Calling the 3 Second Rule in Basketball

Last year I Refereed 6 games in the Arizona Nike High School Basketball Tournament of Champions.

Lots of fun & some outstanding basketball play by the kids and one dad that cracked me up......

All thru the 1st half of a game this fellow kept counting- "one, Two, THree, FOUr, FIVE!!". Getting louder at each number count. That would be followed by him yelling, "Call the 3 Seconds, Ref!!"

Image by K. M. Klemencic via Flickr.com

During a Time Out I was standing near the fellow and took the risk of asking him what "3 Seconds Call" he was hollering about.

"You don't even know the 3 Seconds Rule!" He stated quite animatedly.

So I asked him to explain what he was so upset about.

"You're letting them stand in the key for 5 & 6 seconds. They're not allowed to do that!" Was the reply.

I asked, "What do you mean by 'Them'?"

"The other team!!" He bellowed.

"Sir, to me they are BOTH the 'other team'. Which 'other team' do you mean?"

"The ones in blue!"

I looked at the court and said, "You mean the Blue team at THIS end of the court?"

"Yes, are you blind AND stupid!? You don't even know what 3 Seconds is!!"

By now several other spectators in the immediate area were listing closely.

My reply was simple. "Sir, the team in Blue is on Defense at this end of the court. The "3 Seconds Rule" only applies to the team on Offense. The Blue Team can stand in the key as long as they want with no penalty."

"You're really an idiot, Ref!" He hollered.

The surrounding fans burst out laughing at this, which he interpreted as being the fans agreeing I was an idiot, not realizing they were laughing at him.

I could see the futility of continuing the discussion with him, blew my whistle and waved for the teams to come back on the floor to continue the game.

Now, I will readily admit us Ref's sometimes make mistakes, but if you're gonna yell at a Ref about a RULE, make sure you know the rule first!!

By contrast, we had a rebounding play in another game while I was near the coach on the sidelines. It appeared from where we were standing, BEHIND the play, that an opposing player might have gone "Over the Back" of his player. He turned to me and asked, :"Where's the Over the Back call?" I looked at him and said, "From where we are looking from you & I just don't know for sure. maybe it was, maybe it wasn't and sometime we just plain miss a call. But I'm not gonna call something unless I'm confident I'm making the right call."

He started chuckling and said, "I can accept that answer!" And that was the last I heard from him the rest of the game.

Refereeing is great fun!

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What About the 2 Step Rule, Ref!!??

I had arrived early to watch the JV Games Refs and file and "Observation Report" as Varsity Referees are asked to do thru out the season to help Non-Varsity Refs know what they can do to improve to become Varsity Referees.

I walked in during the 1st Quarter and there was only 1 Ref. he was standing along on the sidelines & I asked, "Are you working alone?"

"Yeah, I don't know what happened to my assigned Partner!"

"Ok. I'll get dress and help you out." I said.

So I worked 3 Quarters of the JV game and then the Varsity game went to Overtime. WHAT A NITE.......! In the Varsity game we "T'd UP" a Head Coach, "T'd Up" a player and ejected a Fan from the Visiting School. Won't they be excited to find out my partner & I are working their game next week, too.......

But back to the JV Game...... I called traveling on a player. The JV Head Coach hollered out, "What about the 2 Step Rule, Ref?"

Image by K. M. Klemencic via Flickr

I asked, "What 2 Step Rule?"

"You know, Ref, the Dribbler gets 2 steps after they stop dribbling! You gotta give my Player's their 2 steps!"

"Coach, I think you are confusing NBA Rules with High School Rules. There is NO "2 Step Rule" in High School Basketball."

He shook his head like I was the crazy one and sat down mumbling to himself.

With a Coach attitude like his and lack of Rules knowledge, I was not surprised during the Varsity game to overhead a JV Player say, "These Ref's don't know nothing about the Rules....They are LOUSY Refs!"

As the Commissioner of Officials said in our Pre-Season "Tip Off Meeting" this year, the Coaches do NOT know the Rules......This Coach was an example of that.

