[Toren]

I'm in my 2nd varsity year, so I'm a newer official.

I would say try things. Especially in the off season. During season like we are right now, I didn't say much my first year. I acknowledged a lot of comments at first with a nod but very rarely said anything.

In the off season, I tried conversing more and sometimes I found I overstepped and said far too much. Sometimes I found that I didn't say enough.

I saw my mentor, yesterday, in a game and he did something I never even thought about doing. Three man mechanics, we rotate opposite table as the calling official, but he simply said to his partner "I'm staying" and he had a brief discussion with the coach. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but it didn't matter, he acknowledged the coach and then addressed it. I did hear what the coach said, he nodded and said "I understand that" and then walked away.

Generally for me I would just talk to coaches when I was on their sideline and they had a question. But now if there's ever a dicey play that needs immediate intervention from preventing a blow up, I think I will try this tactic.