Take the Officiating Challenge.

[bdubya]

Some interesting topics have been brought up recently on officiating, most of which have absolutely proven that the people that do the officiating have absolutely no idea what they are doing.

When I was in junior high and high school, I spent about 7 years officiating biddee league and AAU basketball games with a handful of men who are still doing games and a handful of people who are not, mainly due to being worn out after so many of years of doing games. I learned more about sports during those seven years than at any other time of my life.

Now as a sports writer, I still get to see those guys and have met many more over the years that have been really good fellas. And since they, like sports writers, take so much grief from people who don't do what we do — we do have some interesting discussions throughout the course of the year.

There's a lot more to take into consideration than just fouls and traveling. And the only people who take this into consideration are the people who deal with it on a regular basis.

So for my former brethren and current friends of the seasons, I challenge anyone who is not a licensed official to take a very simple five-question examination on basketball officiating.

Please don't look up these answers online or in a rule book, because you know you already know the answer without having to resort to such a thing.

I — and maybe a few others — will be real interested to see how the zebras in the crowd fare.

Here we go!


1. In a three-man crew, when does the lead official switch to the other side of the baseline in a rotation?

2. The weakside official in a three-man crew doesn't watch the ball as the play is happening. True or false?

3. When administering the ball to a shooter on a second free throw attempt, the official who handed the ball away positions himself on the floor facing what object to watch for a line violation? (The answer is not the shooter or the free throw line.)

4. When a personal foul is called, what position in the three-man crew does the referee that called the foul take on the floor (Lead, Trail or Middle)?

5. When a referee blows the whistle, he (or she) either makes an open fist or a closed fist when making the call. What's the difference between an open fist and a closed fist during a whistle?

BONUS: In Ohio, you have to put in ??? years of ground work at the junior high, freshmen and junior varsity levels before obtaining a varsity officiating license?

I'll get back to everyone, anyone or nobody before the Super Bowl with the answers to these easy questions.

Good luck.

[@nd_1]

1. When the ball rotates on the opposite side you are.

2. True, he watches the backside.

3. He positions himself same side as the benches looking at the opposite block.

4. Trail

5. Open fist - violation, closed fist - foul

Bonus. You are eligible to be class 1 after 2 years.

[KingJames]

These questions are irrelevant to how people perceive officials

[numberonefan]

Agree......not sure anyone really cares the answer to these questions. I think most officials do a good job, they try hard to make the calls on the spot as they see them. Everyone is going to miss one here and there. My pet peeve is the arrogance some have. Go out there, do your job and don't worry about trying to look good or impress people in the stands. If you are worrying about what's being said in the stands, you aren't watching the game likely. Or close enough, anyway.

[M0TIVAT0R]

[quote="numberonefan"]Agree......not sure anyone really cares the answer to these questions. I think most officials do a good job, they try hard to make the calls on the spot as they see them. Everyone is going to miss one here and there. My pet peeve is the arrogance some have. Go out there, do your job and don't worry about trying to look good or impress people in the stands. If you are worrying about what's being said in the stands, you aren't watching the game likely. Or close enough, anyway.[/quote]

Good point! So now let's all go out tonight and scream as loud as we can at the officials, preferably from the front row. Scream so loud that they can't help but hear us. That way it will take even more of their attention away from the game, and maybe they will make a call we like.

[farmer]

Knowing what to do and when to do it is great. Then doing it infront of a crowd is where some refs have problems.

[Orange and Brown]

These questions are irrelevant to how people perceive officials

They are relavant to those people who think they know the rules to the game better than the guys and gals who are calling the games.......

If you don't have a clear understanding of the rules, how can you decide weather an offiicial is good or bad?

[numberonefan]

motivator, not sure how many high school basketball games you attend but in the heart of southern ohio high school basketball is big. The fans love the game and come out in full force for their team. Part of the atmosphere includes jabbing at the refs for calls though MOST fans understand that it isn't the refs that cost them a game. I say MOST knowing full well some people can get carried away. But for the most part, its just general yelling about calls they didn't agree with or thought the ref missed and it's part of it. Most officials know that comes with it and they let it roll right off their backs and don't think a thing about it because many of them when they are in the stands do the exact same thing.

[g w mclintock]

These questions are irrelevant to how people perceive officials

They are relavant to those people who think they know the rules to the game better than the guys and gals who are calling the games.......

If you don't have a clear understanding of the rules, how can you decide weather an offiicial is good or bad?

1. In a three-man crew, when does the lead official switch to the other side of the baseline in a rotation?

2. The weakside official in a three-man crew doesn't watch the ball as the play is happening. True or false?

3. When administering the ball to a shooter on a second free throw attempt, the official who handed the ball away positions himself on the floor facing what object to watch for a line violation? (The answer is not the shooter or the free throw line.)

4. When a personal foul is called, what position in the three-man crew does the referee that called the foul take on the floor (Lead, Trail or Middle)?

5. When a referee blows the whistle, he (or she) either makes an open fist or a closed fist when making the call. What's the difference between an open fist and a closed fist during a whistle?

BONUS: In Ohio, you have to put in ??? years of ground work at the junior high, freshmen and junior varsity levels before obtaining a varsity officiating license?

