"Team A, you have won the toss. You may defer your choice to the second half, or you may receive, kick, or defend a goal. What is your choice?"
I have never had a problem with responses when I pose it this way. Only at the junior high / middle school level will I question multiple times their choice other than defer/receive.
You want to kick the ball to them? Are you sure you want to give them the ball?
I have had only three instances in 17 years where the captain chose anything other than defer or receive.
- One time was with a completely uncoached JV captain. He insisted on defending because of the wind.
- The second time was a team (choosing defend) that was an absolute monster on defense. They actually had more points on defense than they did on offense.
- The third time was a team (choosing defend) with a strong passing game wanting to choose the wind.