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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No, the Coach did NOT go to the Pre-Season Rules Meeting......

The Arizona Interscholastic Association, at the Basketball Referee's Tip Off Meeting, mentioned there would be a Rules Meeting for the Coaches to review NEW Rules and discuss how, what and why Referees make certain calls. It was suggested it would be of great value to Coaches better understand the Rules and Refereeing.

At a Pre-Season Scrimmage I printed copies of this year's new Rules to give to the Coaches for when I reviewed new rules with the Players & Coaches prior to starting the game.

One Coach, who is notorious for berating Referee Calls, was skeptical about my explanation of a new Free Throw Lane Rule.

I asked if he had attended the Rules Meeting for Coaches.

He gave me a puzzled, "What Rules Meeting?" look and said "No."

I did NOT say it. I wanted to... But NOT going to the Rules Meeting probably has a lot to do with his constant complaining about Referee Calls.

He does not know the Rules as well as he thinks he does and he has no idea about Referee philosophy.

"Basketball Court" by Mohamad Zeina Via Flickr

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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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"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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You know the Rules have changed since 1958, don't you, Ref?

Players, Coaches & fans know ABOUT some of the Rules in basketball, but often do not really know the correct Rules......and THAT can cause problems when you're trying to referee a game.

Every year the Rules get tinkered around with. Some are minor procedural changes that the fans never hear about. Some are major Rule changes, like Hand Checking in High School Basketball recently. And all too often folks not intimately involved with the Rules, like Referees are, do not know about these Rule changes......until they see the Ref make a call they do not like or understand.

The other nite I was refereeing a Men's Rec League.

"PSUK Basketball - Bristol 2013-111" by Andrew Spillane via Flickr

A player, not liking that I had called a Violation he did not know was a new Rule Change, hollered at me, "You know the Rules have changed since 1958, don't you, Ref?

I thought that was a rather clever retort. After all, I am 63 years old. I know that, but I still move up and down the court pretty well and neither Alzheimer's Disease or Old Timer's Disease (I can never remember which one it is that I need to be worried about) has stricken me down, sidelined me or caused me to forget the Rules.

Amused tho I was with the comment, I "T'd" him up anyway for being disrespectful!

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Coach, It's YOUR Student Section....

I was Refereeing a Girl's Varsity Volleyball Match when some kids in the Student Section decided it would be fun to start calling out opposing team players by their uniform number while making specific and unkind comments.

The Rules do not allow that and I am not gonna allow it.

The school Athletic Director was not present. Neither was a school Administrator. Only a fellow in a yellow shirt emblazoned "SECURITY," So I called over the Security fellow- who was standing about 20' from the offending students and doing nothing about it-  and asked him to stand with the Student Section and calm them down.

This process, of course, takes some time.

In the meantime, the Home Team Coach complains to me, "Can't we just get the Match started again?!"

"UTPA Volleyball 1 by Reynaldo Leal" by thepanamerican via Flickr

"Yep, Coach we can. However, it's YOUR Student Section causing the problem and we aren't restarting until they are under control. As soon as they settle down we can restart the Match."

Want to get a Red Card in Volleyball or "T'd' Up" in Basketball by me? Just start making a fuss about a game delay when it's your students or fans that are out of control......YOUR school is responsible for fan behavior control!!

I'm rather certain this isn't the first time this Student Section has gotten out of line. Some school Student Sections just don't know how to behave and I am constantly chagrined that schools see and tolerate behavior- sometimes even smile & are amused by behavior- from THEIR students at Home Games that I am sure they would object to if they were Visitors......

On the other hand, some Student Sections are outrageously hilarious in their antics and make the games & matches more fun for everyone. I applaud them in that effort.

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