Quote:
Originally posted by NICK
The technical foul is just another call in the rulebook and nothing to get emotional about.
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This sounds good but really not true IMO. If it was just another call, the formula for calling it would remain the same no matter what. Depending on the climate of the game, what is a T today is not a T tomorrow. This applies to fouls and some violations also.
Yesterday I T'd a coach about four minutes into the game. He was continually complaining about calling it both ways. My partner called a foul in favor of his team and he was still complaining. The board was not showing the fouls but they were like 4-1 in his favor. I told him that was enough and gave him the symbolic stop sign. This is something I rarely do because I rarely T coaches. Anyway, he kept on and I T'd him up. He was OK until the end of the game when he started again about a no call from my partner. The coach then continued to talk about us to his players. He was staying because at this point his team was losing by about 36. So the coach and his assistant start to give me the "don't take this away from the kids ref." Huh? You are losing by 36 and now looking for someone to blame. You are losing by 36 and we are taking it away from the kids?
Friday night, tied game with under a minute to play. One team had come back from about 18 points. This team had a coach that wasn't a coach, an assistant that wasn't a coach and some fans that didn't know what they were complaining about. I think we've all seen this before. So on two consecutive trips to the line I tell the players on both sides "do not let what the coaches and fans dictate what you do and how you react to calls at this point in the game." So the next trip down the court my partner calls a travel under the basket. The kid that he calls it on comes all the way out to the three point line and throws a tantrum. I mean he falls on the floor kicking and screaming. Maybe at home, maybe at school but not on the court with me. Technical foul. This team has one player who has his head and tells the coach what I had told them. After the game the coach begins to complain and say things to us until I repeat exactly what I had told the players and mention the fact that he didn't say anything to the player. He agreed and told us that one of his players had told him this. He shook our hands and that was that.
Coaches and players will do whatever we let them do for the most part. If they are consistently dealt with the smart players and coaches will change their behavior.