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We were in Branson this past weekend when I found myself standing right behind the official who was at half court. We were both facing the court. In a normal speaking voice, I asked if he could watch for moving screens and the man went off on me! He said "YOU COULD CALL A MOVING SCREEN ON EVERY PLAY! YOU COULD CALL A MOVING SCREEN ON EVERY PLAY IN THE NBA!" I said, ok it was just a question.
Four minutes later we were defending a fast break when one of my girls began directing the ball to the sideline where I was standing. With little to no contact, the ball handler slightly stepped on the out of bounds line, no call, she then dribbled on the line, no call. She again stepped on the line and the wistle blew. BLOCKING FOUL! As the official was informing the score table I calmly and quietly bent over and pointed (touched) the sideline with my index finger. I never said a word and he lit me up!
NWA I applaud your desire to want to gain more insight into the refereeing aspect of the game. I have been on both sides at different times and have found that my experience in both areas has made me a better referee and and a better coach.
From a purely refereeing perspective on this situation and trying to determine what occurred and why it occurred, my first question regarding the contact deals with, was your defender in a legal guarding position. If she was in a legal guarding position and the offense created the contact then you have a legitimate question. Now of course, lets remember that these are 5th and 6th grade girls. At their skill level, often times the slightest contact causes an impediment to their speed, agility, and quickness. In this scenario, if your defender had not established a legal guarding position, and even though there was "little contact" the offensive players agility was impeded causing her to dribble and/or step out of bounds.
Now with that being said, the majority of officials you are going to get at this level are not going to look at this play in this way. As has already been mentioned, many of them are first or second year guys who have worked several games over the same weekend. Tournaments like this become a survival match for them just to make it through. This does not mean that I condone their actions, however I have empathy for their plight and their skill level. All of us who have been officials for several years can remember those days.
Now the question is how to approach these situations. As an official, what impresses me about a coach is the way in which they ask questions. That lets me know their understanding of the rules of the game the way they are written. Based on the way you stated your first question regarding moving screens become, there is nothing illegal about a screener who is moving until they make contact. Hawkscoach was right about being more descript by giving numbers. A general statement about watching moving screens tells me that there are 10 players out there who might be setting "moving screens". If you say "make sure red #20 is setting a legal screen" it makes me think that you see something specific I need to look at. Now, don't be surprised if it is a 50/50 screen the next time down the floor if I don't call it, because I don't want anyone who might have heard our conversation to think that you talked me into the foul, however I will give a good look at it and possibly even tell you that she's legal.
With the bump, out of bounds play, I've already given you the "legal guarding position" phrase, but you have put the official in a bad position by making an overt gesture to be seen by all. First or second year guys are already trying to establish themselves and are very conscious about appearing as though they are in control. As they gain more experience and skill, they will learn that the perception of control will come through in other ways. As Chuck described how he would have handled the situation he doesn't need to whack you in that situation to display his game management skills. But what you have done is put the official in a position of losing or saving face, or so it may seem to him, so you may want to be aware of what type of official you have. Secondly, on this play, as a coach it becomes more impressive to me as an official if you realize that if your defender had definitely beaten the offense to a spot and gotten her foot out of bounds, there is no way an official could have called it a block then. You are able to communicate to the official through your player your understanding of the rules and what it takes to get that close bang bang call.
I hope this has been helpful, and not just some random ramblings.
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