ZZZ Cartotto says that timeouts can be the worst time for officials when it comes to maintaining concentration. He says during timeouts officials use the opportunity to “go to their spot and zone out,” allowing themselves to lose focus. The problem, according to Cartotto, is that focus is hard to reacquire, and that deliberate loss of concentration can lead to restart problems, such as remembering whose ball it is, who is the correct shooter, where a designated spot is, etc. When you start to lose track of those types of details, high profile missed calls and lapses occur.
ZZZ Hyland thinks of timeouts and dead balls as an opportunity for officials to get together and ensure that the crew’s concentration maintains its high level. He sees timeouts as a chance to re-energize and keep everyone’s mind where it should be at precisely the time that it’s likely to be elsewhere.
ZZZ During play, the simple, often-practiced mechanic of eye contact can be extremely helpful in maintaining focus. When your partner misses one, it is essential that you provide as much support as possible to help keep your partner focused for the remainder of the contest. In that way, you’re applying Wampler’s technique of taking responsibility for the rest of your crew.
ZZZ The performance of a crew can be severely diminished by a member who is not in the game for whatever reason. Despite your looks or conversations during dead balls, an official might be going through the motions, and the lackluster effort is calling unwanted attention to your crew. Can you assume some of your partner’s responsibilities to save the assignment? That’s probably not a good idea. Burr says there’s a lot of danger in trying to make calls or judgments outside your responsibility area. Often, the trouble you are trying to save finds other ways to surface, either through missed calls in your own area or conflicting calls or jurisdictional issues between partners. At some point, Burr notes, despite your best efforts, “officials have to be accountable for their own jobs.” The only time it is justifiable to step into such a situation is when the correction of a decision is certain, and a potential “game-saver.”
ZZZ Fish has a very interesting philosophy on the importance of partners as they relate to your focus and mindset. He advocates talking with your partners during pregame about the kind of support that each of you desires during a game. For instance, during tense moments, some officials like to be left alone, while others want support from partners. Still others like to be made to laugh during rough times, while others may want a “kick in the pants” to jump-start their concentration.
ZZZ What you need will depend largely on your personality type. Fish advocates not making your partners guess at what you need when the heat gets turned up. Prepare for that contingency before the game. It is no secret, he says, that the best officiating crews are those who have worked together for long periods of time, thus getting to know each other thoroughly, and who know what each needs to stay focused. You don’t always have the luxury of working with a given crew for a long period of time, but you can help others to become familiar with your style and needs by simply communicating them before the game.