O&B- I beg to differ.....
None of these are "rules". These are the official crew "mechanics" and are only important to other officials. I will take 3 good officials "out of position" over 3 bad officials that are concerned with only their "area" anytime. I would also rather hear "Coach I missed it" than "That's not my call".

[M0TIVAT0R]

These questions are irrelevant to how people perceive officials

They are relavant to those people who think they know the rules to the game better than the guys and gals who are calling the games.......

If you don't have a clear understanding of the rules, how can you decide weather an offiicial is good or bad?

1. In a three-man crew, when does the lead official switch to the other side of the baseline in a rotation?

2. The weakside official in a three-man crew doesn't watch the ball as the play is happening. True or false?

3. When administering the ball to a shooter on a second free throw attempt, the official who handed the ball away positions himself on the floor facing what object to watch for a line violation? (The answer is not the shooter or the free throw line.)

4. When a personal foul is called, what position in the three-man crew does the referee that called the foul take on the floor (Lead, Trail or Middle)?

5. When a referee blows the whistle, he (or she) either makes an open fist or a closed fist when making the call. What's the difference between an open fist and a closed fist during a whistle?

BONUS: In Ohio, you have to put in ??? years of ground work at the junior high, freshmen and junior varsity levels before obtaining a varsity officiating license?

O&B- I beg to differ.....
None of these are "rules". These are the official crew "mechanics" and are only important to other officials. I will take 3 good officials "out of position" over 3 bad officials that are concerned with only their "area" anytime. I would also rather hear "Coach I missed it" than "That's not my call".

I think an official would rather hear, "sir I am going to coach and let you officiate" rather than "you missed that call!"

[M0TIVAT0R]

motivator, not sure how many high school basketball games you attend but in the heart of southern ohio high school basketball is big. The fans love the game and come out in full force for their team. Part of the atmosphere includes jabbing at the refs for calls though MOST fans understand that it isn't the refs that cost them a game. I say MOST knowing full well some people can get carried away. But for the most part, its just general yelling about calls they didn't agree with or thought the ref missed and it's part of it. Most officials know that comes with it and they let it roll right off their backs and don't think a thing about it because many of them when they are in the stands do the exact same thing.

I have been to a lot of games, seen the replay of a lot, and read about a lot of them on here. In the close games the losing fans many times do blame the officials. In many games the fans talk about how bad the officiating was. I wonder why they don't scream at and belittle the coaches as much. Are all the coaches doing a great job? I rarely hear a fan scream how fat or lazy a coach is, or how dumb he must be. Are the officials that much more important to the game than the coaches? Another thing I don't see is officials telling the coaches how to coach. Many officials I know are ex-coaches, but they don't seem to offer advice to the coaches. Maybe if they did the coaches could stop offering so much advice to them?

[Grinder]

If a player makes a bad play the coaches and fans yell at them. I have heard fans yell at coaches so if an official makes a bad call they can expect the same thing. I always thought high school basketball was about the kids not the coaches and officials.

[bdubya]

14 posts and only one person attempted the quiz. Looks like our current refs are safe.

BTW, I never said it was a test on the knowledge of rules — just officiating.

And 1, you pass.

[Raiderball]

motivator, not sure how many high school basketball games you attend but in the heart of southern ohio high school basketball is big. The fans love the game and come out in full force for their team. Part of the atmosphere includes jabbing at the refs for calls though MOST fans understand that it isn't the refs that cost them a game. I say MOST knowing full well some people can get carried away. But for the most part, its just general yelling about calls they didn't agree with or thought the ref missed and it's part of it. Most officials know that comes with it and they let it roll right off their backs and don't think a thing about it because many of them when they are in the stands do the exact same thing.

I have been to a lot of games, seen the replay of a lot, and read about a lot of them on here. In the close games the losing fans many times do blame the officials. In many games the fans talk about how bad the officiating was. I wonder why they don't scream at and belittle the coaches as much. Are all the coaches doing a great job? I rarely hear a fan scream how fat or lazy a coach is, or how dumb he must be. Are the officials that much more important to the game than the coaches? Another thing I don't see is officials telling the coaches how to coach. Many officials I know are ex-coaches, but they don't seem to offer advice to the coaches. Maybe if they did the coaches could stop offering so much advice to them?

Are you serious??? Fans not screaming at and belittling coaches... I've been to a lot of games over the years. From junior high to varsity both boys and girls. Believe me, I have heard it all. Makes no difference if a first year junior high coach or an experienced varsity coach. Yes, even some I have seen on lists of SE Ohio's best coaches (from this forum).

[Ironman92]

I've never yelled at Raiderball....but he has yelled at me!

[bdubya]

And 1 not only got a perfect score on the officiating exam, but his basketball team pulled off a big victory over TVC Ohio defending champion Athens in the same day.

Still don't think it helps to know this stuff?

And 1 and myself haven't seen eye to eye on anything in quite a while, but — I cannot believe I am going to type this — that's a pretty impressive Friday. Well done.

Now I will go wash my hands.

[Raiderball]

I've never yelled at Raiderball....but he has yelled at me!

LOL

[Ironman92]

You coming to Jackson next Friday as they will honor the 1990-91 SEOAL Championship team.....nearly everyone is coming back.