I also believe many of the problems with Fans yelling at Referees is THEY are confusing NBA Rules with High School, too.........

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A Cowardly Fan

During the game, if a fan gets too rowdy, the Referee has "tools" to deal with the situation-

1. Ask the School Athletic Director or Security to request the fan to cheer for and support his / her team but calm down on negative comments about the Referees.
2. If that does not work, have the AD or Security escort the unruly fan out of the building. ALL the way out.

BUT WHEN THE GAME IS OVER, so also is the Referee's jurisdiction.

Recently as my partner & I were leaving the gym after dressing into street clothes, just as we stepped thru the double gym doors to the gym lobby a rather large fellow- a Home Team fan since the Visiting Team was already on the bus- stepped behind us and snarled, "You guys are pathetic! Find something else you might be good at!"

With recent stories of Referees being attacked, even killed by angry & out of control fans, that comment rather disturbed me. So I turned immediately to the Security fellow a few steps away, (but too far away to have heard the fan's comments), quickly told him what was said and requested he make sure that fan did not follow us out to our cars in the parking lot......

I refer to him as a cowardly fan because he obviously lacked the courage to make comments about Referees when we could have had him ejected. Instead he waited until after the game and our jurisdiction had ended to sneak up behind us.

Now, I have had fans make snide comments to me as I walked by them after a game. Even had rocks thrown at us- twice. But I have never had a fan walk right up behind me is such a threatening way.

And why was that fan upset with us referees?

I really do not know. The Home Team WON by 20+ points!!

I wonder how he would have acted if they had lost- especially if it had been a close game loss?

And because it was such and odd scenario for a fan to be making untoward comments I asked Security to keep on eye on him. A fella cannot be too careful sometimes these days......

Image by Jeff Kramer via Flickr

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But THAT'S His Shooting Style!

Had a close Basketball game in progress in the late 4th Quarter. A player for the team that was behind by 5 points fired off a Jump Shot from 3 Point range that missed. Just after his feet touched back down on the floor a Defensive Player bumped him hard & the "shooter" fell down.

Image by John Feinberg via Flickr.com

I called the Foul. it was the 7th Foul against the Defense so I awarded the "shooter" a "1 & 1" Free Throw Bonus.

The "shooter's" Coach went livid- "That Foul was on a 3 Point Shot!! He should get 3 Free Throws!!"

"Not so Coach. When the shooter returned to the floor the shot ended and the bump was a Common Foul on a player. The Player was no longer a shooter," I explained. 

Not satisfied, the coach vented, "But that's his shooting style!"

Shooting style? After he touches the floor?

Sometimes I hear a coach or player make such a ribald & spurious claim I have to chuckle to myself and wonder what that person would think if he saw & hear what a ridiculous thing they just said!

I replied, "Coach, whatever "shooting style" he has ended when his feet hit the floor!"

It's really a simple rule and I'm sure the coach knew it. At least I hope he did. Sometimes it's hard to tell if a coach really just does not know a Rule or if he/she is just playing dumb hoping to talk the referee into making a call that favors his / her team......Either way it is unfortunate when a coach tried to argue a call with a Referee when the Coach's claim is so easily seen to be bogus.

Certainly us Referees do blow calls from time to time. Just look at all the new reports last year about blown calls by NFL Referees- guys that are being paid $100,000 - $200,000 per season make mistakes. How can coaches and fans expect a Referee getting paid $55 per game to make perfect calls every time?

And when a Coach improperly argues a good call it just incites players & fans that likely do not even know it was a good call against a Referee that did his / her job correctly.

I will not be sending out any letters complimenting Good Sportsmanship to either school from this game.

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An Unexpected and Much Appreciated Compliment

Usually by the time we are done dressing after Refereeing a game, most of the fans have cleared out.

This week tho, David Dixon & myself had the chance to Referee a Sectional First Round Playoff game at 5:15PM which was followed by another Play Off Game at 7:00PM.

So instead of dressing and leaving, we cleaned up, then dressed in our street clothes and went to watch the 2nd game.

