Quote:
Originally Posted by tomegun
I'm honestly not sure if I think asking the OP's question is baiting or not, but is threatening a kid a better way to handle it?
Plus, what are you going to say if the kid says, "no matter what you do, I'm not watching the rest of the game from the parking lot so you are wrong with that!" The kid would be correct.
So, a 14 year old JV player can mumble things under their breath, but a 14 year old varsity player can "back talk"? Got it. Here I was thinking all high school kids should practice the proper sportsmanship.
Call me crazy, but sometimes those "rare occasions"  serve two purposes: 1) get me home sooner during a long season and 2) allow me to work with a younger official. Both positives for the association in my little corner of the silver state.  |
1) Perhaps I embellished a little bit with the "watching the game from the parking lot." I've never actually said that to a kid. And that's why I said say "something to the effect of..."
But the point, that others seem to get, is not to threaten but to let them know that there are consequences if they choose to say certain things. From experience and feel you will find out the exact words that work for you. If I did actually say "watching the game from the parking lot" and the kid responded like you said, I would just say, "ok, we'll see" and leave it at that. That's the second point. Once you engage the kid, its REALLY hard to give a T at that point unless they just say something outrageous. So again, you have to figure out what words work for you. And from observation and experience, "What did you say" rarely works for anyone.
2) Either you missed the point or I was not clear in the distinction between how I handle players talking in varsity games vs sub varsity/rec. The point is that in varsity games, I don't hear as much talk from players because they have more to lose and are more mature. Once they start talking a simple, "#12 play ball", works almost every time. At the other levels, kids are less mature and have less to lose, so simply saying, "play ball" doesnt always get the point across. So I have found that in order to nip it in the bud I have a shorter leash with these kids. If that doesnt make sense to you then so be it.
3) I don't know why you
at my "rare occasions" comment as if it somehow offends you. There is nothing wrong with anybody working games on any level. It's all a matter of personal choice. I simply stated, as a matter of fact, that it is a rare occasion for me to work sub-varsity level games right now. I use to work those games all the time. In fact, that's how I fed myself as a grad student. And I will still help out our rec assigner whenever he asks and I'm able. But it's my choice to rarely work those games as I do not enjoy working them nearly as much. If you do, for whatever the reason may be, then good for you. But no need to roll your eyes in response to me stating the frequency that I work certain levels.