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THE 4 QUARTER TECHNIQUE FOR GOING BALL SIDE Every beginning basketball official, and many experienced officials struggle with the “ball side” concept when officiating as the lead. Once an official grasps the fundamental concept of going ball side they then usually struggle with developing a philosophy about when to go, when not to go, what to look at once they are there and when to come back. Here are some ideas that help answer those questions. “Ball side” means having the lead official on the side of the lane that the ball and the post players are on. This is true whether the game is being officiated by a two or three person crew. Look for reasons to initiate a rotation, rather than looking for reasons not to rotate, in three- person officiating. Go “ball side” early and often in the two person game. Be pro-active as the lead rather than reactive. Be there before the entry pass gets to the post person. Be in a “see through position” to observe what the defense is doing in the post rather than having a look at the defense’s butt from across the paint. If the lead official is looking across the paint than he or she should probably be across the paint. What are some of the situations that should be signals to the lead to go ball side? Location of the ball might be the first signal. Is the ball in a position where it could be easily entered to the post or a cutter coming from the weak-side? Is the post person across the lane and in a position to receive an entry pass? Does the “C” in three - person, or the trail in two person mechanics have a five second closely guarded count on? Are there six or more players on the ball side of the court? If the answer to any of the above questions is yes, than the lead might well want to be on his or her way across the paint. Understanding the importance of the “closedown point” and when to be there is central to going ball side at the right time. “Close down” is for our discussion both a verb and a noun. Closing down as the lead is physically moving our body to the “close down” spot or location. This spot is called “launch site” in some parts of the country. Either way this close down spot is at the intersection of the baseline and the near free throw lane line. Draw this diagram on a sheet of paper. Draw a half court. Put in the lane and the three- point arc and the scorers table. Use a colored pencil or crayon and draw a line from the basket to the center jump circle. Call this line the meridian. It divides the court in to two hemispheres called table- side and opposite side. You now have your frontcourt divided into halves with the meridian. Now divide the half court into 4 fairly equal quarters by drawing a line from sideline to sideline just intersecting the top of the key. Now put an “L” for lead official on the baseline say on the “opposite side”, and put your trail “Cadillac” or diagonal from your lead on the table side. Now number the quarter of the floor in front of the lead as number 1. Then number the quarter above that, number 2. The quarter next to number two, where your trail is, number it 3. Then number the last quarter number 4. As the lead the key is to “mirror” the ball with your body when it is on the lead’s side of the meridian drawn from basket to basket. That would be quarters numbered 1 and 2 in the diagram above. Align your position on the baseline to basically reflect the position of the ball. This doesn’t mean that you are continually watching the ball but by knowing the location of the ball by using your peripheral vision. Once the ball goes across the meridian to the other side of the court (quarter 3) the lead should immediately move to “close down” or “launch” in preparation to “go ball side.” Immediately upon the ball penetrating the bottom quarter of the floor (quarter 4) the lead should “go” using the “chiropractor” head turn looking back at screens and cuts and then picking up the post players. If the lead gets to “closedown” at the proper time he or she can walk across the lane, thereby keeping your eyes level and focused. Yes, it is true that in the two person officiating scheme you may have to “run back.” Here it is in a nutshell. When the ball is in quarter 1 or 2 the lead “reflects” the position of the ball. If the ball goes to quarter 3, the lead goes to “closedown” or “launch” position. If the ball drops to quarter 4, the lead goes to ball side. If the ball goes from 3 back to 2 the lead can go back across the lane and reflect the ball position once again. If the ball goes from quarter 1 or 2 to quarter 4 the lead will not stop at ‘close down” but just continues across the lane. If the ball goes from 4 to 1 the lead will need to “bust butt” back across the lane. Covering the three-point shot situation and the post in this “skip” scenario from 4 to 1 needs to be clearly talked about in your pre-game conference. That’s a whole other article, the trail working ball-side. The lead can get ball-side “on time” without running if he starts from “close down” position rather than from farther out. Being “on time” means before the ball is entered to the post or the cutter. It is pro-active officiating rather than reactive officiating. Being “ball side” gives the lead an “open” look at the post play and the cutter rather than a “closed” look that he or she gets on the “weak side” or “non-ball” side of the lane. This same “4-quarter” technique works in three-person officiating as well. In three- person officiating the lead can go wider when going ball side, all the way to “sweet spot” or “reflect” the ball, and doesn’t need to be in as much of a hurry to “get back” on the skip pass because he or she has support from the “center” official. The dividing line from sideline to sideline in this four- quarter scenario can be adjusted either up or down to fit a particular official. It can be brought down to the free-throw line or removed all together and then approach to going ball side becomes a two- hemisphere scenario. |
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