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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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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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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If You Had Kept Your Mouth Shut......

I was Refereeing an 8th Grade Girl's Basketball Tournament.

At Game Time the other Referee had not shown up, but the Game, like the "The Show," must go on, right?

Coaches, Fans, ect, think TWO Refs miss a lot of calls, so what is the chance ONE Ref can see everything?

We were barley 3 minutes into the FIRST Quarter and the Visiting Coach had been hollering at me for every little thing he thought I was not calling. Naturally ONLY things that would have benefited HIS team......

One of his girls stole the ball and off they raced to the opposite end of the floor. I was well behind the play trying to catch up when his player, who could barley dribble the ball while running and NOT being defended, lost control of the ball and stumbled into 2 defensive players. While stumbling, she tried to push up a feeble shot and the ball went out of bounds.

I blew my whistle and awarded the ball to the other team for having gone out of bounds.

At that moment, the Coach comes stomping onto the court, nearly to the Half Court Line, hollering about how I should have called a Foul. It was quite and most definitely unsportsmanship behavior, so I "whacked" him with a "T".

Not satisfied, and apparently accustomed to Referees cowering to his bellows, he took another step towards me and yelled even louder, "That was a HORRIBLE Call. You are an awful Ref!!"

I replied, "You might be right on both accounts, but you are now a coach that has been ejected from the game!" And pointed to the Exit.

Evidently the Home Team had been witness to this Coach's intimidating antics in a previous game - which the other Referees had allowed to go on without any "T's" on the Coach -  and cheered loudly when they knew he had been ejected.

A few minutes later the other Referee showed up - there had been a traffic accident along the way that had delayed his arrival.

He asked if he had missed anything interesting.

Photo by Paul and Cathy (Becker1999) via Flickr

When I responded, "Only my ejecting the Visiting Head Coach 3 1/2 minutes into the game." He commented, "That explains the fellow who confronted me on the way in."

As I looked quizzically at him he continued, "As I walked up to the door to the gym some guy came up and complained he had been ejected from the game. He was rather agitated and seemed like a real jerk, so I said, 'Well, if you had just kept your mouth shut you would still be inside, wouldn't you?' and walked thru the door."

Coaches & fans rarely get ejected for something they do NOT say.

(If you want to find out if this Coach was better behaved then NEXT time I officiated a game for his school you can read about that here. You Decide the Call, Coach!!! )

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Is That Even A Rule??!!

I had just made a "5 Seconds Violation" call against the Home Team when I heard a frustrated fan holler out to the surrounding fans, "5 Seconds? Is that even a Rule?"

Referees hear the most interesting Rule interpretations from fans, players & Coaches......and I often wish I had some sort of communication device to explain things to some fans as the game progresses.

If I did, I could have said to that confused fan....

"The High School 5 Seconds Violation is VERY simple- If an Offensive Player is holding the ball, or dribbling the ball, while a Defensive Player is within 6', CONTINUOUSLY, for 5 seconds it is a Violation- just like Traveling or throwing the ball out of bounds.

The Defensive Player dos not even have to be making any attempt to guard the Offensive Player or steal the ball. Just be standing with one foot within 6' of the Offensive Player's foot closest to the Defender's Foot. Even if both players are just standing there staring at each other!

Photo by The Brand via Flickr

All the Referee does is watch to see if the 6' gap is closed and starts making a Visible Count with the Ref's hand. When the Ref hits 5 seconds, the whistle is sounded and the Ref sticks a hand in front of him/ her with the fingers & thumb extended and says loudly, "5 Seconds" and then points which way the ball will be going when In-bounded." (Most Referees, wanting to be sure they do not rush the count, will wait another 1/2-1 seconds AFTER hitting 5 seconds....just to be sure their count is not too fast. We DO try not to make mistakes if possible!!)

So......when a Referee hears a fan cry out "Is that even a Rule?" Or some such thing, the Referee pretty much knows there's gonna be more craziness hollered out from the stands before the game is over....including, likely THAT fan, hollering the Ref doesn't know the Rules......

So, YES, "5 Seconds" IS a Rule and I DO call it!

And hearing crazy fans comments from the stands is part of what makes Refereeing so interesting and fun!!

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If Your Gonna Yell at the Ref

I was working a terrific game Saturday. The teams were both ranked in the Top 5 of their division. 500+ frenetic fans in the stands.

With less than 2 minutes left in Regulation, the Teams were lined up at the Free Throw Lane for the Visiting Team, which was clinging to a precarious 2 point lead, to shoot 2 Free Throws.