Image by Susanne Jerome via Flickr.com 

As we were sitting in the stands at Half Time of that following game, a fellow I'd never seen before walks up, shakes our hands and says, "You guys worked a great game tonite!" A bit surprised at the unexpected compliment I smiled and asked, "Which team were you rooting for?" He replied, "Neither of them. I just came to watch some Tournament Basketball."

"Well THANKS!" We both said, and I added, "It seemed from the crowd's reaction that the fans for neither team thought we did a good job, so we really appreciate your compliment." (It HAD been a raucous crowd at a "neutral" site. The school Athletic Director & his On Site Security had been quite busy trying to calm down fans from both teams. Multiple lead changes, a 2 point margin at half time and the game winning basket was scored with 2.8 seconds on the clock for a 1 point win in a VERY intensely played game! Indeed it was a GREAT game to work!)

The fellow stopped, turned back and said, "I've seen a lot of High School Basketball Referees work over the years. Forget about the fans. You guys ARE good!"

He never said who he was or what his experience with Refereeing was. He just turned back around and walked back to his seat, which turned out to be clear on the far side of the gym and in the upper level from where we were siting. So his coming to compliment us was not just a matter of passing by us on the way to the Concession Stand at Half Time. It was a deliberate effort to speak to us and required some effort on his part.

Fan comments, pro and con, after a game are common. But the way this fellow spoke- in particular saying, "I've seen a lot of Referees WORK," was a very interesting comment.

Fans will say "you 'Reffed' or 'Refereed' a good game," but fans do not say "worked."

"Worked a game," is a phrase common to Referees, tho. Perhaps that fellow was a former referee himself?

So we have no idea who this fellow was or what prompted him to make the trek clear across the gym to compliment a couple of relatively nondescript Referees he'd never seen, but we certainly do appreciate his doing it. Definitely takes the sting out of a coach recently saying we were the worst referees he'd ever seen!!! (I think that coach might have been a bit biased, tho......)

A couple more Play Off games to "work" before the season ends for us and we are looking forward to more intensely contested games and lots of fun "working" them!

2/10/15

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Maybe It Is A Silly Rule

The Referees do not write the Rules......BUT we are expected to apply them correctly, even if some Rules do seem silly to Coaches, Fans & Players.

They may even seem silly to the Refs but that is not their problem.

No Referee likes to start the game out by having to tell players they are wearing illegal uniforms items or apparel.

So please do not make a big fuss when the Referee simply asks players & Coaches to follow the Rules.

Some examples-
There are very specific Rules about Leg & Arm Sleeves & Head Bands in High School Basketball. Only certain colors are allowed:

• White, Black, Beige OR the dominate color of the Team Uniform

• If more than 1 player wears leggings, sleeves, etc they ALL have to be the same color.

• Headbands cannot have extensions, no matter how stylish they may be!!

• An undershirt must match the dominant color of the Jersey.

• NO jewelry- Nose rings, ear rings, bracelets (even plastic), necklaces, ect.

Maybe they can wear that stuff in the NBA, but NOT in High School......

Every year for the first 3 weeks of the regular High School Basketball Season my partner and I are have to inform Coaches and Players they are wearing illegal stuff. At almost every game.

How can that be!?

Have other Referees been ignoring these uniform violations? I hope not!

Are these players & Coaches thinking, "Hey, maybe these Refs will be "cool" and not enforce the Rules or not notice the illegal stuff?"

I don't know.

But please do not roll your eyes or holler out inane babble about how the Refs should "watch the game and not worry about how the players are dressed." How the players are dressed IS part of the Referee watching the game.

We are just doing our job. Hopefully Players, Coaches and parents can catch on and do their jobs getting their players properly attired for their games so the Refs do not have to be "The Bad Guys" and can actually focus on the game itself!!

Image by Daniel X. O'Neil via Flickr.com

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Ref's Can't See Anything

A player lost a Contact Lens in a Pre-Season Scrimmage. Naturally everything came to a halt as players & coaches searched for the missing lens......except me and my Referee Partner.

