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The worst thing that ever happened was allowing a coach to request a time-out from the bench. If I were king for a day, that is the first thing I would change.
A few years ago, I was working a lower level game with a relatively new official. He heard a loud male voice yelling "time-out" from the direction of the bench. Without turning to look, he blows the whistle to grant the request. Turns out the "request" actually came from the 3rd row of the stands behind the bench!!!
Locally, this is how we handle it, which is essentially how it was handled by the OP. If I have my back to the team bench and hear what I believe to be a time-out request, I will immediately note the game situation (possession, etc.) then turn to the bench to verify the time-out request. If it is the head coach, I will grant the request "retro-active" to when it was heard.
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