[Adam]

Originally Posted by CoachJW

I'm a varsity boys coach. I run into a consistent problem during games and I would like your advice on how to approach this with officials respectfully and productively.

My point guard is a small kid, but he is quicker and stronger than 95% of the guys guarding him. We run the popular dribble-drive offense and he's constantly penetrating. To defend him, our opponents have to hand check, bump, and push him. When they get away with it just a little, the next possession they do it more. And then a little more. And since the kid is physically able to withstand the pressure, he doesn't get knocked down...but he's obviously unable to get where he wants to go, and it isn't because he's being legally guarded.

There are games where the officials start off calling it tight, but when they see the scoreboard say that the fouls are 4-0 in mid-first quarter, they back off on the whistles and my opponent can resort to whatever tactics they want. I see this problem as twofold: the officials consciously or subconsciously don't want to "be here all night" by putting one team in the bonus that early, AND they want the fans to see that the game is being called fairly by making the fouls closer on the scoreboard. In both cases the rulebook is thrown out the window and we lose our advantage.

The bottom line is that I feel my player is punished for simply being tougher and stronger than his opponents, and the result is that our advantage in the game (in this case, having the best player on the court that almost nobody can guard) is not maximized. The officials are a big part of this, as all they need to do is call the game according to the rules, and this kid will either make his living at the free throw line 20 times a night, or he'll score at will, or the opponent will have no choice but to adjust and back off of him. The officials seem to consistently feel that it's their job to adjust to my opponent, not the other way around.

How should I communicate this issue with officials before or during my games? Do you have advice on how to deal with the officiating crew that does not seem to see this player through the same lens as everybody else on the floor?

Thank you, I appreciate your taking the time to read my post. To give some more context to the circumstances, I'm a fairly polite guy with officials--perhaps to a fault--and my players generally follow my lead on that. So none of this strikes me as officials holding a grudge against me or my team due to a personality clash. I really just want to know what to tell them or how to explain my argument in such a way that will help them call the game fairly.

First of all, this is all conjecture. Unless the officials tell you these things, which I highly doubt, then you have no idea what they're thinking or why things may change in the course of a game.

Secondly, I would do as has been suggested: send a tape to the person who assigns games and ask for his honest feedback. You may be surprised at the response.