[theboys]

Hey, BigJoe.

Just wanted to make a coach's comment about calling fouls quickly at the end of the game. Had a game a year ago in which we were down by 6 or 7 with a couple of minutes left. Kids were told to be more aggressive on defense, to try to steal the ball. Each time we stepped up our defense we were whistled for fouls. After the third one I did what every good howler does - I politely ;-) asked the referee why he was calling the game so tightly at that point, when he hadn't called the game tightly up to that point.

He replied that our players were trying to foul the opposing players. I pleasantly told him we weren't trying to foul, we were trying to steal the ball.

He told me to "shut up". I did the only thing a self-respecting howler could do in that situation - I told him to shut up. I heard we didn't play any better after I left the gym.

The moral to this story: Even if you are calling fouls more quickly, don't admit it. I've thought long and hard, and I can't think of anything else I could learn from this experience.