New rules can speed up games

Every now and then there?s a sporting event which needs to be tweaked just a little bit. I?m not talking about any major changes, but there might be a few things which could help the elementary basketball games ? especially when it comes to the amount of time it takes to play two games during the course of a night.

Now, this column is in no way meant to put down or complain about elementary basketball, but rather help speed up the game and make it more interesting for those who sit through game after game on a weekly basis.

The amount of time on the clock for an elementary basketball game is four six-minute quarters. Halftime adds six to 10 more minutes, depending on who?s running the scoreboard, for a total of let?s say 34 minutes, using 10 minutes for the half.

Let?s add seven more minutes per quarter for stoppage of play for things like walking, tie balls, fouls, three-second calls and time-outs. This would be a total of 28 additional minutes, for a grand total of 62 minutes.

The amount of time put of the clock in between games should be no longer than 10 minutes, but in some cases there are 15 minutes put on the board. Six minutes is plenty of time in between games. A pair of basketball games shouldn?t take longer than 134 minutes to play or 2:14.

Games start at 6 p.m. and should be over with somewhere around 8:15. But unfortunately, that?s not always the case.

It?s been my experience over the past five years, some of these games tend to run anywhere from 30-40 minutes longer than they should, and I have even seen several take up to an hour longer. Sometimes there?s a pattern which forms when certain referees are calling a game. Now, I?m not criticizing the officiating, but some seem to over-call games at times. Jump balls and three-second calls wind up dominating the game more than play itself.

Don?t get me wrong, officiating is very difficult ? especially in elementary games ? and the men who call these games do a great job. But I do feel there are a few things which can be done to speed up the play.

First, let?s have a running clock through the first three quarters. In the first three periods, the clock could only be stopped during fouls or time-outs. The clock would continue to run when traveling, three-seconds, jump ball or walking is called. The final period would be played with the clock stopping on every turnover and foul.

Secondly, each team should be given three time-outs per half, two full and one 30-second; that?s enough for anybody.

And third, let?s not over-officiate these games. After all these are little kids doing their best and calling every little thing doesn?t help anyone. But being fair to them, when they don?t make a call, they get heckled from the stands.

I?m not exactly sure what the answer is, but three hours for something that should take only a little over two hours to play, needs to be looked at by the coaches and officials.

Sure, there are always going to be games here and there that are going to run a little longer than they should. But a few tweaks of the rules could mean that on most nights, fans enjoy more exciting games, that won?t take the entire night to play.