Adults or kids as official score board operators?

[unclebob]

I went to a jv/varsity game tonight at Chesapeake High School. This game was against South Point a rivalry game that was very close the first time they played back in Dec. This game was basket for basket in the second half.Chesapeake had 2 kids running the clock and another kid keeping the book( actually one running the clock and a boy sitting beside her)Needless to say on several occasions late in the game the clock operator did not start the clock, Twice the ref had to step in and change the time. And I am in NO WAY saying the kid was cheating. But when you put a high school kid in that situation what do you expect but the team's fans who is wanting the clock to run when it is supposed to to throw a fit!! I felt sorry for her but obviously she was getting caought up in the game and not doing her job. Alleviate this kid getting yelled at by always having an adult running both the clock and keeping the book, esp if it is the official book. I saw teachers at the game that I know know how to do both. Why not ask them? Shame on the Peake AD !

[conehead]

A fit? That's for sure. I think South Point fans need to focus more on how their fans act towards children and officials than a clock keeper starting the clock a second late. It wasn't that big of a deal and it's something that happens to everyone at one time or another. Students have worked the clock and book for years for the girls team and do a fine job at it. They're always responsible kids, and it's nice to have students who are willing to help out. A student even did the PA tonight (that's the other boy you were talking about). Who's to say that an adult wouldn't have got caught up in the game and done the exact same thing? It happens, but yelling like maniacs at a high school student sure isn't going to help the problem. When I was in high school, I ran the scoreboard for the volleyball team while another student did the book. Did we make mistakes? Sure we did, but so did the adults sitting next to us. That's the thing about humans--we're not perfect.

[ohst#1]

A fit? That's for sure. I think South Point fans need to focus more on how their fans act towards children and officials than a clock keeper starting the clock a second late. It wasn't that big of a deal and it's something that happens to everyone at one time or another. Students have worked the clock and book for years for the girls team and do a fine job at it. They're always responsible kids, and it's nice to have students who are willing to help out. A student even did the PA tonight (that's the other boy you were talking about). Who's to say that an adult wouldn't have got caught up in the game and done the exact same thing? It happens, but yelling like maniacs at a high school student sure isn't going to help the problem. When I was in high school, I ran the scoreboard for the volleyball team while another student did the book. Did we make mistakes? Sure we did, but so did the adults sitting next to us. That's the thing about humans--we're not perfect.

i agree, how did the game go-i figured it would b a great game-both teams have talent on them

[The Ghost of Swanker]

I ran the clock for 3 years for Jr High basketball and High School Volleyball. Highlight of my career was the SOC boys all star game.... I NEVER messed up.... ever.


Edit : I lied. Ive seen clock guys all over the south mess up a time or two and even the people who keep the books on either side of me. with one of those fancy scoreboards with player points it can get hectic

[schenk11]

Should be an adult for a varsity game. I saw this a lot when I was a high school wrestling coach to.

[marklane]

I agree, needs to be an adult at the score table.

[ny_bucks]

I have ran the score board as a high school student. I was very good and rarely messed up but I had several years of experience doing junior high and elementary games. It just depends on how much a person pays attention.

[marklane]

Things were probably a lot different back then too.

Now you get these kids texting while trying to run the clock!

[The Ghost of Swanker]

It wasn't that long ago...

[noreply66]

altogether different game but as a kid I kept the books for a Industrial League--lots of fun

[bryanc45]

I do clock for oak hill jr high and high school games and there are times I have messed up on it. It is easy to get involved in the game and forget a score or stopping the clock and I am an adult. I don't listen to the fans at all I do my job.

[Say What]

Wasn’t at the game. Don’t know the situation for sure. It is easy to get caught up in the game and anyone could make a mistake, adult or teen. I don’t like for people to even try and talk to me when I’m watching a good game lol. But, if she failed to start the clock several times in the last few minutes of the game and had to have the ref stop the game twice to reset the clock then I would say there was a problem. After it happened once and the ref had to stop and have the clock reset, then you would think an adult or teenager would pay close enough attention to make sure it didn’t happen again before the final minutes of that game were over. If for no other reason than the fact you wouldn’t want to be called out for that again and have to listen to the fans. My opinion is adults should be running the clock and keeping the books particularly in a varsity game and especially in a conference game. These games are considered important by the conference, coaches, players, and parents and it should be given enough importance that there should be adults in charge. Also, it would be easier for adults to handle any flack that might be given from the fans in the stands as opposed to a teen having to deal with it. I don’t even know for sure if I’d recommend teens running the clock during biddy league games. While the level of importance isn’t as much as a high school game, the fans in the stands are sometimes much worse!

[md2020]

Mistakes happen. Opportunities to err can be inhanced by the atmosphere at the scorers table. The home book, timer and scoreboard operator are part of the officiating crew. The referee of course can remove/replace anyone at the table. More of an issue is when playing at a tournament and there is an assigned book. A coach can challenge the book but I will guarantee you that this will be a waste of time. The only issue I have regardless the makeup of the scorers table is when they are busy texting and my experience here it mostly involves young people. IMO

[The Ghost of Swanker]

you don't think teen agers should run biddy games? C'mon man! How much room is there for error on a scoreboard? you hit +1 +2 or +3 home team or away team, or -1. Fouls are the same. The clock is an on off switch. They obviously picked the worst person for the job if she's not getting the time right. I did over 80 games for Webster (including the big tournament) when i was like 13-15 I might have messed up once or twice. I see more games at the varsity where the clock starts 3 seconds late after each stop.

[conehead]

ohst#1, it was an excellent game! It could have gone either way. Peake was down 2 with a few seconds left, but lost it on the inbound. Tough loss, but both teams played well.

I can only remember two times where the clock wasn't started on time. The first time, it started several seconds late, but the officials handled it well and got it fixed quickly. The second time, a player was fould immediately after the ball was inbounded and the clock didn't start. The time was changed from 0:20 to 0:19 and had no effect on the game at all. Other than that, they did fine. They're athletes and know the game.

And you don't have to worry about any texting going on at the scorers table at Chesapeake...I only know of a few people who can get cell service in that gym!

[unclebob]

Part of the problem withe the young lady running the clock was she would add the score from a made foul shot before starting the clock. When a game could go down to a second or two differencial on every made foul shot in the end it could have made a huge difference. I just feel that this game should have had adults doing the book and scoreboard. All varsity/jv and middle school game should have adults in charge. Biddy league regular season I can see but tournaments and all stars, again, adults. I felt sorry for the kid. As I look back on all the games I have watched this year,boys and girls varsity/jv and middle school I have seen only two other teams have a kid keep a book (both were middle school) and the clock has always been an adult.

[Tower]

I have kept the clock and books for games in the past and have messed up, it happens more frequently than people realize. The real issue should be how the adults react when it happens. I do not think it is right to put a kid/teenager in that position where they will have adults screaming at them. We all have seen how "fans" react especially when losing, there are adults who can not handle the scrutiny that these "fans" can put them under. I think the AD of the schools should think about that before putting kids in that position and if can not find adult to do it the AD should step in and do it themselves. Same would go for biddy ball games, I think I have seen more hatefull fans at those games than the middle/high school games and less security at that.