[DownTownTonyBrown]

I think the longer you officiate the more firm these limits become. I used to put up with quite a bit more than I do now.

Back in the days of JV officiating I felt there was a reason I was working that level and also that the coach was working that level - neither of us were very good. Tossed a lot of coaches at that level - particularly in Basketball.

I've now become more understanding of the coach's plight to maintain his employment - need to win. I don't know that my tolerance has changed but my response is much calmer.

I now do a much better job - my mechanics and rules knowledge are far superior than when I began officiating (holy cow 25 years ago!). I'm confident in what I do - this in itself seem to keep me out of trouble. Coaches don't seem to argue near as much as they used to - I think I've changed for the better. Additionally, I've become much more relaxed and personable during games.

Of course in officiating sports, I've been involved in many highly emotional situations (like all of those early ejections). However, my responses have now become much more controlled. Used to be that if the coach wanted to scream and holler, I would be willing to publicly scream right along with him (no more self-imposed public stupidity today). Now I save my emotional response for private release after the game is completed - I'm trying to get past this self-imposed stupidity/burden also. Ejection should be completely emotionless - you have stepped over the boundary and the penalty is ejection. Sorry, it was your choice. You knew the limit (well, maybe) and you chose ejection (now you know the limit).

I still do not tolerate JV ignorance - I believe my last ejection was a JV baseball coach. (Absolute dork! Nearly forfeited the game because the idiot tried to sneek around the dugout, join the crowd, and still watch the game through the backstop.)

I take a little screaming but do my best to remain calm. For myself typical ejections are a result of negative insinuations such as "that's horrible," "Worst call all season," "You're terrible." Refusal to heed the stop sign. Refusal to comply with dictated requirements - "You need to stop," "You need to get off the field now."

well there's my two bits...