Officiating will never be the same with this mindset...

My father worked with the Lakers director of basketball camps in the 70's and brought the concept of camps to the San Diego region; where I coached and officiated eight to twelve year old players. That was 30 years ago! Since then, I have coached, officiated or played at the professional (ABA), NCAA D-1 and high school levels.

The proposal is to have officials consider being a basketball camp coach and an official who is there to make sure the development of the athlete is priority. Making the right calls and informing the participants how they can improve can be the new improvement in officiating. Also, rewarding good defense and not bailing out poor offensive positioning on the court allows improved officiating and performance in the game.

Let's help officials by asking them to envision themselves on the court as a basketball camp director of a their own development camp. Their responsibility is to give the participants an opportunity to learn, develop and have a good experience; while teaching them the game and how to play properly. Making appropriate calls with the mindset of helping develop players can conduct an atmosphere with no bias or care of the outcome; rather if the players have progressed in their development and at least feel the officials care about them as students of the game.

Let's give officials some specific examples: As a camp director myself, I call traveling when a kid travels because it will help him/her not to travel in the future. I may give a quick explanation like "Keep your pivot down" or "Don't pick-up your pivot foot until you dribble the ball". I don't bail out poor offensive moves forced into traffic with a foul call, just because the kid throws the ball up at the basket and misses falling on his face. I teach the kid not to force the play and look to pass when three guys come to defend you. I may say, " You forced that one a little, you had a guy open in the corner ready to drain a three." When an offensive player picks up the ball and gets trapped rarely, will I ever call a defensive foul as the player never should have dribbled into a trap picking up the ball and or put it above his head. If a player never looks to split the defensive trap by stepping through the defenders rarely, will I call a foul; even if the trap defenders hit hand and ball at same time. Why reward poor offense? I've said to players, "Don't pick up your dribble" or "Don't dribble into a trap". These simple coaching tactics let the players know you're not just there to pick up a paycheck and govern the game, but you actually care about them and would like to see them improve their game.

I understand we are in an era where defensive three seconds exist (NBA-Because of Shaq) and everyone wants to see more scoring. Frankly, the game is boring when players "Let" others score merely because they are afraid to foul or play good defense. After moving to Utah where no shot clock exist in high school, I have literally fallen asleep watching boring slow tempo games: There's no ball pressure, mostly zone defense, with seldom man to man because teams are afraid to get a foul called on them for attempting to steal the ball. Teams can go into four-corners delaying the game for unlimited minutes forcing their opponents to come out and defend, but they can't or it's a foul. The reality is we might as well set up five orange cones on defense and see if the offense can make their shots. Are we dumbing down basketball and turning it into a play date instead of a competition? Are kids being forced to work on their individual offensive game on their own time? No! We're not encouraging athletes to work hard and become better dribblers, shooters or passers. We are encouraging poor defense and easy baskets.

There should really never be a poor officiated game or a coach who feels he is getting "Home cooked". Perhaps next time an official steps onto a court they will consider their role as a person who is responsible for the development of an athlete and conduct themselves in a manner where they express interest in the development of the players. The "Well being" of the individual playing the game should always be the focus and never should an official penalize a team or student athlete because of a dislike of a team, school, coach or community. This is not the behavior teacher's, administrators, superintendents or anyone should have in the classroom or with students. Why should it be any different for officials on the court? Remember, I have officiated for over 30 years and I know how an official can control the game; making it close or making sure the better team has the last opportunity to win after an exciting comeback from an underdog who may have been favored to get back into the game with some calls. It's always more fun and exciting to watch or be part of a close game as long as the better team pulls of the victory.

We're not talking about officiating perfectly, we are focusing on the players as though they are your own kids on both teams and you want them to get better as players.