Rules Lesson

[IndyBison]

This would be good for a beginner class. I would agree that some fans have a misinturpretation of the rules. However, I highly doubt coaches above the junior high level don't know the rules. Officiating is judgemental calls.

Coaches don't know the rules at the professional and D1 level. They may have a better understanding than the average fan but they still don't KNOW the rules. Someone officiating at that level has lived and breathed rules study, philosophy, video review specifically from an officiating standpoint (like a player or coach looks at it from their perspective), and seeing thousands of plays. I don't expect coaches to KNOW the rules that well.

I've worked D1 scrimmages and they ask a lot of questions to try to understand the rules. My NFL friends say the same thing. Based on the things I see Jim Harbaugh complain about I know he doesn't know the rules.

[ndsubison1]

Coaches don't know the rules at the professional and D1 level. They may have a better understanding than the average fan but they still don't KNOW the rules. Someone officiating at that level has lived and breathed rules study, philosophy, video review specifically from an officiating standpoint (like a player or coach looks at it from their perspective), and seeing thousands of plays. I don't expect coaches to KNOW the rules that well.

I've worked D1 scrimmages and they ask a lot of questions to try to understand the rules. My NFL friends say the same thing. Based on the things I see Jim Harbaugh complain about I know he doesn't know the rules.

Indy what is your opinion on having seperate replay officials for college basketball like football? i just feel like teams at times get extra time outs because of it. feel like it could be more efficient

[MrAugustana]

What is the actual ruling on this these days? I was taught the 2/3 rule - there are 3 points you should watch: 2 feet and the ball. You can have one of them cross the line and it's still ok, but as soon as the second one happens, then it's a violation.

No idea if that's still the way it is still done.

This blog post tries to explain the rule (I think it applies to any level, but I'm not 100% sure... I didn't look quite that closely into it): http://www.athletic-officials.com/ba...urt-violation/

The bottom line is it's clear to me that officiating is much more complicated and challenging than I would ever want to deal with.

[MrAugustana]

Here's another example of the backcourt violation being called incorrectly (on Kevin Durant): http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2011/0...ion-explained/

The call was eventually overturned, from what the article says. I feel like this might be the most frequently incorrectly called version of a backcourt violation.

[IndyBison]

Indy what is your opinion on having seperate replay officials for college basketball like football? i just feel like teams at times get extra time outs because of it. feel like it could be more efficient

I'm fine either way. There are pros and cons to both. Regardless you are going to give a team a time out. The only way they could prevent it would be to make the players stay in the middle of the court. They could still huddle and strategize though.

[wow]

This would be good for a beginner class. I would agree that some fans have a misinturpretation of the rules. However, I highly doubt coaches above the junior high level don't know the rules. Officiating is judgemental calls.
Did the offensive player gain an advantage by moving into the defensive player or did the defensive player gain an advantage by moving into the offensive player?
Yes the defender is allowed to move, but the player can not move into the defender (slide under as offensive player is in the air) or "ride" the offensive player.
What do you consider possession of the basketball in regards to traveling? At least one hand on the ball at a rest? How about a player "bobbling" the ball but yet controling where it goes? How long does the ball have to rest on a hand or finger for it to be possessed?

100% of coaches will tell you they know the rules. But I would be surprised if half of high school coaches have ever cracked open a rule book, much less read the whole thing even 1 time.

The 13-14 rule book I have is over 80 pages long. The case book that compliments it is also over 80. There is also an officials manual that is over 80 pages.

New books come out every year, and there are usually a number of changes as well as significant differences between the high school, college, and pro game rules.

If anyone has access to a rule book, read through it sometime. It was a pretty big eye opener for me, and I played the game competitively from 5th grade to sophomore in college.

[BadlandsBison]

100% of coaches will tell you they know the rules. But I would be surprised if half of high school coaches have ever cracked open a rule book, much less read the whole thing even 1 time.

The 13-14 rule book I have is over 80 pages long. The case book that compliments it is also over 80. There is also an officials manual that is over 80 pages.

New books come out every year, and there are usually a number of changes as well as significant differences between the high school, college, and pro game rules.

If anyone has access to a rule book, read through it sometime. It was a pretty big eye opener for me, and I played the game competitively from 5th grade to sophomore in college.

Maybe they need to define the word "competitive" in the rule book

[BisonTeacher]

One of the things that always gets to me, is that in Minnesota they make coaches attend a rules meeting each year. They usually stress their points of emphasis. Then when we get in games...the refs/umpires don't call the rules. The reason? Nobody calls that rule. Then why make we go sit through a meeting about it?

Some examples from basketball and softball.

pitching regulations in softball. Most umpires refuse to enforce them.

I also have the opposite experience in that...Just yesterday I had a ref call "over the back"

The other one that makes me lose my mind on an umpire is when they don't know how big the batters box is. THEN......their solution is to go up and put a bat in front of the plate. I almost got kicked out of a game for protesting this once.

Also...consistency...Im fine if your strike zone is different...just call it both ways. Or if you are calling something a foul for one team...it better be for the other team as well. When a ref says to me..."The fouls are equal coach...look at the book"...again...lose my mind. Just because the number of fouls on each team is equal doesnt mean you are calling a good game!!!!! what if one team is fouling more than the other?

Sorry...this post turned into a rant.

I am the son of an official. Maybe thats why I have a contentious relationship with officials...but I have little patience for them when they dont know the rules, because my father always taught me to read the rules and we always had rulebooks in the car.

[NorthernBison]

The only time this season where I barked at an official from the stands was a 3 man crew where each official was calling the game completely different. One guy was calling every touch or contact even though he wasn't hustling to get in position. The junior official in the crew was calling a decent game IMO. The third official was a mystery. I'm not exactly sure if his whistle even worked. He should have had to pay admission because he was a spectator. I happen to know all 3 guys. The one that ended up looking bad to most of the fans was the junior guy and he's the one I barked at telling him that they "better get on the same page". That was a game where the players had no idea how to adjust to the way the game was being officiated. It hurt both teams.

[BisonTeacher]

One thing I forgot to add. I really appreciate it when a ref/umpire comes up to me and says...sorry coach I missed that one. That happened yesterday. It completely diffuses the situation and I can let it go. I really respect an official that can do that.