work both the 6th grade and 4th grade games with me. However, I was to work the 3rd grade solo.
The 6th grade / 4th grade games were mellow and uneventful. My partner was someone I hadn't worked with before but I knew him from seeing him around. We were just spending time talking about officiating and other things.
As the 4th grade ended, I noticed there was pretty large uptick in fans filing in for the 3rd grade game. In one sense, it was unusual but on the other hand, 3rd graders usually get more fans than the older kids. I didn't think much about it though.
As it turned out, the 3rd grade was the best game of the night. On one hand, it was fun to work. On the other hand, it was a bit of surprise to me to see the competitiveness. Right off the bat, I called 3 or 4 fouls on both teams as the kids came out hard.
The game was intense and I had to work hard (especially solo) to cover everything. Some parents were a bit idiotic as usual and the gym director had to calm them down a bit over some situations.
The final score was 20-18 and I exited the gym as soon as the game ended. While I didn't necessarily take the 3rd grade game for granted, I definitely didn't think it would be played at a high level. Fortunately, I was able to get my intensity level up and focus and get past the game relatively well (though parent may disagree). It was a good reminder that any game can be competitive and you have to be ready.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Encouraging Players As An Official
I've officiated sports for nearly 20 years. As I have piled on the years, I noticed that I run into a ton of former youth and/or high school players who recognize me. Not only do they recognize me, they remember parts of games where I officiated and something happened. It's actually a good feeling when people remember you as an official.
I mention this because a couple of years ago, I ran into a current high school basketball player who recognized me from her youth days. I was officiating some of her club team basketball games and so she said hi. Turns out she was playing varsity for her high school as well. As I worked a few JV games at her high school the past two seasons, we would always say hi.
As I had not officiated high school this season, I had not run into her at all. However, I decided to stop by her team's state playoff game tonight. It was an opportunity to watch a good game and say hi to the the young lady. Her team ended up winning and will have a long commute to their semi-final game.
Unfortunately, the young lady did not play in the game. However, we did chat after the game a bit. When I asker her how her season had been going, she expressed disappointment that she hasn't played much this season after starting last season. While I never played high school basketball myself, I encouraged her to stay positive and enjoy the experience. After all, playing for your school only comes once a lifetime.
Though the young lady only knows me as an official, she probably didn't realize I was also a coach for a long time. It was great that she was willing to share her feelings about her season and I was thankful for an opportunity to give her some positive encouragement. It's not part of my regular job description as an official but just like I encourage friends when they are down (and vice versa), I just did what I thought was needed.
I mention this because a couple of years ago, I ran into a current high school basketball player who recognized me from her youth days. I was officiating some of her club team basketball games and so she said hi. Turns out she was playing varsity for her high school as well. As I worked a few JV games at her high school the past two seasons, we would always say hi.
As I had not officiated high school this season, I had not run into her at all. However, I decided to stop by her team's state playoff game tonight. It was an opportunity to watch a good game and say hi to the the young lady. Her team ended up winning and will have a long commute to their semi-final game.
Unfortunately, the young lady did not play in the game. However, we did chat after the game a bit. When I asker her how her season had been going, she expressed disappointment that she hasn't played much this season after starting last season. While I never played high school basketball myself, I encouraged her to stay positive and enjoy the experience. After all, playing for your school only comes once a lifetime.
Though the young lady only knows me as an official, she probably didn't realize I was also a coach for a long time. It was great that she was willing to share her feelings about her season and I was thankful for an opportunity to give her some positive encouragement. It's not part of my regular job description as an official but just like I encourage friends when they are down (and vice versa), I just did what I thought was needed.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
To officiate, one must LOVE to officiate
I started officiating youth basketball almost 20 years ago (1993). In 2002, I branched out to officiate high school and adult basketball. In 2009, I jumped into officiating youth volleyball.
When I started officiating, it was more of a side job than anything else. I was in college and getting paid to do officiate was cool. However, as the years went on, I stayed with officiating even as I migrated from a college student to a full-time worker. While the money was nice, I realized I just like being out on the court.
However, it was the lack of passion that caused me to take a leave of absence from officiating high school basketball this year. There were a few different things going on and officiating was just not on the list of my priorities. Though it wasn't planned, I ended up not officiating youth basketball for a while though I decided to get back into things the past couple of months.
The ultimate lesson is that officiating basketball at any level requires some love, passion and dedication. You might be able to get away with officiating for money or other reasons for a short time. But dealing with coaches, parents and players is a challenge and ultimately there comes a point where you have to decide if it's worth your time to officiate just for money (or other reason) other than the fact that you enjoy it.
When I started officiating, it was more of a side job than anything else. I was in college and getting paid to do officiate was cool. However, as the years went on, I stayed with officiating even as I migrated from a college student to a full-time worker. While the money was nice, I realized I just like being out on the court.
However, it was the lack of passion that caused me to take a leave of absence from officiating high school basketball this year. There were a few different things going on and officiating was just not on the list of my priorities. Though it wasn't planned, I ended up not officiating youth basketball for a while though I decided to get back into things the past couple of months.
The ultimate lesson is that officiating basketball at any level requires some love, passion and dedication. You might be able to get away with officiating for money or other reasons for a short time. But dealing with coaches, parents and players is a challenge and ultimately there comes a point where you have to decide if it's worth your time to officiate just for money (or other reason) other than the fact that you enjoy it.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Back in the Breach again / Why some parents should stick to just being spectators
In October, I decided to take a leave of absence from officiating high school basketball and other leagues there were assigned by my high school association. It was a good choice as I got time to do some things myself and try a few other things along the way. However, I had intended to keep officiating youth basketball a little bit. However, due to various things, I ended up officiating any basketball until about 3 weeks ago. I ended up with a 4 to 5 month break.
