[Rich]

Originally Posted by tnolan

negative.
but how about a productive discussion about dealing with assistants...
we were discussing this today and i'm not sure of the OP's reasoning for asking, but there is a big gray area with assistant coaches.

i'd like to think that most have a job to do, else they wouldn't be there, and if approached in a kindly manner, with a legitimate question...i want to believe that they are asking for the benefit of the team and head coach while he/she could be busy coaching or instructing in a timeout. in cases like this, i think a lot of officials are quick to treat them like crap just because they are assistants and don't give them the time of day.
but obviously, there is zero to no tolerance for assistants that want to try to officiate or berate officials from the bench as the OP asked. but in those cases, sometimes officials can go the opposite way and completely ignore that because of the fact that they are assistants and don't give them the time of day, no matter what they do. here, it's our responsibility to 'nip that in the bud' and take care of business.
stop it when it starts or you'll be listening to it all game.

I'll answer a polite question from anyone, but I will not spend a minute dealing with an assistant who wants to argue. Second the question turns into that, I'm done with him/her the rest of the game.