She Was Almost Over the Line, Ref!

I was working a Holiday Girl's High School Tournament.

Visiting team is bringing the ball from the Back Court after In-bounding following the Home Team making a basket.

A team is allowed 10 seconds to get the ball over the Mid Court Line. It's a really easy call to make... Count to 10 seconds and if the ball is still on the Back Court side of the line, toot the whistle and give the Violation Mechanic.

Image by Todd Blosser via Flickr

As usual, I made me Visible 10 Second Count. I got to 10 Seconds, allowed another 1/2 seconds or so- just to be sure my count was not too fast- then I sounded my whistle and gave the Ten Second Violation signal.

A Visiting Team parent hollers out in disgust, "Oh, come on Ref!! She was almost over the line!"

It's a moments like this I wonder if that same parent would have the same opinion if I did NOT call a 10 Second Violation on the opposing tram in a similar situation?

Surely that fan would holler out, "Oh, come on Ref!! She was almost over the line!" Don't ya think?

No, I don't think so either......and THAT sort of bias is why fans & coaches do not Referee the games.

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It's All a Matter of Perspective

There are SO many things I wish I could explain to the fans while Refereeing a Game. Explain why a certain Foul was called or contact was NOT called as a Foul. Clarify a Rule, etc. the help them better understand the game, what and why the Ref's did what they did, but there are so few opportunities to do that during a game. And unfortunately, on too many occasions when I have tried to do that, my attempt to be helpful is met with some caustic remark by a disgruntled and unknowledgeable fan so that I ask myself why did I even try?

Too often, when questioning a Basketball Referee Call I made a Coach will say, "I've never heard that Rule before!"

And so I wonder......how may fans or Coaches, for that matter, have actually read the Rule Book before they go watch or coach a game?

I recently worked a Youth Game- 7th & 8th Graders. Some of the them are hopeful of playing Varsity High School Basketball, and perhaps beyond. But first they have to play high school.

So it is understandable that Youth Leagues adopt National Federation of High School Rules, right?

It is my opinion that the sooner an aspiring hoopster learns the Rules the better it will be for the youth & future coaches. Better to be called for a Rule Violation that loses the game in a Saturday Youth league than find out about it the really hard way and cost the team a State Championship, right?

So when I work a Youth game I apply High School Rules.


Here is a VERY simple Rule when a ball is In-bounded......

The defender CANNOT reach across the Out of Bounds Line. PERIOD.

Reach across and touch nothing? 1st Time is a Delay of game Warning. 2nd Time & it's a technical Foul.

Reach across & slap the Ball the 1st Time & THAT is a Technical Foul. NO Warning required.

Reach across & slap the player and THAT is an Intentional Foul. NO Warning required.

BEFORE I hand the ball to the Throw-In Player I look at the Defender, point at the Out of Bounds Line and say, "Do NOT reach across the Out of Bounds Line, OK?" They always nod & say, "Ok."

So I had a kid reach across the line on an inbound play. I called a Delay of Game Warning and reported it to the Scorekeeper.

Not long afterward the same kid, again after I told him not to reach across the line, reached across the line and slapped the ball, so I called a technical Foul.

The Coach asked for an explanation. As I trotted over to offer the simple explanation I could hear fans from the team holler about a "Bad Call", "Lousy Ref" and other typical claptrap. Yes, the Refs hear what is said, We just chose to ignore such comments unless they are excessive. Then we eject the person.

I explained the call and the Coach says, "Are you sure about that? I've been coaching 20 years and I never heard that Rule!"

I was not surprised......

"Yes, Coach, It's in the Rule Book."

"Are you SURE about that, Ref?"

"Yes."

"Is that some NEW Rule?"

"No. Been in the book for a long time."

So...... I do not mind if a Coach or Fan disagrees with me on a Foul Call. After all, it is a subjective call by the Ref. I expect the person / team & Coach that the Foul call was made against to object. Your perspective and mine is quite different. I might not have made the best call, but I made what I thought was the proper call from my vantage point and what I saw. You see what you want to see from a biased perspective. Them's the breaks!

