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My goal is not to push my interactions with officials to the edge. I don't get 'T's and don't want them. I do see them in our league so I know most officials are not afraid to call them. My goal is to not get out-greased by another squeaky wheel.
Here are my guidelines for interacting with officials.
- players never argue / question calls
(captains can request that officials watch for a particular violation #24 is grabbing #3's shirt on cuts if you can take a look but they have been coached how to do it with respect) any other players saying anything else means we all run suicides the next day in practice. My players are not perfect but they do police each other on this.
- Comments can never be personal or ever question the overall ability or integrity of the official. Question a call or series of calls but never suggest an intentional bias or general incompetence. If I really think an official is incompetent or biased I will request they don't officiate our games anymore. This hasn't happened.
- I don't argue for calls against the other team that I don't want to see called in abundance against my team. My team pressures like crazy in the open court and light body contact and wrist contact will not ever end up helping us if every instance is called. When the other team does it I bite my tongue.
- If an official seems especially confident in a particular call that I argue, I usually say something like, OK, gotcha. Thanks. If he/she seems less confident, I turn up the heat a little and describe confidently what I saw and what I think they missed. In this case I will shake my head and say, come on or your killing me but I try to poke a little without being too disrepectful or showing anyone up.
- The worst I resort to is sarcasm. It's annoying, it makes the crowd laugh and it's impossible to rationally 'T.' Use sparringly.
- If I get a call I have been looking for (for whatever reason) I try to make a quiet quip to the official whenever possible to keep the energy light and winkingly acknowledge that it's all part of the game.
- I never swear (personally I think this should still be an automatic 'T' for high school coaches but maybe I'm a little old-fashioned).
- Never kick, slam, rattle or throw anything.
- The better an offical seems, not just at calling the game but at managing all players, coaches and bystanders, the more my interactions are quiet, positive and jovial.
- If an official is a hothead, let the other coach/players dig their own grave.
I think anyone out to give me a T is going to have a very hard time doing it without looking very irrational.
I do believe the the better and more experienced an official is, the less they respond to a squeaky wheel. However, I don't buy the premise that anyone is a violation-calling machine devoid of human emotion and fallibility anymore than officials here would believe that I objectively see the action on the floor in my own games. To some extent the squeaky wheel does get greased.
Officials in our area are far better than rec league but they haven't had a raise in over 15 years and there clearly is a broad range of experience and ability. Without reasonable pay, we have a mix of very committed, experienced officials and youngsters who are hard to retain for very long.
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