A fan sitting close by us asked, "How come you Ref's aren't helping look for the Contact Lens?"

I turned around & quipped, "No one ever asks us to help look for Contact Lenses. You all know us Ref's can't see anything!"

The fan got a good laugh out of that!

Image by Ken Teegardin via www.AssistedSeniorLiving.net

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Refereeing Basketball vs Volleyball

Firstly, in 25 years of Refereeing High School Basketball I've been hit in the head ONCE by an errant pass during Warm Ups.

In Volleyball I get hit almost every game!!!

Basketball Warm Ups are right in front of the Referees and tho there may be several balls in use, usually only a couple are in the air at any given moment and almost always aimed at the basket.

But in Volleyball Warm Ups serves, practice spikes, practice bumps & sets fly every where from on the court and unofficial warm up areas behind the score's table.

No one is safe from being hit, even the Score Keepers & Timer sitting as the Score's Table before the games.

And when a kid gives you a silly grin and says "Sorry!" You get the feeling that he / she somehow just won a bet with a team mate that he / she couldn't hit the Referee......

Secondly, only in Volleyball does a Ref climb a ladder and become a target for miss hit balls. Any game that I do not get knocked off the wobbly ladder I consider a success regardless of how many calls I might have missed.

Sometimes when hanging onto the ladder and ducking from missiles I feel like a trick pony rider hanging off the side of the pony trying to aim at a target from under the horse's belly. It's hard to see anything from that position and I'm prone to miss something, Just getting on top is an achievement......

Other than that, I calls 'em as I sees 'em!!

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Hey Ref! Are You Deaf?!

This was in a game worked this afternoon......

This fellow, a so called "fan", who hollered that absurdity chuckled loudly after saying it......He apparently thought he was being quite humorous and clever, I suppose.

I try not to interact withe the crowd at High School Games, but sometimes circumstances are such that I feel I have no other alternative...... this was one of those times!!

"Dream Shot" by Will Folsom via Flickr.com

I turned to the crowd and said, "As a matter of fact, my Referee partner today IS deaf. He is also Dumb. Literally since childhood! What you are witnessing is one of the most courageous Referees in Arizona Basketball High School. A fellow that cannot hear Coaches yelling for Time Outs and cannot talk to the players or coaches like most Referees do, but he is out here on the court doing what most of you could never do despite your supposed expertise from the stands- Refereeing this game. You can make fun of him all you want, but if you do you'll trying to watch the rest of the game from outside the building......I hope you brought your X-ray vision glasses."

The "fan" had no further comment......

Why so some fans think they have an unlimited right to yell any a all abusive comments at Ref's they want? And why so do many fans from that person's team tolerate such behavior?

Last year my partner and I ejected 2 fans in a game. A husband and wife combo and a friend of theirs who were all sitting together

After the game as I walked to my car a woman walked quickly past me. When I glanced at her she quickly said, "I wasn't one of them!"

"One of them what?" I asked.

"One of the ones you ejected," was the reply.

I asked if those fans were from her team and she said they were. So I asked if they behaved like that often and she replied, "YES. Every game. We are SO embarrassed by them!"

I asked if they get ejected often and she said, "No. I wish more Refs would toss them out and several of us were very happy you DID toss them out tonite. THANK YOU!"

And so I re-ask the question- Why do fans, fellow team parents, put up with their own team fans acting in such obnoxious ways.

Perhaps the more poignant question is why do the Coaches and School Administrators, who see this fan behavior at their home games, tolerate it?

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No One Prays for the Refs

I refereed at a Church affiliated High School tonight and, appropriate for a Church affiliated School, there was a prayer before the National Anthem and Tip Off.

All the Church affiliated schools pray before their games. They pray for their school, their players, their coaches, the opposing teams, the fans that support them and their parents. They pray for everyone's welfare EXCEPT the Referee's......and then wonder why they get "bad calls"!