"Perspective" by Brett Jordan via Flickr

But IF you want to holler that the Ref does not know the Rules......please make sure YOU really know the Rule! There might just be a lot of them pesky Rules you never heard about before if you never studied the Rule Book or had to pass a Test to Referee......

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I Like This Ref!

We had an unusual Violation Rule Call the other nite. Unusual for the fans and some coaches, but not to Referees......

During an Inbound Play (also called a Throw-In), the Defender reached across the "Vertical Plane of the Throw-In Line" and slapped the ball while it was in the Throw-In Player's hands.

A Technical Foul was called.

As my partner was administering the 2 Free Throws, I was standing along the sideline by the Mid Court Line, where the ball would be put back into play, and could hear some chatter from the fans asking each other, "What was the 'T' for?"

They had been well behaved, so I turned & explained that it was an Automatic Technical Foul for a Defender to slap the ball while it was being held by the Thrown-In Player.

A fan queried, "Aren't you suppose to warn the player first?"

It was "asked" in a tone that was more of an effort to try and tell me I had made a mistake, rather then a true question...... Some fans think they know the rules better than the Refs, you see......

So I replied, hoping my explanation would help those fans (and now my Online Friends, too) be more knowledgeable and not need to holler at future of my fellow Refs in similar situations,

Here's the explanation. I hope it helps!

"No sir. On the FIRST time a Defender reaches across the line but does NOT either hit the Thrown-In Player or slap the ball, THAT is a warning and a "T" the 2nd time it happens.

In this situation, the Defender slapped the ball and THAT is an Automatic Technical Foul. 2 Shots for the Offense and the ball placed at the Mid Court Line, which is why I am standing here now.

But if the Defender had slapped the Throw-In Player, THAT would have been an Automatic Intentional Foul. Still 2 shots, but the ball would have been put back in-play at the same spot where the foul occurred.

3 similar play situations but 3 entirely different Rules and Consequences."

A lady commented, "I did not know you Refs had to know so many Rules!" Then commented, "I like this Ref. At least he is willing to talk to us & let us know what happened!"

Photo by Chip Griffin via Flick

Knowledgeable fans are happier fans and holler less at the Refs.

I like it when the fans are happy......

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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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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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A Police Escort Required from the Gym

NO!! Not for me & my partner. For a Home Team Fan!!

A Home Team Player committed a foul and the Visiting Team Scorekeeper thought it was the 5th on the player. The Home Team Scorekeeper, read that as "The OFFICIAL Scorekeeper," had it as foul #4. When there are discrepancies, we go by the Official Scorebook account by Rule Book Mandate.

"Referees escorted by Police" by KT King via Flickr

That the Visiting Scorekeeper was sitting on their team bench and not at the Official Score Table and was not comparing each score and foul with the Official Scorekeeper made it easy to rely solely on the Home Team Scorebook.

Anyway, while my Referee partner was sorting things out at the Score Table, this crazy fan apparently was in the stands yelling at us Referees and using a few choice words because of the Score Keepers mix up and general discontent about our calls on the evening.

I could hear some ruckus behind me, but having met with the AD and "On Campus" Security before the game (a regular part of our Referee Pre-Game routine) and requesting them to watch the fans and deal with any crowd issues, I just ignored her and let them do their agreed upon job.

As I went to inbound the ball after a number of Fouls mix up was resolved I saw a Police Officer, acting on his own initiative and not by request from either Referee, escort a fan out and could hear that fan making some not kind comments to the Police Officer. By the look on his face he wasn't amused and there was no uncertainty that she was leaving the facility!! Don't know what happened to the fan after the fan was whisked out of the gym but I know that fan never came back in!!

First time in 25 year of officiating basketball I've seen a fan have to be escorted out by the police.....Ejected out by local game management or tossed by myself or my partner, yes. But for a Police Officer to walk from one side of the gym to the stands and take out a fan? First time for that!!

By sheer coincidence, that fan section which had been rather rowdy up until then, was strangely quiet the rest of the game......

Refereeing can be so interesting and entertaining!!

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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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