Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper, 1983) ...
 

Not me, it's always "Have fun".

We greet the coaches at 1:30. It's a "walk by" and the R asks the head coach if his players are legally attired.

No reason to combine the meetings.

In Missouri, head coaches required to be at captains meeting. I prefer to just address the small coaches stuff then.


I wish I had a cool signature

Tonight I said, "The IHSA requires that I mention sportsmanship. More importantly, Santa is coming this week and you don't want to be on the wrong list."

Ha!! I've been saying that all month, or at least something about Santa is watching so be good sports.


I wish I had a cool signature

First and foremost, have fun tonight.
Respect the game.
Respect your opponents.
Respect us as your referees.
If you have any questions during the game feel free to ask and we will give you a quick answer and then we'll move on.
Any questions now?
Good luck. Have fun.

Quick introductions with Mr._______ being our names

Tell captains that they may respectfully ask questions during the game

Tell captains they are in charge of their team on the floor and that I would appreciate if they would take care of any issues. If I have to take care of them, we shoot free throws.

Verify with the coaches that the teams are legally equipped

My captain's meeting goes like this.

"We expect good sportsmanship. Any questions?"

With coaches its a "hi" and "good luck"

NY state forces pregame sportsmanship meeting with both teams at half court. Waste of time and it doesn't really change anything.

It would be a cold day in hell before I'd introduce myself as "Mr." anything.

I've had partners do that....I usually jump in and say, "I'm Rich."

Of course I also call all coaches by their first names, as well.

If my partner says "hi I'm rich" I always interject with "I'm poor. That's why I'm here calling this game instead of at home watching Simpsons reruns"


I wish I had a cool signature

Fellow grammarian, I've debated with others whether indefinite pronouns (everyone/no-one) are singular or plural. Some say both. Upon looking at what I typed, I don't like it, either. I'm sticking with singular.

You might be inadvertantly undermining your partners by doing this. I can see this if you're officiating your peers, but high school kids? Just like teachers and administrators, there's a level of respect that comes with the officiating position.

Well, I was kidding, mainly.

Actually, we don't do the whole, "Hi, this is....." thing. If someone does that at a captain's meeting, I don't hear it, cause usually when we're not the R, we leave the meeting after the introductions and go back to our pregame spots.

I introduce myself to the captains as I'm shaking their hands, one at a time. I'm still Rich, though.

I'm wearing stripes and I'm 30 years older than the players. If that's not enough to get some level of respect, forcing them to call me "Mr. LastName" isn't going to do it.

I know I've said this before and I'll say it again. I wish I didn't have to do any meetings. That said, if you have to meet with the Captains, make the most of it by:

1. Recognizing that their attention span will be 30 seconds at best. They want to get back to warming up. So keep it brief.

2. Quick blurb about new rules or POEs (in Nov/Dec only; drop it after the New Year).

3. Make a quick quip, or do something else that's probably out of the ordinary to make them smile. The Santa bit mentioned above was great. I've seen other examples. Bottom line is if they see you as an enjoyable adult to be on the court with instead of some strict authority figure, paradoxically you're less likely to be resisted and thus you'll be treated with more respect. Get the players on your side. Your game will be better.

Why do you have to jump in like it's a contest? Just say "I'm Rich" when they get to you without thinking you're better than you partner for using your first name.

I don't know coaches names. From me, kids get "Mr. A-hole", coaches get "Imma".