I mentioned that one day to a school official when Refereeing at a Christian High School and she said " I'll have that fixed by the next time you come here to Referee a game!!" Sure enough, the next time I was at that school the prayer included the Referees! Not sure it resulted in any fewer bad calls, tho......

I do suspect a few coaches when they see me walk into the gym are thinking, "Oh Lord, not him again!!!" Which isn't quite the same thing as a prayer, I don't suppose.......

Image "clasp hands" by Stephen Platt via Flickr.com

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Halloween Nite At The HS Volleyball Match

200 students showed up last night for "Senior Nite" and the last Volleyball Home Game of the season on Halloween nite.

At least half were in costume......

Image by Katie Morrow via Flickr.com

The funniest to me, was a kid in black shoes, black pants, dark sunglasses & a "blind person's cane"...... and a black & white Referee shirt.

He was "escorted" into the gym by a kid dressed as a slice of Pumpkin Pie holding the Blind Ref's elbow, typical of escorting a blind person. Very clever histrionics, indeed!

One of the really fun things about Refereeing High School Sports is the Student Section antics, Basketball and Volleyball puts the kids almost right on the court!

They can really be entertaining and crazy!!

Occasionally they can get a bit out of line (like at this basketball game) and someone needs to be invited to leave ("Tossed" in more vernacular terms).

Can you guess which student I would have "tossed" first if that Student Section had gotten out of control............? Yeah & the Pumpkin Pie would not have been far behind!

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Fire Alarms & Volleyball Do Not Mix

Smack in the middle of the third set of tonight's Girls Varsity Volleyball game the smoke alarms started going off and lights flashing!!

Image by matteson.norman via Flickr

The gym was cleared until it was learned that students in the auditorium prepping and practicing for a Halloween thing of some sort had let off too much smoke "Special Effect” which set off the alarms throughout the school.

As everyone started rushing to filter back in through the only unlocked double door a parent asked if we wanted to get in the line. My referee partner said, "No, you folks go ahead and reclaim your good seat before someone else snags them. We have reserved seating and the match won't restart until we’re back on the court!”

Leaving the gym after the match a fan of the winning team commented, "That was the best called game we've had so far this season!”

We were probably appreciative, but know it is easier for a fan to say that when their team won 3 straight sets easily………

That the calls that were deemed good was primarily because I had the opportunity to work with one of Arizona's premier Volleyballl Referees. Not only in AZ, he also works NCAA Division 1 and USA Volleyballl National Tournaments. He'd just smile and corrected any bad calls I made and kept the match rolling on.

His parting comment to me in the parking lot was, "Vic, for someone who doesn't know the rules or what he is supposed to be doing, you did OK!”

I'll accept that……

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Push It

You know it's gonna be a LONG nite..........

Image by USAG Livorno PAO via Flickr.com

When you show up to Referee a High School Summer League- 4 games over 4 hours- and you know the Coachs' favorite thing to holler at their players in Summer League is "Push it!!" Meaning RUN DANG IT!!

Just as you pull the elastic "sleeves" on over your knees, lace up your "Runnin' Ref" shoes and take your first step to loosen up you feel a tweak in your left knee!

And the tweak doesn't go away after stretching.

So you pop down 2 Tylenol- 500 mg each and cross your fingers.

The tweak finally goes away in the 1st quarter of the LAST game........

But that might be because you're so tired you stopped running in the 4th quarter of the 3rd game!

But the last game is the 2 best teams you've had all nite and therefore the best game of the nite.

So now YOU "Push It" to keep up with the kids and give them the game they deserve.

Yep, it WAS a long nite......

And now that I'm home, showered, had some of my favorite Birthday German Chocolate Cake & Vanilla Ice Cream and sitting at the computer typing this missive, that tweak has come back to say "Hello, remember me?"

Better go find my Ref Bag and dig out some more Tylenol to sleep?

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YOU DECIDE THE CALL, COACH!!!

Some might recall a post a few weeks ago title If You Had Kept Your Mouth Shut, when I ejected a Coach before the 1st Quarter had ended in a Girl's 8th Grade Basketball game.  

