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This may be a good place for me to jump in with my first post. I've been reading this forum for a couple of years and have benefitted often. I hope this will be a contribution.
It's my opinion that several solid suggestions can be taken from this thread. Primarily, we should constantly be aware of our people skills and how we handle coaches and players.
Our local association has a young 30 year old official that has moved up to the D-1 level quickly and is also working the NBA development league. He shared his thoughts on sideline communication with us and it boils down to the following.
1. Every official needs to learn what works for their personality. (As has been noted by several posters here.)
2. Remember that the coach is the most emotional person in the building.
3. Being non-confrontational yet authoritative (not bossy) is critical. Maintain respect.
4. Remember that comments don't require a response and questions might. The less said the better. (see coaches 5 count below)
5. Take care of business.
He said that being a young official at the D-1 level has given him a lot of opportunities to work on his communication skill as the coaches get after him pretty hard at times. He likes to use what I've come to call the "coaches 5 count" for the irritating coach that's fussing on every trip.
1. yes sir/ma'am
2. coach, I hear you.
3. coach, I understand.
4. coach, that's enough or stop sign. (you won't see stop signs too often at the higher levels.)
5. WHACK!
I'm working on my patience as I tend to leave out step 3 and go straight to step 4 and then whack.
Merry Christmas to all! Coaches too.
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