In every line of work there is a language that serves as the basis for communicating, both internally and externally. Medical doctors own a language. Attorneys have a language. Accountants, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the same could be said about basketball referees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is the referee\u2019s language that allows us to communicate with fellow officials, coaches, players, and other game site personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is the referee\u2019s language that provides necessary information to ensure the game of basketball is officiated at its highest level and in a fair manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s examine the \u201clanguage of refereeing\u201d to see if some of these phrases can help you improve communication between your partners and with coaches during your games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is not meant to be an inclusive list of referee terms, but hopefully it will give all of us a good start at establishing a language to use once we start our pre-game conference, enter a gym and take the court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve divided the shared terms, phrases, and descriptions into four categories: Definitions\/Rules, Mechanics, Positioning, and Judgement. Referee terminology is highlighted in black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The high school basketball rule book gives us a lot of help when we begin establishing a \u201creferee\u2019s language,\u201d especially Rule 4 that covers basketball definitions. For example, you will never find the word \u201cbaseline\u201d in the high school rulebook. The correct language is \u201cendline.\u201d (The late J. Dallas Shirley, a Hall of Fame referee inductee, once told me that using the word \u201cbaseline\u201d was a dead giveaway that you were an inexperienced basketball official.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPrimary and secondary defenders\u201d \u2013 A primary defender is the closest defender that is facing an offensive player. A secondary defender is the player that is guarding another player and then \u201chelps\u201d the primary defender guard the offensive player with the ball.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the game of basketball, \u201cmechanics\u201d means more than just hand signals. \u201cMechanics\u201d is the way we go about refereeing the game \u2013 how we whistle fouls, how we administer free throws, how we \u201ctake care of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFast whistle off ball and slow whistle on ball\u201d \u2013 On ball, it is important to have a slow whistle to see the impact of the contact. When illegal screens, chucking a cutter or illegal contact occurs off ball which enables the team to gain an advantage, use a quicker whistle to stop the team from gaining benefiting from that illegal action.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are 3 important tools to be sure you possess to manage a game:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Competitive Matchups \u2013 A competitive matchup is when two opponents are within three feet of each other. When a competitive matchup occurs the covering official will referee this situation closely. When multiple competitive matchups occur in the official\u2019s coverage area the primary official will keep a closer eye on the matchup closest to the ball while a secondary official should referee the other one(s).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Connected to the play \u2013 It is important that when you are engaged in a competitive play or action area that you are physically showing that with body and eyes that you are actively connected to the play. An example of this is when the Trail is concerned with getting beat as the new Lead so they disconnect by even one step.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Make sure your lines are defined \u2013 Referees need to be aware of all lines on the basketball court, and where the ball, players\u2019 feet, or players\u2019 bodies might be in relation to the court lines.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Position adjust before outcome or position adjustment \u2013 movements made to get an open look, generally at least two steps. If players shift to the right, make a PA to the left & vice versa.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Primary, secondary, or tertiary areas of coverage \u2013 In 2 or 3 person crews you have primary, secondary and tertiary (for crews of 3) areas of coverage. The Primary is the area where you are primarily responsible, depending where you are positioned and where the ball and players are located. The secondary area of coverage could be construed as a \u201chelp\u201d or \u201cassistance\u201d position. Same with tertiary in a crew of 3. Making a call in your secondary area of coverage or an extended court coverage call is when your partner had a closed look, or you have \u201chigh certainty\u201d that the call needs to be made.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cReferee outside-in\u201d \u2013 The concept is keeping your field of vision on your primary coverage area however holding your position outside the ball or competitive matchup (off the court versus on the court) will help you see the whole play. It is a rare occasion when a referee would officiate \u201cinside-out,\u201d meaning your position would be \u201con the court looking out.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cReferee the Gap\u201d or \u201cOpen & Closed Looks\u201d \u2013 Open looks are clear views between offensive and defensive players. Closed looks are trying to see the play when looking through players.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Start\/Develop\/Finish \u2013 These are the three phases of most basketball plays. To officiate plays accurately it is critical to see the play from beginning to end. When a player drives to the basket the concept is to allow the play to start, develop, then finish. If a whistle is warranted, it should be in rhythm with the play allowing the player to finish rather than coming early and wiping off shots or baskets.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTwo referee plays\u201d \u2013 These are plays where there is an on- the-ball defender and off-ball plays such as screening in close proximity, all occurring in the same action area.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnts and elephants\u201d \u2013 We want to be sure that ants do not become elephants. An example is the slaps on a rebounder and hand plays that are not called, then the player retaliates with an elbow (elephant).