Quote:
Originally posted by drothamel
Back to the post that started this thread for a moment:
When the coach says, "What do we need to do to get a charge," try the relpy, "What do you mean, coach?" Resist the temptation to answer his question outright. It is obvious that he is frustrated, but his question tells you little more than that. By asking him what he means, he will say something like, "my players are stationary," or "my players are getting there in time," or "you guys are screwing me." Respond accordingly.
Asking a coach what he or she means by a comment can do a number of things for you, 1) You really do find out what the coach actually means. Now you can respond accordingly and hopefully prevent the coach from getting more agitated. 2) It shows the coach that you are listening AND paying attention. 3) If you do have to whack the coach, it will be because of what the coach said to you in response to a simple question. That makes your whack much easier to justify on the incident report after the game.
4) Sometimes, it takes so much time for the coach to respond that the play has continued on, and you can move on.
This was something that I heard retired NBA referee Nolan Fine talk about. I started to use it, especially on my favorite coach's comment/question-- "How come they have 1 foul, and we have 6?" and it has worked very well.
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While I can appreciate this, I wouldn't blanket that statement to all situations. In my case, asking "what do you mean" would likely only have escalated things into a confrontation. Let's face it, there was nothing fuzzy or confusing about his question ("what do we have to do go get a charge"). "What do you mean" could easily be interpreted as a smart-a** response or refusing to answer him. His original question, though elevated in tone and frustration, was valid - and not one that deserved or needed deflecting. He asked, I answered. He wasn't satisfied, but I wasn't expecting him to be, either. I got away from him with a quick rotation, anyway. It was his halftime actions I was more concerned with. And things there turned out okay.
I find that as I do more high-level games, I am paying way more attention to what I say, and don't rely as much on those lovely one-liners and questioning tactics anymore. They have their place, but these coaches are also a lot harder to manipulate.