Quote:
Originally posted by bebanovich
I was sincere in starting this thread that I tried coaching only the bench and I got worked.
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Coach, I'll take your sincerity at face value, but can I suggest that you did not give the alternate approach much of a chance? In the first post, you said: "I decided that I was going to put all of my game energy into coaching the bench and was not going to say anything to officials during the games (except when necessary for a clarification or conference, etc)." You then changed your mind "by the end of [your] first game back." You said: "After that game, I decided that I couldn't just say nothing and needed another plan." I'm not accussing you of being insincere, but I will say that if you changed your mind after one game it does appear that you were a little too eager to enter the fray with the officials. As you say, you've given this topic a lot of thought.
Why not give your first plan a real chance at success? Tarheelcoach has given you/us a coach's perspective that in many games "working" (even in the positive sense) officials is unnecessary. There might be a few crews that invite some "working," and you simply respond to their invitation. You admitted that the crew on your first game back was an inexperienced crew. Can you go through a whole season with a coaching-only attitude and see how it goes? You might be surprised at the results.
I agree with those who have posted that when a coach is constantly questioning the officials, it sends a message to their players. You have been careful to point out that you are clear with your players about *their* roles - they don't get to complain - and that is a good step, but you may not be fully appreciating the message that you are sending to the young people who are learning life lessons from you.
Best wishes as you continue to learn and improve. Most of us here are similarly hoping to learn and improve.