Just after my Ref Partner bounced the ball to the shooter a player from the Home Team stepped away from the Free Throw Lane spot he had been standing in.

Photo by Grace Adell via Flickr

Immediately a Visiting Team fan starts shouting, "That's a Technical Foul, Ref! Call the 'T'."

The fan's insistence prompted at least 2 other Visiting Team fans to assume that fan knew the rule and they also started hollering for me to call a "T."

They could not have been more wrong in their chorus of demands.....Clearly they did NOT know the correct rule to apply!

Not noticed by the would be "referees" in the stands was, as soon as the Home Team Player stepped out of the Free Throw Lane Spot, I had extended my arm out at shoulder height and balled my hand into a fist. That is the proper Referee "Mechanic" or signal that alerts the other Referee, coaches, players and knowledgeable fans that the Referee has spotted a POTENTIAL Free Throw VIOLATION.

If the Shooter makes the Free Throw the Referee will drop his / her arm and NO Violation has occurred (Since the Free Throw was made.)

Now, what if the Free Throw Attempt is missed, you ask? The Referee will blow his / her whistle, step towards the Free Throw Lane and indicate to the other Referee that a Free Throw Violation has occurred and the Free Throw Shooter will be given another Free Throw attempt.

Is the penalty a Technical Foul, as the fan wanted? NO!!

The only penalty is the Free Throw Shooter is given the ball for a repeat attempt.

That's it!! Just a simple violation, like traveling. NOT a "T."

In this instance, the Visiting Team Player made both Free Throws so obviously no "T" was called. Even so, the fan in the stands kept hollering for a "T" as the ball was in bounded and we headed to the other end of the court. Have you ever heard Bill Engvall's "Here's Your Sign" comedy routine? Hilarious stuff!!

Sometimes, after hearing some of the crazy things I hear fans holler from the stands, I'd like to be able to reach into my back pocket and pull out a "sign" and hand it to whatever fan is inciting his fellow fans to believe he knows the rules better than the Ref's do and say, "Here's your sign".....But that us not a current Referee Mechanic!

If Your Gonna Yell at the Ref, Please Know The RIGHT Rule.

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Referees are CORRECT 94% of the Time

I know, I know, AZ Cardinal Fans & not a few other Football Team fans are gonna disagree with this...BUT-

At last year's Arizona Interscholastic Association Basketball Referee "Tip Off" meeting the Commissioner of Officials quoted a study done by some group that evaluated Referee calls over a full season.

The conclusion was that Referees are CORRECT on 94% of their calls!!

And then he noted, "But it's those 6% of the calls we get wrong that get Refs in trouble!!"

Coaches, Fans Players & Parents can and do ALL forgive players who make mistakes, "That's OK. Shake it Off," they will holler after a botched play.

But they ALL expect the Refs to be correct, from THEIR perspective, on EVERY play.

Refs would like to be correct 100% of the time.

In almost any other situation 94% would be considered great.

But not when one of the 6% missed calls is a game decider that goes against a team....

"Shooting Two" by Phil Warren via Flickr

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"Why Don't You Just Let Us Play Like Men?!"

So asked an "adult" male in a basketball league I recently refereed. 

"That would never be called a Foul in a college game," he whined about something the other Referee called.

I replied, "That WOULD be a Foul Call in any league and THIS is not a college game. This league is based on High School Rules, not NCAA or NBA."

"So why not let us play like men!?" He continued.

"Because you all play like a bunch of crybabies that complain every time we call a foul on YOU and then beg for a Foul Call every time you get barely touched by an opponent. If you played like men instead of crybabies we could Referee the game like you were men!"

Image "150116-F-QP401-465" by DoD News via Flickr, acquired under a Creative Commons license

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How NOT to Talk to a Referee

"Dream Shot" by Will Folsom via Flickr

Us Referees may be blind, it seems to some, but I assure you we are not deaf.

Yeah, we hear all the crazy stuff fans yell from the stands and then chuckle over the craziest stuff we hear during breaks in the game and at half time.

Like the folks that count out, "One, Two, Three, FOUR, FIVE, SIX. Ref aren't you ever going to call 3 Seconds!" When it is the DEFENSIVE team in the Key Area......

I submit to you, tho, IF-

Your child/ player tends to be a bit brutish, shoves people around & bulls their was thru people & attempts to drive to the basket, knocking over 2 defenders who established legal guarding positions, and in the process of falling to the floor themselves is accidentally whacked in the nose by one of the other players falling down......

