Other than Chicken Soup for the [fill in the blank] Soul (my favorite is Chicken Soup for the Scrapbooker's Soul), there has been no better line of books than the for Dummies line. They bring a lot of useful information to people who have a general idea of what they are doing, but could still use a little direction.
Another problem I run into in my day to day operation is basketball, and more specifically, pick up basketball. I have played with many different people and it seems like each person has played by a different set of rules at some point or another.
Through the combination of no certain set of rules and the brilliant line of for Dummies, Borderline Genius Ideas brings you Pick up Basketball for Dummies. We will now give you some of the rules from the book.
Chapter 1: Scoring
Is there any other sport where if you play pick up the scoring changes completely? Almost everyone who plays pick up basketball has played by 1's and 2's. Are we the only ones who think this is as dumb as Kate's ability to track pretty much anything through the jungle when she has no training, other than Locke telling her that a certain broken limb is a dummy trail? Can people not count by 2's and 3's? Did 3rd graders play the first game and decide going by ones and twos was easier? The only time you should not go by 2's and 3's is when there is no 3 point line and you only can play by 2's, which never happens. People at the TREC, I guess, were not intelligent enough to realize playing to 18 by 2's and 3's actually makes for shorter games than 1's and 2's to fifteen. Plus, why doesn't anyone ever mention that this gives a huge advantage to 3 point shooters?
Play by 2's and 3's to 24 or if more than 5 people are waiting for the next game play to 18.
Chapter 4: Confusing Rules
What's a kick ball? Is the top of the backboard out of bounds? Should there be back court violations? Should you play by high school rules? NCAA? NBA? NJCAA?
This is where the book comes in handy. Everyone plays by our rules.
- Kick Ball: If the ball touches any part of your leg right above the ankle or below, it is a kick and the ball is rewarded to the other team.
- Back Court Violation: Just like any other league, once the ball crosses half court, it can not cross back over without the ball being tipped or hit or possessed by the opposing team.
- And One: When one player shoots the ball and gets fouled, if the ball goes in the basket, it is good. No exception. The basket counts and the ball changes possession and the game goes on.
There are always going to be those guys who believe they are never wrong. This usually results in 5 minutes of everyone wasting time and getting nowhere. Rather than concede, they will stubbornly defend their position until more mature players give in for the sake of time. It's a simple fix. Thanks to Rasheed Wallace, we all no the ball doesn't lie. So if a dispute isn't resolved within a minute or so, the offensive player involved in the dispute gets to shoot for it. If they make it, they get the ball back but if they miss they turn it over to the other team. Simple as that.
Chapter 15: End of the Game Exceptions
You know what really grinds my gears? At the end of a pickup game that is close, a team that is behind, while the other team is on game point (to score one basket they win), decides instead of accepting the fact of a loss, they decide to foul on everything. This usually ends in a 5 minute fight. Here is an easy fix. If a team has game point and the following occurs in the same possession, follow these rules: if the other team A) fouls once, give the ball back to the team B) fouls twice, if the second foul is on the ground, give the ball back to the team, but if the foul occurs during a shot, that player gets a free throw to win the game. C) fouls for a third time, the team with the ball gets to choose a player to shoot a free throw to win the game. If a free throw is missed the defense gets the ball.
With this handy rulebook, YMCA's, student recreation centers, and any other places pickup games occur will have a defined set of rules, hopefully minimizing arguments and increasing overall pleasure to those participating.
If anyone would like to help us publish this book, give us more rules, or any other suggestions, please email us at Abe.Hop@gmail.com.
This is the best post so far. I was at L.A. Fitness last week playing ball and thinking about how different the rules are from gym to gym. This needs to be taken 1 step further and a book needs to be written. I will gladly contribute. Keep up the good work guys!
ReplyDelete-Brent