artie_fufkin wrote:

I have to tell you it's a little nerve-wracking to be on the other end of an interview. I probably gave the reporter too much information, and I'm wondering which quotes she'll use.

I've been there a few times and with experience I have learned to, like a politician, develop a message beforehand and stay on message.  Now, I don't actually succeed at that, mind you, but at least I go in with that strategy in mind.

artie_fufkin wrote:

This was distributed as part of an email prior to the start of our playoffs, Max:

"4.      League Rules and Playing Time. The spirit of the league is that, within reason, each player should get a reasonable amount of playing time, assuming good attendance at practice, attentiveness to coach’s instructions, good behavior, etc. We know this can be difficult during the heat of playoff games, but please do your best to follow this guideline. Reasonable does not have to be equal, but it does mean that you cannot leave your best players on the floor throughout the game as you rotate in substitutes. We have seen some games this season in which teams were short 1-2 players and left their top players in for most or all of the game. Your best players need to come out of the game."

The guy whose team we played on Monday must have not gotten this message, because his point guard played 38 of 40 minutes ...

Looking this over again, I think that our coach definitely would be found in violation of this.  He had two girls who could be trusted to handle the ball, who were rotated like Jordan and Pippen during the Bulls great reign, and they both played about 30-35 minutes per game, and never were both out of the game, except once when both fouled out. 

But I'm not sure that it should be the case that you are not allowed to leave your best player in the game, while rotating in the scrubs.  I'd like to hear more about the rationale for that.

"I yell, "C'mon 'good guys'.  It ain't a screen until they plant their feet."

You just don't get it, do you? All you're going to get when you say something that cynical is the quick, dirty look you got from the opposing coach.
In order to get the intended effect, you have to leap suddenly to your feet, throw your arms in the air and yell something incredibly trite like "Come on, ref! Call it both ways!!"
Children may say otherwise, but they really enjoy being humiliated by their parents in front of their peers.

artie_fufkin wrote:

"it must have done a little bit of good because after she came out during the second quarter the coach slapped the chair next to him, inviting her to take that seat."

Or he's a sex offender.

well, if that is the case, and seeing how his daughter plays, then i suspect it might do all the girls some good.

well we got our ass handed to us again.  but on the plus side my daughter is getting better.  she's about 10th best on a team of 9 girls, but i've been trying to tell her what she can do on defense to at least be a little bit useful, and it must have done a little bit of good because after she came out during the second quarter the coach slapped the chair next to him, inviting her to take that seat.

artie_fufkin wrote:

The referees are crazy if they expect 11 and 12-year-old girls to read and react to screens every time.
There is a remedy, but it's a little drastic. Have the girl who's guarding the ball plow through the picker and knock her into the girl who has the ball, sending both of them to the floor. It may cost you a foul, but your opponent will become far more reluctant to set screens.
Bonus points to your daughter's team's coach if he says something to the ref like: "That was bound to happen, the way you've been letting them get away with moving picks ..."

Crazy, or else calling the game in a way that would ensure the other team won.

But that was exactly my remedy.  I'm not the coach, but if I have a chance to speak with either of the two girls who pick up the point guard, I will tell them that when she makes her move, "lower your shoulder, close your eyes, and charge as hard as you can.  You'll get a foul once, but every screen after will be a moving one."

another weekend, another b-ball tourney.

our team and the team that runs the pick and roll and double screens are in the finals again, and once again we lost to them during round robin play.  i walked in when the score was close, but within about 2 minutes the refs called illegal defense against our team about four times.  two of them were because the second girl on our team (the one whose 'man' had set the screen) double teamed the girl with the ball after our first successfully ran around the screen.  apparently you can't double team in this league.  the third time, our star anticipated the screen, and broke off from her 'man' to block the path to the hoop for the girl with the ball.  because she was momentarily not defending anyone, the ref called her for a personal foul.  i guess that would be an illegal zone defense, which it wasn't, of course.  it was just good defensive anticipation by our star.  i'm not sure what the problem was the fourth time.  the bottom line is that if one team is running the pick and roll and other screens on every play, and refs are calling illegal defense for anything other than a very strictly defined man-to-man defense, then it greatly advantages the team running the screens.  and in short order they ran up a 20 point lead.  our coach responded by yelling out "switch", which sort of caused the refs to back off a bit, because the girls are certainly allowed to switch on a pick and roll.  it's also worth mentioning that in all the other games i've watched i haven't seen an illegal defense called even once.  it's a shame, too, because i thought our girls were adjusting to the other team's offense pretty well.

the final game is tomorrow afternoon, and if the refs do the same thing, I think I will yell out a pointed comment like: "watch out girls, if the refs keep calling illegal defense like that, the other team will run the pick and roll on every drive."  even today, it happened that i was having a conversation with a lady in the stands, just as the more egregious of the refs was standing right in front of us, and I said in a loud voice how the way they were calling illegal defense was giving the team running the screens a huge advantage.