Expert: Bret Temple - 12/29/2007

Question
I officiate games at the local YMCA as a part-time job. The rules they provide are minimal and relate more to the fairness of the game rather than preparing these kids for middle/high school competitive ball (even at the 5th/6th grade level) and this is the only youth program in the area. One boy was dribbling the ball down the court and was stopped by a defender but did not stop dribbling the ball. The defender had a wide stance so the offensive player bounced the ball through the defender's legs (with out picking up the dribble) and regained the ball behind the defender, taking another dribble and going in for the lay-up. He never touched the ball with both hands so neither the other official nor I blew the whistle for the next 5 minutes, we had a parent yelling at us that it should have been called as a player cannot pass to himself. Were we right not to call the play or was the parent right about passing to a player's own self?

Answer
Hi Sara,

this is a tough call to make or not make.  If the offensive player clearly just dribbled through the legs of the defender and picked up his dribble after the ball went through the defedner's legs, it can be a legal dribble and not considered traveling. It's a judgement call on the official. An offensive player may not pass to himself/herself, but it is possible to dribble through a defender's legs legally. It sounds like you made the right call by not calling traveling. Parents and people in the audience think they know the rules, and in a lot of cases they are very mistaken.