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| Game Management | |
Game Management: Being able to successfully control the people involved in the contest (players, table personnel, coaches and spectators)
Obvious: Action that would be visibly apparent to a spectator who knew the rules or to an official watching the game. In general, any action that occurs in the open court is obvious.
Intentional Foul: If the fouling player is not attempting to steal the ball and contact occurs, it is an intentional foul (unless you know it was accidental). If the team trailing late in the game fouls to stop the clock without attempting to steal the ball, it shall be deemed intentional.
Preparation for the game should begin immediately upon leaving for the contest
The pre-game conference must always be conducted prior to the officials taking the floor for observation of the warm-ups.
All members of the crew should actively participate.
Cover all aspects of the game, including new rules and mechanics.
Discuss rare and unusual game situations and how they should be handled.
Describe previous experiences of prior games and how to handle them.
Teams and their style of play
Be on the court when pre-game warm-up begins (15 minutes prior to tip-off).
Referee checks legality of game ball.
With 12 minutes remaining in the warm-up, the Referee meets with the table crew and checks the book.
With 10 minutes remaining in the warm-up, the Referee and Umpires meet both head coaches for the pre-game coaches/captains conference.
During pre-game warm-ups the officials should:
Note player and team tendencies (perimeter team, big team that will feed the ball into the post)
Free Throw tendencies (odd motions that may cause lane violations)
Check player uniforms and equipment
Check court obstructions (wires from backboard)
Check court markings (coaches box, "X" on the floor for the reporting area, etc.)
Any markings on the floor that may be confusing, playing surface space and necessity for restraining lines for throw-ins.
Pre-Game with captains and coaches should be very brief. Make sure you know each captain's name and number. Use captain to your advantage. Require that they lead and take control of their team.
Lead official must move to side where action is. Center and Trail must rotate quickly without getting caught in transition.
Maintain control of the game at all times.
Communicate with your partners, players and coaches.
Count players after each time-out and substitution.
Correct obvious errors.
When reporting fouls to the scorer's table, come to a complete stop, make eye contact with the scorer, use sharp NFHS signals, hustle to position.
Non-Reporting officials line up players for free-throws to prevent any unnecessary delay.
If the player is not attempting to "steal the ball" and grabs an opponent to stop the clock, call an intentional foul.
Hustle at all times.
Good Toss gets the game started on a positive note
Ensure alternating possession arrow is set correctly after the toss is controlled.
The lead official should be alert for a quick drive to the basket or a designed play to shoot a quick three off of the opening tip.
Make sure the clock is started and stopped appropriately. Spectators will notice and it should not take them to call it to your attention if you are doing your job.
Be ready to assist your partner(s) who may be temporarily out of position or screened from the action.
Do not let your partner misapply a rule. Attempt to prevent and correct whenever possible.
Know the prescribed signals and how to properly use them. Always give the correct signal for a violation or foul.
Be alert to what is happening away from the ball. Don't ball watch.
Call time-out for any player that is obviously injured.
Communicate with colleagues, players, coaches, announcers or spectators as appropriate whenever anything unusual or out of the ordinary happens.
Do not permit a coach or bench personnel to embarrass any member of the officiating team, including the scorers and timers.
It is important to call fouls that affect the result of the play or the safety of players. However, you must remember no spectator or player came to see the officials. You must use discretion and common sense when refereeing. Refrain from blowing your whistle for a second or two to briefly review the play situation in your mind.
Preventative officiating enables a game to flow more smoothly. Talk to players and coaches. Sometimes talking to a player or coach can improve the game without having to assess a foul or interrupt the game.
Remind players to keep jersey's tucked in.
Acknowledge players when they complain about situations that may have occurred. If necessary request assistance from your partners to help observe the possible infraction.
Always be polite when addressing a player or coach.
Do not allow pressure from coaches, players or the crowd to influence your decisions. If you are wrong admit it, but don't harp on the situation and lose your concentration.
Never rush the treatment of an injured player.
Move quickly to keep the game flowing. Do not delay getting the ball back in play, the dead ball is when most problems flare up.
If a ruling is puzzling or controversial, take a moment to explain it to coaches.
