Pre-Game Captains Meeting

[bainsey]

Originally Posted by Rich

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."

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.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by bainsey

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.

[crosscountry55]

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.