I got a couple of emails about my son Josh's remark that he threw out 20 coaches in a season. If he said he did it, he did it. This would be a combination of regular HS and at least 3 rec leagues while working almost 300 games. It doesn't seem that far out of whack to me, especially since I was at a game two years earlier where he tossed both coaches and both assistants. For your dining and dancing pleasure, here's what happened:
Eighth grade boys rec. In the 3rd quarter, team A is up by over 30. When their lead got to 20, the mercy rule kicked in and they then could not guard in the backcourt. However, coach A had his team set up in a half-court trap and the lead just kept getting bigger. I was in the stands as the "on-site Board member". I know Josh mentioned to coach A that he might want to let up a little and let the other team have some fun. The response was something along the lines of "you ref - I'll coach".
Eventually, after another steal and layup, coach B made a remark to coach A. Coach A responded with a comment about team B being a bunch of losers, and if they couldn't "take it", they should just not show up.
Coach B and his assistant then stormed team A's bench and grabbed the two A coaches. Josh immediately stepped in between them while his partner grabbed coach B from behind and pulled him off. By this time, I was on the court. Josh told coach A he was ejected and that he (Josh) would recommend to the Board that he be banned for the season (he eventually was). He then told his assistant that he was also ejected for motioning at coach B to "come on over here". He told coach B and his assistant they were both ejected and he would recommend to the Board they be banned for the rest of the season and also for one more season (they were).
The four howler monkeys then left. I had another Board member follow them out into the parking lot, just in case.
Josh then addressed the crowd, told them that all the coaches were ejected and that if a parent from each team would come down and sit on their team's bench, they would finish the game - which is what happened. He also addressed all the players and told them that sometimes, adults act like children and that they just saw a good example of how not to act. He told them they could show everyone how mature they were by just playing the game. The players all shook hands and finished the game without team A pressing.
I thought Josh did pretty well, considering that he was only a HS junior at the time.
[Edited by Mark Padgett on Mar 25th, 2004 at 03:55 PM]
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