[rsl]

Just back from coaching my 11 year-olds rec game. This coaching thing gives great insight into reffing- I just hope I make it back from the dark side!

First quarter I'm down by four, and from my perspective (remember I am on the dark side) the other team is too long in the key, and they are getting paint points out of it. So, I ask the refs to watch three seconds. Ref tells me they are teaching in the first quarter and they will tighten up if the boys don't respond. I reply that they are getting points in the mean time, and I would prefer they enforce the rule. This resulted in three straight 3-second calls on my guys. I complain and get my first ever warning from a ref. So, I shut up for the rest of the game.

But, all the yelling about three seconds has its effect. The other team stops camping, and by the end of the second I am up by ten.

Is this the way it is supposed to work? Coaches push referees to the limits to influence the game in their favor, and as long as they don't cross the magic T line, it is part of the game?

The refs were decent overall. There was one inadvertent call where the ref called a technical for six players on the floor and then counted and there were only five. It happened with a shot in the air (not the best time to make this call, IMHO) and they counted the shot on the inadvertent whistle. I need to look this up and see if this is correct.

After the game, I asked what association they were from and they gave me a blank stare like "What's an association?" I thanked them and moved on, but I think our county rec has come up with their own test, and these guys are not actually NFHS certified.