Basketball season is upon us so blogging will be down. Plus it's too cold to build anything. At this point of the year, I tend to hibernate under large blankets while holding a live teddy bear in footed pajamas.
In the meantime until we see the groundhog, I want to share some referee secrets with you so you can calmly enjoy your kids basketball games this winter. I figured I would write this after working with a couple of newbies who I have been advising on how to call a good game.
First, no one ever calls three seconds. Don't scream about it especially if it's not a high school varsity game. 95% of the time, the kid doing it doesn't even know what he/she is doing. A decent referee will try and talk them out of the lane and not make the call. The only time I ever call it is if a kid is parked in the lane for 5+ seconds and gets a pass for a wide open shot. In that case a clear advantage is gained by parking in the lane. Remember, no advantage, no foul.
See this clip below (credit to the NBA™ or something). Was there an advantage gained? No so why call it.
The other call that everyone yells about for no good reason is a backcourt violation. In a high school game, 2 feet and the ball have to all be in the frontcourt in order for there to be a backcourt violation. While dribbling, a kid can put one foot in the frontcourt and reverse back to the backcourt without being called for a violation. In the same token, the kid can dribble the ball in the frontcourt past the line with his feet in the back and then dribble the ball back in the backcourt.
So in order to be a backcourt violation, the offensive player has to have the ball and two feet in the frontcourt. The clip below (credit to the NCAA™ or something) is from an NCAA game with NCAA rules explained.
Lastly, not all contact is a foul. The key thing with contact is the answer to the question "was an advantage gained." If a kid boxes out and gets the rebound but the defender makes contact, as long as the rebounder has the ball, no call. The game plays on. If a kid beats the defender to the hoop and has a path to a layup, no matter how much the defender is hand-checking, I won't call it becuase the offense has not lost his advantage and has a layup. This video (credit to the FIBA™ or something)shows this situation. The whistle for the "foul" cost the offense two points and allowed the defense to set up for an inbounds play. In this case, the "foul" penalizes the offense.
Lastly, one comment about my favorite foul, the technical foul. I have five kids at home. I don't take any crap from them so I sure am not going to take it from others. In a game, the kids play, the coaches coach, the referees referee. I don't tell the kids how to play so they shouldn't tell me how to officiate. Our society is lacking in respect and this happens on the court. Sometimes the line gets crossed from disagreement to blatant disobedience and a technical is warranted. If respect isn't honored, things like this can happen....
Clip credit to the NCAA™ or ESPN™ or something.
Also, keep in mind when you kids play THEY'RE JUST KIDS. Nothing helps a 5 year old who doesn't know anything about basketball having the whole gym scream SHOOT IT.
Your referees are also probably making $15-20/game because that's all the registration fees you pay cover. Let's all have fun this winter and make sure that the most important thing is that the kids are excercising and being kids.
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