[ChuckElias]

Ok, BITS, just so you know you're not alone. Here's my story from yesterday. College game, good game, kind of sloppy, both teams aggressive. End of the first half, A1 shoots and misses. B1 rebounds, turns and throws a full-court pass, intended for B2. B2 and A2 jump together, but the horn sounds before the ball arrives. After the horn, A2 pulls down on B2's arms, still trying to prevent the catch. As they both return to the ground, B2 "flings" (for lack of a better word) A2 off of him and A2 falls to the ground.

Now all this happens after the horn, so the ball is dead. I judge that the actions of both players are neither flagrant, nor severe enough to be intentional. So I have no whistle.

I knew Coach A would want to talk about it. Sure enough, Coach A comes onto the floor immediately. "You gonna stand there and watch that? Put a whistle on that!"

I responded calmly, "Coach, your player started the whole thing. Your player instigated the contact".

Unfortunately, each time I said "your", I pointed right at the coach. I was pointing to indicate that it was "his" player; but I can only imagine how it looked to an observer. I'm sure it appeared overly aggressive on my part. The coach did not make an issue of it, but I see that as bad communication technique.

I didn't tell him to shut up, but I'm still working on the same stuff you are, BITS. Keep your chin up.