Well, that coach was back tonite coaching an 8th Grade Boys team, as the Visiting Team at the same school he'd been at when I ejected him....

No he dd NOT get ejected tonite. It seems he learned his lesson 4 weeks ago......

Tonight we had a play where my partner and I BOTH had simultaneous whistle calls (also called "Double Whistles"), but for DIFFERENT calls.

Most fans, even coaches, do not realize the Refs are NOT looking at the same thing all the time. With 2 Referees, One Ref looks at action around the ball-dribbler, defender(s), ect. That we call "On Ball."

The other Ref is watching everything else- "Off Ball".

My whistle was a Foul for an Illegal Screen on the Visiting Team.

My partner was calling "3 Seconds" on the Visiting Team.

My partner did not notice my whistle OR my fist in the air signaling a Foul, hollered "3 Seconds" and pointed to a spot for the In-bounds Play.

I figure the Home Team was gonna get the ball on either call and decided not to make an issue of my Foul Call. Play On!!

BUT, as I trotted by the Visiting Team Bench, the Coach hollers out, "How can that be 3 Seconds? His heels were out of the Key!"

I turned to him and said, "Coach, you'll have to ask my partner that since he made the call. I was not watching Off Ball. I was looking On Ball and was calling a Foul on your #30 for an Illegal Screen. If you feel strongly my partner made a bad call, I will void his 3 Seconds Call and Replace it with the Foul Call. You decide! Which call do you want......?"

He stammered a bit and I said, "So you're saying 3 Seconds Call was a Good Call after all, then Coach?" He nodded a meek "Yes" and sat down,

I couldn't help but smile as I continued down the court.......

Image by Russ Ferriday via Flickr.com

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Assistant Coaches Say the Darndest Things…

Some of you "older" folks will remember Art Linkletter’s show segment "Kids Say The Darndest Things"…

Sometimes when I Referee Basketball I get to see my own private version of that show called "Assistant Coaches Say The Darndest Things" on a pretty regular basis!!

In Arizona we have a very simple rule for Coaches and Assistant Coaches STANDING

and Coaching in front of the bench while a game is in progress. ONLY the Head Coach can stand and coach. The Assistants have to remain seated, except to cheer a specific play, greet a player coming out of the game or during Time Out, and between Quarters/ Half Time.

When my Partner and I go to briefly meet the Coaches before the game starts I point to the lines that mark the Coaches Box Area in front of the Team bench and ask the Head Coach if their Assistants are familiar with the Coaches Box Rule. They always say "Yes".

Tonight, we were barely 2 minutes into the game and I see an Assistant Coach for the Home Team standing up shouting instructions to the players since the ball had gone Out Of Bounds and I was near the bench area, I could quickly step to the Head Coach and say, "Coach, may I offer a quick reminder that Assistant Coaches must remain seated during game time?”

Image by Kevin Coles via Flickr

He nodded yes but I got a perplexed look from the Assistant Coach.

A few minutes later I see the same Assistant standing, again!! Fortunately I was in front of their bench area again with the clock stopped and stepped back to remind the Coach about the Assistant not standing to Coach rule.

He again acknowledge he knew that and then the Assistant Coach says to me, "But our Head Coach was sitting down, so the rule is that I can stand up, right?”

It is my practice in this situation to always address ONLY the Head Coach. I'm not being arrogant or showing disrespect for the Assistant, but since the only Coach that is supposed to be communicating with the Referees is the Head Coach, that’s who I talk with.

However, in this situation, I was so amused with the Assistant attempted rebuttal (he is not the first Assistant to try it out this "rule") that I looked first at the Head Coach and smiled, then I looked at and spoke directly to the Assistant Coach saying, “No, I'm sorry Coach, that is not the rule. Only the Head Coach can stand. As far as I am concerned, Assistant Coaches do not exist, and since they do not exist they cannot stand and Coach the players. Now if you want to test that theory you can, but the consequence is a Technical Foul and I suspect if your team loses this game because of a "T" on you for standing, you're existing as an Assistant Coach in the figurative sense might become quite literal……"

The Assistant looked at me, then at his Head Coach who sort of nodded his head towards the bench as if to say to his Assistant, "Go ahead and just sit down, son." And he stayed seated the rest of the game

………

The Home Team won by 4 points. An untimely "T" could have turned the game the other way, so I hope it was a lesson well learned by the Assistant!

