[JRutledge]

This is the reason why when you work higher level ball you get more satisfaction out of your officiating. Despite what anyone says here there is nothing you are going to say that will make most of these coaches happy. If the coaches were that good or trained, they would not be coaching this level. Think about it for a second, coaches at these levels put in a lot of time coaching, get paid less and deal with more crap from parents that immediately think their kid is going to be the next great thing. Many of the kids that play lower level ball will never play again and the coach will get frustrated and quit or they will get promoted when the other coaches either quit or leave on their own.

Case in point the games I worked yesterday. I worked a double header Freshman Tournament and I cannot think of any real complaint all 4 coaches had. There was one coach that asked a question and after I gave my explanation, he never said another word to me the rest of the night. I called nothing different than any other game. I called the game the best way I knew how and we had many sequences where nothing was called where you could make an argument something should have been called. Not a significant word out of either coach about anything. It was clear that these coaches understood their role and did not sweat every call or they had officials that TÂ’d them up in the past and they learned their lesson. Either way there was not a big problem the entire night. Coaches get it or they do not get it. All you can do is answer their questions and give them an explanation. All you can do is control what you do and only what you say. Coaches have to understand what is going on and either accepts your explanation and behaves appropriately. If they do not act in a sportsmanlike manner, then they are taking a chance that some official will pull their card. If they role the dice, they just might crap out.

Peace