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Old Sat Jan 31, 2015, 11:03am
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Adam Adam is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2003
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crosscountry55 View Post
While I'm not a big fan of this thread (I'm a softy like Rich), I do want to address the "official warning" for those that have inquired. You won't find it in the rule book, but after subtle and/or private dealings with the HC prove fruitless and their behavior starts to grind on the crew, you stop the game and issue an "official warning." This is done openly and verbally so that the coach, the table and your partner all know what's up. After I'm done with the coach, for example, I turn to the table and say loudly, "This coach has been warned." Some college assignors even mandate a footnote in the book when this is done. Bottom line, it's a last chance for the coach to recognize he's out of rope, and it helps you CYA if you have to whack him later, because it's not like everyone in the gym won't have seen it coming.

Another tool for your kit. Lots of times coaches enjoy finding out what your threshold is, so this kind of public reprimand without penalizing satisfies them and shuts them up. Often very effective.
Unless mandated to do so, I'd avoid this.

1. This sets coaches up to think the warning is necessary. It's not.
2. I prefer to warn the coach quietly rather than showing him up in front of the entire gym. We don't want him showing us up, so I try to extend the same courtesy. There are plenty of opportunities to update my partners. We pregame this, if one of us warns the coach, let the others know so he doesn't end up getting three warnings.
3. I'm not worrying about covering my ass. Every T here comes with a report that takes about 10 minutes (at most). My report is sufficient CYA.
4. I've generally had more success with the private chat than the public reprimand. I've had quite a few private chats that result in the coach admitting, "I'm just trying to get what I can." I normally respond with, "I know, Bill."
5. A quiet "coach, I've heard you, we need to move on" is most effective for me. The coach knows he's got to stop, and if he doesn't, we'll shoot some free throws.
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