Improvement – Hopefully, the goal of every official is to improve over last season. Recall your playing days when you wanted to continue to learn and improve daily and yearly. Apply those same concepts and practices to your officiating. Identify any rules, mechanics, signals/signaling that are weaknesses and work toward improvement.
Game Arrivals – For varsity contests, if possible, please arrive one hour before the scheduled start of the game. If something will prevent this, please make sure your partner(s) know. This will prevent scrambling around trying to find out where you are and when you will arrive. For lower level contests, please arrive 30 minutes before the scheduled starting time. Again… Read more »
Substitution Protocols When handling substitutions, we want there to be nothing else going on. Prior to granting a substitution request, the responsible official should make eye contact with his/her partner(s) to ensure this fact. Once the responsible official has determined that it is appropriate to bring subs in (ball is not live, no foul needs to be reported, the current… Read more »
Stop Clock Signal – All whistles require a stop clock signal that involves raising your arm. Either your hand will be open (violation/held ball) or a closed fist (foul). This includes plays where the ball goes out of bounds. This is a violation and requires a stop clock signal. It also includes player control and blocking fouls. Using this approved… Read more »
Based on feedback from our observer as well as my own observations, we need to do a better job of dealing with coaches and the coaching box. In some observed games coaches from both teams were constantly on the court both during time when the clock was running and well as when the clock was stopped. This needs to be… Read more »
This week’s items to pay closer attention to.
A few notes from the pre-season tournament week. Please be aware of proper procedures for signaling fouls and violations and resuming play after such.
Some things to pay attention to as the season gets underway. Please make sure all players are properly uniformed. Consistent enforcement of uniform rules now makes it easier for all of us as the season progresses. A summary of the uniform rules is shown below.
Playoffs – We are heading into the State Tournament. Congratulations to all of you who have received an assignment. Games may be more intense. Sharpen your focus. Remember that the rules do not change because we are in the State Tournament. Be consistent and true to the way you have officiated all season.
Last Two Weeks – We are heading into the final stages of the regular season for the schools. Each game may mean more than usual for playoff positioning, region championships, etc. Games may be more intense. Sharpen your focus. Sometimes even teams at the bottom of the region can lash out. Stay alert in your games!