If you blow an inadvertent whistle, admit your mistake and follow procedures outlined by the rulebook.
Be aware of your body language, it says a lot about your confidence.
Don't shout at people and NEVER swear at a player, coach or colleague.
If officials disagree on a call, get together in a huddle and determine how the situation will be handled. Once a decision has been reached, communicate this with both coaches simultaneously and the official scorers.
Verify the score in the scorebooks match the scoreboard between periods.
Be tranquil and poised at all times. Do NOT become emotional.
Signals should be clear, distinct and deliberate at all times.
Chop the clock after the ball is inbounded.
Unsportsman-like Conduct and Fighting:
If a player or coach is abusing you loud enough so everyone can hear it, assess a Technical Foul immediately.
Do NOT penalize the conduct of anyone other than a player, coach or bench personnel. If someone else is giving you a problem, ask the team or game management to deal with the situation.
It is not considered to be a fight if players merely push each other (no punches, kicks, or blows are struck or aimed). However it shall still be deemed a foul.
If a fight occurs, try to determine what players were on the court at the time of the fight and who actually participated in the fight versus who was trying to restore order. Those trying to aid the situation should not be ejected.
Substitutes and coaches who leave the confines of the bench during a fight shall be ejected. If you beckon the head coach onto the floor and he/she attempts to break up the fight they have aided in restoring order and shall not be ejected.
Only eject a player if you are positive of the number of the participant. If two players are involved in a fight, don't eject one unless you know the identity of the other. The other player will also be ejected most of the time as well.
Put yourself between two players if you can prevent a fight, but do not do so at the risk of your own safety.
NEVER grab a player to prevent or break up a fight.
The nearest official to each bench should keep coaches and substitutes from entering the floor.
If necessary, beckon both head coaches onto the floor to aide in restoring order.
If substitutes enter the floor and do not follow orders to return to their bench immediately, note their numbers so they may be ejected prior to resuming play.
Officials nearest the fight should note the numbers of those participating in the melee.
The ball is accidentally kicked rather than intentionally.
Call timeout for an injured player and beckon the head coach onto the court.
The player is in-bounds rather than out-of-bounds.
The player did not leave the lane space too early during a free-throw attempt.
The basket is good before the horn at the end of a quarter.
Don't blow the whiste.
Player safety is your number one concern.
Make the tough call.
Don't get emotionally involved.
Don't over-officiate.
Call what you see but don't guess.
What affect did the action have on the play?
Be decisive.
Don't get mad and don't try to get even.
It is more important to get the call right than to look good.
Hustle at all times. The players are athletes and you should act like one as well.
Principles of Effective Officiating:
Use preventative officiating
Help fellow crew members as much as possible.
Ask questions and give advice when needed.
Be on time.
Know your responsibilities.
Act in a professional manner at all times.
Watch the players not the ball.
Be conscious of the clock.
Don't allow chatter between opponents.
Be in position.
Don't turn your back on the ball.
Control both benches.
Be aware of the game tempo.
Never alienate a crew member.
During times-out reflect on the game and your performance to that point:
How is game going?
Are there any unnecessary delays?
As a crew are you being consistent at both ends of the floor?
Are you controlling your emotions?
Are you giving 100% effort regardless of score and game situation?
Are you watching off-ball coverage properly?
Are you seeing the entire play from start to finish?
Most problems encountered by referees deal with managing the game, not calling the fouls and violations.
As officials good game management is not capable without good communication. Good communication not only with your voice but NFHS approved mechanics and signals.
Always treat coaches with respect and never raise your voice to them regardless of the situation. You will come across as being belligerent or controlling. If you must approach a coach about conduct, do so in a concise manner and do not get into a discussion with the coach regarding conduct.
Game management requires a full knowledge and understanding of the rules and ability to maintain control of the game.
The information for this page has been derived from two (2) sources. The first was a document provided to all officials assigned to work the 2002 FHSAA Florida Finals. The second source is NFHS Officials' Quarterly, Fall 2002 issue, article entitled "Basketball Game Management". The information provided is a great reminder and learning tool for everyone.