Summer ball...

I have a few games next week at a big summer tournament...lots of scouts and college coaches will be watching these games.

I have mixed feelings about these games. On the one hand, it's great basketball. On the other hand, the parents and especially the coaches are legendary for being really awful at them. I suspect that a high school coach is often a teacher who cares about kids full development, or at the very least someone who is interested in working with the whole young man or woman. These summer coaches often are exclusively about the kid-as-basketball-player, and when these kids get their scholarships, the summer coaches take it as their own, and not the kids', personal accomplishments. (I stereotype, of course, but the stereotype is based on a little truth.) As a referee in this situation, I am viewed as an obstacle between the kid and his/her college scholarship, and the abuse flies a little more readily here than elsewhere.

At any rate, I'm ready to roll...much more equipped for the challenge than I was the last time I did such a tournament 6 years back...and I'm more confident in my abilities in coach management and behavior modification than I was then.

Mechanics often go loosey-goosey in summer ball. I won't let myself go overboard in that direction, but I know better than to make that be something I'm working on next week. Instead, I'll work on this:

1. No calling across the key as lead, unless it's an obvious miss (not pass) by a partner.
2. Go easy on the voice.

That will be the project for next week.