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Yep, I'm with Steve and Mike on this. If I'm the one ABOUT to be double teamed, I'm gonna look to where my partner is and they better be coming towards us. That's just a matter of team mechanics. I'll take care of the double team myself. I'll tell the coaches that I'm only going to talk to one, they can decide, I don't care. And it better be fast. Usually, when I say I'll talk to someone, one of the guys leave immediately. I've never even come close to ejecting someone for this. I don't care if I talk to a head coach, asst coach or manager. They're all part of the coaching staff and have equal rights to an explanation. What I DON'T expect my partner to do is run to the group. I need a calm cool demeanor coming up, not someone whose running can only excite the situation. Like Steve said, a commanding presence is vital at this point.
If I'm with a less experienced partner and they are being surrounded, I'm gonna yell , in my best "DEAD BALL!!!" umpire's voice and tell them to only let one go up there. When I do that, they usually wait until I can walk to the group and tell them my partner will discuss it with one person. By the time I get to the group, a lot of the initial adrenalin has subsided and they are a little calmer. Now, this only happens if I see my partner being overwhelmed. If it appears that he is being very professional and in charge of the situation, I let them handle it. I'll walk up to within about 15 feet of the group, so I can hear what's being said. I do not participate until my partner comes to me. At this point, I don't even mind if the 2nd coach comes to stand beside me and talk to me. I ain't gonna say anything about the situation, except that my partner made the call and is handling it right now, with the other coach. Sometimes, all you gotta do is listen. Don't have to agree or disagree. This also gives the impression my partner is in control and that we are willing to talk it over.
I've had a lot of success with this over the years. Just remember, they're just a coach, use your psychology and they'll be eating out of your hand before the game's over. Yeah, right.
The only thing I cover in my plate speech regarding this is if they have a question, call time GET time and talk to the umpire that made the call. I highly encourage this to the coaches, explaining that we want them to understand what we saw or what rule we're enforcing. When they've heard the reasoning, they don't have to agree, just understand what happened. This covers about 20 seconds and cuts off a lot of trouble during the game.
[Edited by TexBlue on Jun 6th, 2004 at 01:46 PM]
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Rick
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