The break was good for me and I feel I am quite sharp as I work my youth games. The confidence is there and my demeanor / attitude is very much business like. I don't take a lot of stuff from coaches or players and have issued a technical every week that I have been back.
Speaking of technicals, I had to issue a technical to a player (slamming the ball on the ground after a fould was called on him) and a double technical / ejection to the player's coach (let's call them the Blue team). Thanks to all of this, the Blue team ended up losing the game.
Some time in the 3rd quarter, I had called a foul on a Blue player. The Blue player proceeded to slam the basketball on the floor. I issued the technical foul and those two fouls were the Blue player's 3rd and 4th personal fouls. The Blue coach was disagreeable to the technical saying I should have given the player a warning since his team only had 5 players. I told him a warning was only courtesy and not necessary.
The game went on and like any other game between two equal teams, neither could pull away. Both teams exchanged baskets into the 4th quarter. The Blue team looked to have control but White tied the game at 18-18 with about 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The Blue team had a final chance. The kid I had given the technical earlier tried to drive and elbowed the defensive player out of the way. That was an easy player control foul call for me to make. The White team called timeout to setup a final play with about 18 seconds left.
The Blue team coach was not happy and probably stared me down the entire timeout. To be honest, I didn't care and did not pay attention to him at all throughout the timeout. It was business as usual for me.
As the White team proceeded to get on the court, the Blue team coach refused to put his team on the floor. I asked him several times but he refused saying I owed him 30 seconds (it's 20 seconds now coach....hahaha) as his player fouled out. I told him the delay didn't apply as he had no subs.
The Blue coach finally put his team on the floor. As I prepared to get the game going again, I sensed the Blue team coach would have more to say so I decided to hold the ball and wait for him. As I expected, the coach became unhinged.
He yelled at me that this was the first the whole season he had seen a player control foul. He didn't believe I would call it on the kid with 4 fouls. I gave him the first technical and warned him that I didn't need to hear anymore. He continued on and I handed out the second technical and ejected him. The game should have been over as the league has a three technical foul rule but I forgot about the initial technical to the player.
In any case, a couple of the Blue team parents took over coaching duties. Given the tense situation, I warned them that any further misconduct would result in a forfeit. They weren't really in the mood to listen and were pretty rude. I understand their attitude and wanting to defend their team and coach but in this case, they were completely wrong.
Regardless, the White team made one free throw and they won the game 19-18. One of the parents who took over as coach made a snipe remark as he left. I just ignored them as my partner and I took refuge away from the court.
This coach and parents were about the worst I have seen in recent years. I submitted a report to our league and there will probably be some action taken. Parents and coaches are sometime so focused on their own team that they don't realize how their actions go. These same people also don't know that I'm a veteran official and been around longer that they realize. I also know their athletic director as well.
These folks really should just stick to being spectators. That will make things a lot more peaceful.
The break was good for me and I feel I am quite sharp as I work my youth games. The confidence is there and my demeanor / attitude is very much business like. I don't take a lot of stuff from coaches or players and have issued a technical every week that I have been back.
Speaking of technicals, I had to issue a technical to a player (slamming the ball on the ground after a fould was called on him) and a double technical / ejection to the player's coach (let's call them the Blue team). Thanks to all of this, the Blue team ended up losing the game.
Some time in the 3rd quarter, I had called a foul on a Blue player. The Blue player proceeded to slam the basketball on the floor. I issued the technical foul and those two fouls were the Blue player's 3rd and 4th personal fouls. The Blue coach was disagreeable to the technical saying I should have given the player a warning since his team only had 5 players. I told him a warning was only courtesy and not necessary.
The game went on and like any other game between two equal teams, neither could pull away. Both teams exchanged baskets into the 4th quarter. The Blue team looked to have control but White tied the game at 18-18 with about 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The Blue team had a final chance. The kid I had given the technical earlier tried to drive and elbowed the defensive player out of the way. That was an easy player control foul call for me to make. The White team called timeout to setup a final play with about 18 seconds left.
The Blue team coach was not happy and probably stared me down the entire timeout. To be honest, I didn't care and did not pay attention to him at all throughout the timeout. It was business as usual for me.
As the White team proceeded to get on the court, the Blue team coach refused to put his team on the floor. I asked him several times but he refused saying I owed him 30 seconds (it's 20 seconds now coach....hahaha) as his player fouled out. I told him the delay didn't apply as he had no subs.
The Blue coach finally put his team on the floor. As I prepared to get the game going again, I sensed the Blue team coach would have more to say so I decided to hold the ball and wait for him. As I expected, the coach became unhinged.
He yelled at me that this was the first the whole season he had seen a player control foul. He didn't believe I would call it on the kid with 4 fouls. I gave him the first technical and warned him that I didn't need to hear anymore. He continued on and I handed out the second technical and ejected him. The game should have been over as the league has a three technical foul rule but I forgot about the initial technical to the player.
In any case, a couple of the Blue team parents took over coaching duties. Given the tense situation, I warned them that any further misconduct would result in a forfeit. They weren't really in the mood to listen and were pretty rude. I understand their attitude and wanting to defend their team and coach but in this case, they were completely wrong.
Regardless, the White team made one free throw and they won the game 19-18. One of the parents who took over as coach made a snipe remark as he left. I just ignored them as my partner and I took refuge away from the court.
This coach and parents were about the worst I have seen in recent years. I submitted a report to our league and there will probably be some action taken. Parents and coaches are sometime so focused on their own team that they don't realize how their actions go. These same people also don't know that I'm a veteran official and been around longer that they realize. I also know their athletic director as well.
These folks really should just stick to being spectators. That will make things a lot more peaceful.
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