[BillyMac]

SmokeEater: FYI: From the NFHS web site:

Benefits of Cocurricular Activities

Activities Support the Academic Mission of Schools. They are not a diversion but rather an extension of a good educational program. Students who participate in activity programs tend to have higher grade-point averages, better attendance records, lower dropout rates and fewer discipline problems than students generally.

Activities are Inherently Educational. Activity programs provide valuable lessons for practical situations - teamwork, sportsmanship, winning and losing, and hard work. Through participation in activity programs, students learn self-discipline, build self-confidence and develop skills to handle competitive situations. These are qualities the public expects schools to produce in students so that they become responsible adults and productive citizens.

Activities Foster Success in Later Life. Participation in high school activities is often a predictor of later success - in college, a career and becoming a contributing member of society.

In the original situation posted, I would probably not have given a technical foul, or for that matter, given it any thought at all, however, here's a situation that happened to me a few years ago:

Small school girls varsity game. Small gymnasium. Medium size crowd. Crowd in bleachers on one side of the gymnasium. Both teams benches on the other side of the gymnasium, with no bleachers. Home coach is a new coach, who I knew personally from coaching with him at camps. New coach is doing a great job coaching a team that in previous years had been the league's doormat. First half. New coach's player makes a mistake that leads to a layup by the oppossing team. This player is now bringing the ball up from the backcourt in front of her coach. I'm with her as the new trail official. Coach says to her "Get your f***ing head in the game".

On the way out of the gymnasium, I went out of my way to "bump" into the athletic director, who I also knew from coaching at camps. I told the athletic director what a great job the new coach was doing with the team, but I had noticed one instance where he had used, what I thought was, inappropriate language for a high school girls team. I didn't want the coach penalized in any way, but I wondered if he could speak to him about it. The athletic director thanked me and said he would speak to his coach and he assured me that it wouldn't happen again. That's how I handled it. It seemed to work for me. I'm sure that many Forum members would have handled it in a different way, but like I said, in this specific situation, this seemed to work for me.