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A Complement to the Ref?

Not all schools have experienced adults working the Scorer's Table at High School Volleyball Matches…… Recently I worked some games when the Scorer's for the Freshman games were players on the JV team and then the Freshman players assisted at the Scorer's Table for the JV game. Things can go wrong sometimes……

So I do appreciate veteran Scorekeeping crews. Once you work long enough you come to know the Scorekeepers at some schools and develop a deep respect for their work.

Recently I arrived to a Volleyball Match at a High School which always has a veteran crew at the Scorer's Table.

The Scorekeeper, who does all their home Basketball games greeted me and commented he did not know I was also Refereeing Volleyball.

I explained this was just my 2nd year at it so it might appear I'm still not a Volleyball Ref.

He chuckled and said, "Well, as a basketball Ref, I do not always agree with the calls you made, but I do respect how you are always very professional about how to Referee." I take that as an ultimate compliment from someone who has seen a LOT of Basketball games and a whole bunch of Basketball Referees over the years.

Image by popo.uw23 via flickr.com

I do not expect everyone to like all my calls. Hey, sometimes I don't like some of my calls. Coaches, players and fans all see the calls from their perspective and own biases.

So to hear someone does not agree with all my calls does not bother me.

Being told I am truly professional in the way I Referee? Now THAT is something I am very happy to hear!

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Great Fans Deserve Credit

The most obvious fans are the most obnoxious. Frequently their antics overshadow the really great fans.

I worked a game recently with some truly great friends fans and it started during warm-ups……

Referees try not to have much dialogue with the fans. Almost anything that can happen is not good. A Referee's comment intended to be funny can quickly be turned around into a not so happy response. And when opposing team fans see the Refs being too friendly with their opponents fans they start to suspect the Refs may not be as impartial as possible. That's NOT a good way to start off the game!

But the seats in some gyms are within a few feet of the court sidelines and when the Refs stand near the sidelines during warm-ups some fans like to chat with us. That presents a conundrum for the Ref. Do we stand there ignoring friendly chatter and appear arrogant/pompous or do we turn around and acknowledge a friendly or humorous comment?

The other night the fans were quite chatty, so I turned around and asked, "Did you pay extra for Court Side seats tonight!“

Image by Sheila Herman via Flickr

"Oh Yeah," one fellow said, "big bucks for us Season Ticket Holder's!" (Tickets are the same price regardless of where the fans sit in High School gyms.)

They seemed friendly, so I followed that up with, "Did you pay extra for the 'It's OK to yell at the Refs Ticket?"

"Yep, I bought that, too!“

To which I said, "Well, you'll be likely getting your money's worth out of it when you see some of the crazy stuff I called in this game!“

The several folks along the sidelines laughed and said something along the lines they were looking forward to having fun.

About halfway into the 1st Quarter I was in-bounding the ball near those same fans and I heard a lady behind me say to a fellow fan, "Really!!?? You mean I've been cheering for the wrong team?" (I am supposing she was an out of town relative or neighbor that had come to cheer for the first time?)

I turned to the lady to comment, "If you don't know which team to cheer for you better not be complaining about my Ref calls!“

Starting the 2nd Half I went to in-bound the ball and asked the sideline fans in general, "I haven't heard much yelling, how are we doing?“

"Oh, you guys are doing great!" Several said. Another said, "I'm not getting my money's worth out of my 'It's OK to yell at the Ref' ticket!" (That's always reassuring!)

As we left the court at game's end and I glanced at the sideline fans and got a "thumbs up" signal from several.

That was a whole lot more fun than having to eject a fan……

Refereeing can be very entertaining……

US airways 12/20/2014

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