Quote:
Originally posted by SCBroncos
When I first started officiating HS basketball, I was extremely quick to bang a coach for complaining about calls. I quickly learned that I needed to have some thicker skin.
As I have improved over the last few years, I have more confidence in my calls and in turn, complaints from coaches don't seem to affect me as much. As long as they don't get personal or profane, I haven't really been hitting them with 'T's.
Recently I was observed and it was suggested that I might be taking too much from coaches and I should think about working on that. Does anyone have any advice on defining the "line" that coaches can't cross?
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To start the year, I fell into the bang-em early, bang-em often category. I found that this strategy in controlling coaches doesn't work. I have adopted this as my "line in the sand". I don't care if coaches question my calls.
My line that I draw is this: If the coaches chirping begins to annoy me, I'll stop it with "Alright coach, I've heard enough" and I'll show them the stop sign. Every night, this line is a little different. After that the coach knows he is close the line. After the first warning and when it gets annoying I will say, "COACH! ENOUGH!!". After that, it's T-time. I haven't had one since I took this approach!
Also, I will usually "T" a coach if his/her behavior is demonstrative, excessive, and/or incites the crowd. If a coach is overly demonstrative in his protest, I will issue a T. (Wildly throwing his hands up and out toward me like a call was crap, throwing anything with the intent of showing disgust, etc.) I figure when a coach ACTS like an out-of-control child, it's time for coach to get "TIME-OUT" T-TIME. He can sit the rest of the game.
Do you remember the Sienfeld Episode where George gets the nickname "COCO" because he is wildly flailing his arms around because he wants to be known as "T-bone"? I will typically "T" for that kind of childish behavior.
I was once admonished by an AD not to let a coach get a "T" to get his team fired up. You want a T? You're not getting one coach! Has anyone else ever been told that and followed that advice?