And IF you come onto the court to check on your child, who is sitting on the floor after the collision they caused......

 And IF your child asks, "Why didn't the Ref call a Foul on the player that hit me in the nose......"

And If, while the Referee is standing next to you also checking to see if your child/player is OK, you reply, "I don't know. The Ref's are stupid!"

Don't not be surprised when you get the "Old Heave- Ho" and are invited to leave the premises.

That is one example of how NOT to talk to a Referee!

We tolerate a lot of abusive comments from the fans but we do have our limits......

We may be blind be we are NOT deaf.

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Is it ONE "Tweet" OR Two "Tweets?"

In basketball, when a Referee sees a Foul, a Violation or someone requests a Time Out the Ref gives a powerful single BLAST on the whistle while raising the hand straight up, high above the shoulder with the palm open in the standard "Stop the Clock" mechanic.

New Basketball Referees are frequently encouraged to "put some air in that whistle!"

Not so, I'm finding out in Volleyball......

Volleyball is a much more genteel and polite sport.

"John at Work" by David Fulmer via Flickr

Volleyball Refs do not blast their whistles. We "Tweet" them. Politely.

And sometimes I need to remember is it ONE Tweet or 2?

If I am the "R2" (the Ref on the floor in front of the Scorer's Table) and I see a Net/ Foot Fault or a ball out of bounds, I give ONE Tweet.

BUT, if a Coach asked for a Time Out , and I am the R2, I need to give 2 Tweets and then signal the Time Out making a signal similar to a Technical Foul in basketball and make the signal on the same side as the Coach that called the Time Out.

A Basketball Time Out is recognized by the Referee giving a SINGLE blast on the Whistle and raising the hand straight up, high above the shoulder with the palm open in the standard "Stop The Clock" mechanic. It is an automatic reflexive response for me after 20+ years Refereeing Basketball......

But it is not so automatic for me in Volleyball!

I spent most of last season calling Time Outs in Volleyball Matches like I do in Basketball.

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"We're Practicing Drawing Charging Fouls."

Several years ago I was working a Summer Basketball Camp and sitting on the sidelines prior to my next assigned game, just watching the teams warm up.

An out of state team started a drill where the Dribbler would come up close to the Defender and the Defender would flail his arms and plop onto his backside. "GREAT JOB! THAT'S GOOD!" The coach was hollering as he encouraged his players.

Eventually he walked down by where I was sitting and nodded a hello. "Ready for a good game?" He asked me.

"Every game is a good game for me to work!" I enthusiastically replied and then asked, "What is the purpose of this drill?"

"We're practicing drawing charging fouls," was the reply.

"PSUK Basketball - Bristol 2013-21" by Andrew Spillane via Flickr

"Looks the guys are practicing Flopping to me," was my comment to which he said, "Yes, you could say it looks like that."

I pointed out Flopping was an intentional act to fake being fouled and classified as a Technical Foul and having just seen and hear him say that was what they were practicing, I said, "So anytime I see one of your players hit the floor I gonna ignore it at first, start calling Blocking Fouls on them the next time and then just 'T' up anyone who keeps flopping."

Did not have a single one of those players even come close to a Flop the whole game.....Imagine that!!

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Leave the Kids Who are Helping ALONE!

I Refereed my first Matches of the season last nite and I am quite happy to be mailing out letters to the Principal's of BOTH schools complimenting their JV and Varsity Coaches for excellent sportsmanship!

Do THE fans have the guts to Referee?

Despite EXCELLENT sportsmanship from the players and the coaches in most Girl's Varsity Volleyball Matches there are occasionally parents who want to Referee the game...... from their safe perch in the stands. I doubt many of them have the guts to actually be on the floor and Referee! Few people do.

Oh, it's pretty easy to Ref from the stands, but when you put on a Referee shirt & hang a whistle around the neck and realize there are numerous half crazed fans ready to challenge every call you make there are few folks willing to take on that responsibility.

In one Match a parent was hollering at one of the High School aged Line Judges when he disagreed with some of her calls.

Look folks, the AIA (Arizona Interscholastic Association) sends 2 Referees to each match. As a cost saving measure preferred by the schools who pay for the Referees, the AIA does NOT send paid Line Judges to Regular Season Matches.

So High School kids end up volunteering, or more likely, BEING volunteered by their Coaches, to do the Line Judging.

