[mikesears]

This year, I am really focusing a lot of effort into improving my communication and confrontation skills so this leads me into a situation from Friday night.

I worked the HL spot for the first time in a while. The visiting team is playing only their first year of varsity football. Last year they only played JV football. So we have a first year varsity coach on the field.

As we are introducing ourselves during the pre-game meeting with the visiting coach, the R mentioned that, in Illinois, sideline enforcement was mandated by the IHSA this year and it would be enforced.

His response, "Well I think officials should pay more attention to the players on the field and not worry about what is happening on the sideline."

I only state this to give you the mindset of this coach.

First quarter, this coaches team is on defense. There is a long run down my sideline. Ball carrier is slightly leading a pursuing defender and a team mate. Team mate goes to block the defender and defender turns his back into the block. No foul because the block would have been from the side and legal had the defender NOT turned his back. He and his coaching staff are YELLING for a block in the back. When asked, I state, "your player turned his back to the block."

Later in first quarter. Assistant coach asks me to watch the fullbacks lead block. Claims he is blocking his linebacker below the waist. My response, "Okay, I will watch for it." I don't see it after a number of plays. My guess is that if it actually happened, it only happened once and nobody on the crew saw it.

Later in first quarter. His team is called for a facemask foul. From our side, it didn't look bad. They are thinking, 5 yarder. R signal 15 yarder and they go ballistic. I tell them I will try to get them answer when I can. Their guys in the crow's nest saw it and said the 15-yarder was a good call. They still feel a little sour over it.


Second quarter and this team is getting spanked, 28-0, and once again they are on defense. Sweep comes to my side. Runner A1 jumps over prone player B2 and is tackled 10 yards later. Head coach comes up to me and asks the question,

Coach: "Isn't hurdling illegal?"

Me: (I shouldn't have responded) Yes coach.

Coach: "Why didn't you call that hurdle?"

Me: There was a hurdle? (I honestly thought I might have missed something and I wasn't trying to be a smart-***).

Coach: You are so concerned about enforcing the sideline policy that you are missing fouls on the field.

(Up to this point, I hadn't said a word to players or coaches about ANYTHING sideline related--it was only brought up in our pregame talk.)

Me: Coach, I didn't see a hurdle. (I then attempted to explain the definition of hurdling but he cut me off).

Coach continues his tyrade about the "missed" hurdle.

He kept up his LOUD tyrade for a full minute and eventually earned himself an UC foul (for which he didn't think he was deserving).

I admit that I was a little frazzled by this coaches antics and his childish behavior when I threw the flag.

My question is this.

How do you handle a coach like this? How would you / do you handle situation like this when you work the wings?

Coaches, how do you like officials to treat you when you think something should have been called and wasn't.




Sorry for the long post!

[Edited by mikesears on Sep 15th, 2003 at 12:42 PM]