[Bob Proctor]

I always give the captains all of their choices, however, I always ask the head coach what he plans to do at the toss. I specifically ask him if he wants to defer his choice. This way I am able to form my question to the captain in a way to limit his chance of messing up. In other words, if the coach indicates that he wishes to defer, I will ask the captain directly, "Do you wish to defer?" It also allows me to help the coach if he tells me he wants to go on defense first. I can explain to him the consequences of phrasing his instructions to his captain. We can do many things in our officiating to help avoid negative situations. I think this is part of the "preventive officiating" philosophy.