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCrew cohesion\u201d or \u201cStaying connected\u201d \u2013 How is the officiating crew working together as a team, during both live plays and dead ball situations? Is the crew consistent with their interpretation of \u201crefereeing tight\u201d (fast whistles) or \u201crefereeing loose\u201d (slower whistles)?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCurl away, Stay away\u201d \u2013 If the player curls into the lane, and the ball disappears from your sight, then allow another crew member to referee defensive moves toward the ball. You can\u2019t call what you can\u2019t see.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFreedom of Movement\u201d \u2013 The ability of players to move freely around the court and to each position without experiencing any illegal contact such as: rerouting, impeding, chucking, holding, impacting a player\u2019s rhythm, speed, balance, or quickness, or any other illegal contact covered by the rules of basketball.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHigh certainty\u201d \u2013 Very important in secondary areas of coverage or in help situations. If you come in to assist on an out-of-bounds, 3-point clarification, etc., you better be 100%. There is no \u201cI think\u201d in those situations. Be sure that you are giving information to make a change that video will confirm.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIncidental v. Illegal Contact\u201d \u2013 Intent does not determine if contact is legal or illegal. Severity of the contact and impact on the play will determine if it is a foul. Marginal contact that does not reroute, impede, or dislodge the movement of a player can be ruled incidental. A foul is contact that does reroute, impede or dislodge (RID) an opponent.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMessage senders and game changers\u201d \u2013 Officials should send a \u201cmessage\u201d early to players who disrupt the game through \u201cdirty\u201d play. Officials should also be aware of \u201cgame changing\u201d plays and work to get 100% of these plays called correctly.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNatural game flow\u201d \u2013 The highest level of play in the game of basketball is when whistles are not being blown. It should be the goal of every crew, but not at the expense of ignoring game stoppages that need to be addressed and whistled.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPoint of contact\u201d \u2013 This is the area of the body where the illegal contact occurred, and it\u2019s important for the calling official to verbalize and signal where the contact occurred. For example, if the contact was on the wrist, verbalize and signal as such. If the contact was an illegal screen, verbalize and signal as such. Be sure to know where the \u201cpoint of contact\u201d occurred, and more importantly, be able to communicate it to the scorer\u2019s table and to coaches.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPossession change\u201d \u2013 This is when the ball changes possession because of a violation or a foul. Whenever there is contact leading to a possession change, or a potential violation leading to a possession change, it\u2019s important to get the call right, especially in the last 2-3 minutes of the game.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRSBQ\u201d \u2013 If the illegal contact affects the player\u2019s rhythm, speed, balance, or quickness according to the rules, this is a foul.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSequencing\u201d \u2013 This is how referees officiate plays like drives to the basket, acts of shooting, rebounding, block\/charges, out of bounds, and the list goes on. For example, if you were to \u201csequence\u201d a 3-point shot, you would think \u201ccontrol, foot, line, defense,\u201d or in other words \u2013 does the shooter have control, where is the shooter\u2019s foot in relation to the 3-point line, and now where is the defense? Or, if you were refereeing a try for goal, you would think \u201cup, down, then rebound (watch the shooter as they arrive at the pinnacle of their jump, watch the player arrive back to the floor, and then, and only then, turn your attention to rebounding.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStraight line path\u201d \u2013 If an offensive player is moving directly to the basket, or is moving in a straight line anywhere on the court, and is knocked off that path, then that should be considered a foul.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n So what other terminology can you offer to add into our \u201clanguage of refereeing?\u201d Feel free to add it to the Primary Focus chat space located on the Des Moines Officials Association\u2019s website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s this month\u2019s Primary Focus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In every line of work there is a language that serves as the basis for communicating, both internally and externally. Medical doctors own a language. Attorneys have a language. Accountants, too. And the same could be said about basketball referees. It is the referee\u2019s language that allows us to communicate with fellow officials, coaches, players,… Read More »The Language of Refereeing<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[17,21],"class_list":["post-633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-primary-focus","tag-basketball","tag-communication"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/desmoinesofficials.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/desmoinesofficials.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/desmoinesofficials.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desmoinesofficials.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desmoinesofficials.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=633"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/desmoinesofficials.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":646,"href":"https:\/\/desmoinesofficials.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633\/revisions\/646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/desmoinesofficials.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desmoinesofficials.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/desmoinesofficials.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Mechanics<\/h3><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Positioning<\/h3><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Judgement<\/h3><\/p>\n\n\n\n