I was thinking of this before and a recent thread caused me to think of it some more.
It seems, in many circumstances, calling a technical foul is a judgment call. I know the fights, six players on the floor, etc. are not, but for the others... I'm trying to find my groove as to what should be called and what might be better ignored. In general, I have pretty thick skinned, so I'm trying to guard against letting too much go. A few examples;
Did a Frosh boys game with another new guy. Three or four different times, after a foul call, the offending player did the little "I-didn't-do-anything" dance. (Also done in a variation as the "I-had-all-ball" dance.
) I don't know if I'm explaining it well, but I'm hoping you can picture it... the arms flapping up and down and the look of disgust on their face. A couple times I stared at the player and his teammates grabbed him. Once, I was administering a throw-in to a previously "offended" player and he started to question the previous play. Prior to handing him the ball I pulled it back to myself and said, "Excuse me?" He said, "Nothing." And we played on. Maybe I should have T'd up someone for this early??? Maybe I should have had a little meeting with the players - The knock it off or else speech...???
A couple coach questions; Same game described above - I call a player control foul on A1 for striking B2 in the shoulder with an elbow after A1 secured a rebound. Coach A is ticked about not getting an "over-the-back" call on B2. When I call the foul on A1 he says, loudly, "That's terrible! That's terrible!" No, I didn't whack him. Is this a spot where most would?
Finally, another Frosh boys game working with a veteran partner. After the game, my partner tells me the coach said to him during the game, "You guys trying to get out of here early?" No technical. Now, I'm thinking a technical should have been called here. I don't know if I would have, but I think I should, if I heard this comment.
Any suggestions on where you draw the line?