Preview: Some Off-Season Games

Big AAU tournament in town over the weekend, and I've got three games. I've been assigned the younger set: 5th through 7th grades. These are often fun, but they can't be taken for granted (the worst game I had the year before last was a similar 6th-grade game...horrific butthead parents following the lead of a bizarrely enraged coach).

Still, as I see it, the primary purpose of these sorts of tournaments is to give myself something to work on. I'm going to see if I can make life easier on my voice by using the whistle properly. Repeated sharp blasts for situations where I really need attention and needed to yell. Slightly longer whistle for violations than for fouls. And stay on top of the game.

I'll also be sure that screens are clean and legal. Younger kids frequently don't know how.