[BillyMac]

In a perfect world, the only time we should be spending time with the head coach is during the pregame captains/head coaches/officials meeting:

"Coaches. Are your players properly equipped and do your players know how to wear their uniforms properly? If so, coaches and captains. My partner and I expect that you all will be practicing good sportsmanship. Have fun."

However, it's not a perfect world. How often will varsity officials be observing the junior varsity game that precedes the varsity game, and the head varsity coach, maybe from either team, but most often from the home team, actually comes over and sits down in the bleachers with the varsity officials? Maybe it's just to say hello. Maybe it's to ask a question about a rule or interpretation. Or, maybe it's more than that. Maybe the varsity officials may have been officiating this coach's games for over twenty years, and the coach feels that a professional bond has been formed and asks how the season's going, did your families enjoy the holidays, did you hear that Official Smith tore a muscle doing his game last week, etc. Another scenario from the real world is that the officials may often dress in the coach's office, and he's in there before the game, getting a score book, getting some water bottles, tape, etc. and decides he wants to "shoot the breeze" for a few minutes.

These are situations that should be avoided, because, as I've stated earlier, perception often gets confused with reality. Although these situations should be avoided, sometimes it would be awkward to avoid them, and all we can do is answer in a friendly, but terse, manner, and hope that the coach goes away as soon as possible. Maybe there is a professional bond that has formed between the official and the coach. After all, they both share a passion for basketball. I, in fact, relish these bonds, but not at the expense of being perceived as a "homer".