Job Description - Junior High Scorekeeper
My first job was scorekeeping basketball games at my junior high school, Horace Ensign Intermediate - home of the Seabees. This means I kept track of the players’ statistics throughout the course of the game.
At the highest level, scorekeepers account for each player’s minutes, points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, fouls, and more. Noting all of this takes a crew of multiple people, though. As a one-man operation, I was fortunate to only have to keep track of points, rebounds, and fouls. If someone scored a free throw, two-pointer, three-pointer, grabbed a missed shot, or fouled another player, it was my job to note it.
There are three traits that are essential to have when keeping score of a basketball game. In order of importance, they are:
- 1) Focus
- 2) Presence of mind
- 3) Patience
Focus
Junior high basketball games are not the most entertaining spectator events. That said, it is the responsibility of the scorekeeper to remain focused on each possession. There are no mental breaks in scorekeeping, regardless of the skill level of the players. Parents don’t buy their kids a basketball, drive them to practice, and leave work early to watch their game all for a daydreaming scorekeeper to rob them of their rightful rebound tally.
In all seriousness, it is important to stay focused on the game from tip-off to the final buzzer. Players take pride in their statistical accomplishments and coaches use the data to make adjustments to their game plan. For that reason, getting it right is crucial.
Presence of mind
You may be thinking, “Presence of mind? Isn’t that the same thing as focus?” If so, you are correct. Presence of mind is simply consistent focus on the current moment.
As a basketball scorekeeper, it is difficult to maintain presence of mind. The game moves so quickly that many statistically notable events can happen in just a few seconds.
For example, a player might tip the ball off the rim five times before scoring through a foul, all in less than 2 seconds. Scorekeeping is the act of translating these events into data. Each tip that occurs after contact with the rim is an offensive rebound, the score counts for two points, and a foul occurred. The box score must reflect this information.
Taking the time to note these events is inherently distracting, however. In this time, another statistically notable event could happen and go unseen. Presence of mind is the only way to ensure true focus on each possession.
Patience
The final essential trait of a scorekeeper is to be patient. Each game consists of four twelve-minute quarters, plus stoppages for fouls, timeouts, and breaks. Although the action can move quickly, the stoppages mean that games sometimes grind to a halt.
I joked earlier that there are no mental breaks in scorekeeping. That is not entirely accurate. I should have specified that there are no mental breaks in scorekeeping... during the action.
There are lots of mental breaks over the course of the game during these stoppages - too many, really. Anyone who has seen the final two minutes of a close basketball game has seen that it can take ten minutes of real-time to get through. It takes patience to wait through these delays without losing focus.
Such is the life of a scorekeeper.
Passive Sentences: 0
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Hello Joe, what you wrote about being a scorekeeper is very interesting. As someone who suffers from ADHD and short attention spans, I can't imagine how stressful it would be for me to do such a job. You have repeatedly mentioned the words "focus" and "patience" throughout the job description, and I fully agree that only certain types of people can handle this job. Well, I'm glad that you get to go to games for free!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the very kind word, Damien. Scorekeeping wasn't all that stressful to be honest, but it was fun to reflect on those times for this assignment. And you're spot on, scorekeepers have it good in that they get paid to go to entertainment events. Not a bad gig if you can get it.
DeleteHey Joe, I was so happy when I saw this because I used to do the exact same thing in middle school. I really enjoyed being fully immersed in the action because it was usually pretty exciting especially due to the small size of my middle school's gym. I totally relate to the constant focus we had to have, but as someone who used to be rather prone to drifting off into space, I found it pretty hard to stay focused during all those breaks in the action, especially toward the end of the game. It was great to relate so directly with someone else though, good post!
ReplyDeleteHi Nevin, wow, it's very cool to have someone who can relate to these unique experiences. Not many 13 year olds stay after school to log basketball games but we both did, haha! Small world!
DeleteHello Joe. I think it's so cool that you were so involved with basketball. I think it took me until my senior year of high school to really understand all of the rules. I just remember my friends being super into the game and I would have no idea what's going on. I definitely have a new found appreciation for it now that I am older but I still wish I could get into it like others can. It seems super intense to be able to understand all of the nuances that go into score keeping even compared to a spectator!
ReplyDeleteSuper interesting response which got me thinking, especially regarding understanding rules and how important that is to enjoying any sport. Watching sports without understanding what each "event" means within the context of the game is like trying to read a foreign language. With an understanding of the rules, though, it's possible to appreciate the nuances of the sport in the same way multilingual people appreciate the nuances of their known languages.
DeleteThis was a really great read. As a basketball fan, I totally understand where you are coming from regarding having to keep your focus and how distracting the stoppages can be. There is no way I could stay focused for that long.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jake, focus is key in all things, scorekeeping and otherwise.
DeleteGreat job, Joe! I echo your classmates' observations, and I really appreciated the "for example" under "Presence of Mind" -- it helped me to perfectly visualize what you were talking about.
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