[drothamel]

When I was in Delaware, the state had a good way of dealing with the coaches box. They told the coaches, "You WILL mark the floor, and you WILL stay within that box. If you do not stay within the box, you WILL receive a technical foul-no warning. If officials are not willing to give technical fouls for the infraction, then we will take away the box and everyone will have to sit."

Every coach and official was told this at the state meetings. It worked well because it made both parties responsible, and it took pressure off of officials because coaches knew that if they didn't enforce the box, the state was going to take it away the next season. It also worked because the coaches have to sit in nearby New Jersey and Pennsylvania, so the Delaware coaches were aware of the possibilites.

Where I am in VA, however, enforcement of the coache's box is lax, at best. Most of the floors don't even have it marked. I usually tell coaches to remain within the seats of their bench. Every area of the country seems to be very different with respect to this rule.