(My Grand Daughter all dressed out to Ref a Volleyball Match)

In a Varsity Match the Line Judges are usually JV Players, Freshman or Sophomores. many of which do not really want to be the Line Judge!!

It is NOT as easy as it looks from the stands. I know! I have done some line Judging in Post Seasons Play Off Matches.

This particular parent thought that he was being funny to holler, "Are you blind!?" at a Line Judge who had called a ball "IN" that, in his over inflated judgement, he thought was "OUT." From my perspective on the Referee Stand the ball was "IN."

Fans can holler at us adult Referees, up to a limit, if they want. But I ain't gonna let fans holler at the kids who do Line Judging.

So I asked the attending Athletic Director to speak to the fan with 3 choices-

1. Cheer for his team and stop yelling at the Line Judges.

2. Step onto the floor and take the Line Judge spot.

3. Yell one more time at the Line Judge and he would be ejected from the gym.

Since he was with the Visiting Team, and had traveled almost 3 hours to the game, he wisely decided to focus on cheering and not take the Line Judge spot.

So, come and cheer for your schools as loud and raucously as your want. You can take your chances and yell at the Ref's, too. Some Refs have less tolerance for that than others and you never know walking in the door if the Ref for that Match has a short fuse or not......

But leave the kids who are helping do Line Judging alone!

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An Honor Call

It was just my 2nd Varsity Boy's Volleyball game of the season......IN my 2nd Seasons as a Volleyball Referee.

A ball goes out of bounds. I think it is off the Visiting Team and the Line Judge signals it is off the Visiting Team.

Photo taken by Charles "Andy" Lee via Flickr, under a Public Domain License

Just after I indicated awarding the point to the Home team I heard someone from the Home Team say, "Make the Honor Call, then!" 

Turns out it was the Home Team Head Coach AND Assistant Coach. BOTH fellows who are also Nationally Certified volleyball Referees themselves, talking to their player.

A player from the Home Team trotted over to where I was standing on the platform as the Referee and said, "I touched the ball, Ref!"

I asked if he was sure because both myself and the Line Judge thought it was off the other team.

He insisted he had touched it, so I reversed the point award.

I looked up at the Home Team Assistant & Varsity Coaches, pointing to the player that had made the Honor Call and gave them a "Thumbs Up."

After the game I was talking to the Head Coach, who as I said is also a Nationally Certified Volleyball Referee and complimented his player and Assistant Coach for making the Honor Call.

He replied, "We teach our player's that our team's honor and self-respect is more important than any point!"

Well played Coach!!


Campo Verde @ Westwood 3/5/2015

Brian Hannah Westwood Head Coach

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How to get Ejected from a High School Basketball Game

If, after spending the better part of the game yelling at, protesting, criticizing the Referee calls and generally being an abusive nuisance, it might not be a surprise to find out that the Referee's tolerance level for such behavior may be rapidly declining...... In fact, the "tolerance level" may not make it to Half Time......

And if you are sitting right on the sidelines and object to the Referee calling a "T" on a player from your team who throws up his/her arms & does some sort of hopping up & down with his arms flapping up & down in some sort of pirouette/ dance to protest for being called for an obvious Foul and holler VERY LOUDLY at the Ref, who is about 15' away from you, "Ref, YOU SUCK"......You can expect to be ejected.

If you are sitting among the same group of fans that had the first fellow ejected for hollering, "Ref, YOU SUCK," and you object to a player from the same team being called for a Technical Foul for "Taunting" by clapping his hands in the face of an opponent he had just stolen the ball from and scored a basket against saying, "Bring it on, dude!" And you look directly at the Ref who is 5' away from you and yell loudly, "YOU ARE THE WORST REF'S EVER!"......You can plan on being ejected.

And when after the ejection, the husband/boyfriend immediately stands up and sticks a Cell Phone Camera in the same Ref's face and says, "I'm videoing you!"......You can plan on being ejected, too. Politely, but quite firmly and immediately so.

And when the ejected fan "Flips a Bird" at the other Ref while walking out of the gym and the husband/boyfriend yells, "F___ YOU!" (TWICE) at the Ref as he exits, the Ref's pretty much understand why they had to call 3 Un-Sportsmanship Conduct "T'S" on players from the same team in the game (and NONE on the opponent). The kids do reflect their parents......

Oh, and the fan that "Flipped off" my partner said she was going to write a letter to the AIA (Arizona Interscholastic Association) about the "out of control" Referees as she walked out of the gym. I'm sure the AIA will have great sympathy for her grievance......

You can meet such interesting people when Refereeing......

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