[just another ref]

Originally Posted by ATXCoach

I am the worst kind of coach (an AAU / summer league coach) . I coach girls, and my current team will be 8th and 9th graders.

To go along with the flopping talk previously in this thread - I hate it, I don't coach it, and I hate when it gets rewarded at any level. I teach my bigs to slide over get their arms up and to be a brick wall. Correct me if I am wrong, but as long as they get there first (and the shooter isn't in the air, etc.), then this isn't a foul on the defender. Unfortunately, my bigs are still relatively young and are more like a paper wall. What I mean is that the contact gets them in the stomach or chest, and they end up bending at the hip a little, arms come forward, and they get called for the foul. (the calls are not blocking fouls, they are hacking fouls)

I am at a loss because I feel there are occasions when if they would scream and fall backwards then they would get the charge call, but I won't ever teach that. I feel the defender is set, the offensive player contacts the defensive player, then the defensive player reacts to the contact. It seems like a charge to me.

Obviously I am not saying this happens every time and I know there are times when they get block happy and miss - I get that. Just looking for a rules explanation so I can tweak how I coach, if i need to.

Thanks in advance

Personally when I think of flopping, I think of a player falling back even when there was little or no contact, certainly not enough to cause the defender to fall back. However, perhaps your players are overdoing it, anticipating the contact and leaning into it. I think that "be a brick wall" is certainly a sound philosophy for your defenders, but be sure to emphasize verticality, and if heavy contact is imminent, even leaning slightly away to cushion the blow is okay. Moreover, if the contact is sufficient to cause displacement, there is no shame in falling backward, and this shouldn't keep you from getting a call. I strongly agree with you about avoiding the screaming thing.