[Kingsman1288]

I was working a spring tournament over this past weekend and had a discussion with my partner over a technical I issued to a coach. The situation goes like this...

Fairly close game with about 10 minutes or so left in the second half when a player from white drives to the basket in my primary and hits a layup. I'm L tableside and I observed some contact, but in my judgment not enough for a foul so play continues. As the other team inbounds the ball, white coach pops off the bench and starts yelling for an And 1. I don't acknowledge him at first as he is just offering comments, but as I run by he yells "Blow the whistle son, it's not that hard" WHACK! So we administer the technical foul and the whole time I'm administering them, the coach is telling my partner I need to have a thicker skin, etc. Partner doesn't ask me until after the game why I gave the T, and after explaining to him why, he suggests I need to have a longer leash with coaches.

My main issue is this. I'm 21 and have been officiating since I was 16 and am entering my 2nd season of a full Varsity schedule. However, based on my appearance you would never know it. I'm on the thin side and I have what you might politely call a "baby-face". As a result, coaches tend to target me as someone they think they can work over. This is an issue that I find many of my partners can't understand, and it's not their fault for not being able to. Because of this, I have developed a bit of a quick trigger finger with Ts. For comments like the one above, is a T warranted? Or would I be better off doing as my partner suggested and giving coaches a longer leash? Any thoughts/input are much appreciated.

Edit: In case it's not clear, the original T was for what I perceived to be the coach talking down to me and trying to intimidate me because of my age.