More like a snicker, if you will?

Yeah, just being condescending. Like I've said on here before, I look a lot younger than I am (sorry for the humblebrag) so I catch a lot of this crap from guys that have never had me. Most of the ones that have had me are pretty good to me. I also want to keep getting more V games, so I don't want to be known as a guy that goes looking for T's.

I'm not a fan of the statement "Coach, control your bench". I'm not telling a coach what to do with is personnel. I will either directly tell an assistant his comments won't be tolerated or I will tell the coach his assistants do not have the same privileges he does. Most of the time my comments are directly to the AC.


What happens after that is on them.

It's not a humblebrag -- it's not an asset when it comes to officiating until you're old enough for people to know you've been around 20 years and still only look like you're in your late 20s.

Our partner last night looked like he's 14. He's a good official and will get even better, but you can tell it affects how people treat him.

I like this. My only thought is if you talk to an assistant he may talk back, then you have a problem that you may have avoided.

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I'm pretty much in the same boat. I'm 23. Many of the coaches around here have been coaching longer than I've been alive. They know who the newbies are and they're going to test them.

They're already talking, that's why I'm addressing them. It won't be a dialogue because I will be gone from the spot before they have a chance to respond.

That's my problem. So I have to be a little quicker otherwise I'll hear it all night. But I also have to be careful because I don't want to lose games because that's my only tool. So I try to be approachable and laid back but have a distinct line in the sand that if it's crossed I won't hesitate. How would I justify to an evaluator whacking a guy for snickering? Do you guys think it would make me look bad or would they know what I was trying to accomplish?

"I asked him to do something and he laughed at me."

I assign and I would *always* back you on this.

That's why I don't like to tell head coaches to "control their bench". There is no room for snickering when you tell the HC "I'm not tolerating any more comments from your assistants."

I tried talking to assistants and I didn't really like the results, but I also think there are infinitely better ways then saying, "control your bench." Too many ways for this to be taken wrong and the HC or AC to say something stupid where you regret even saying anything. I just run by with a question that gets my point across and I'm basically already gone before they've thought of an answer.

I usually tell the HC "Your assistant is about to cost you the box." It lets everyone know I hear the comments and gives the HC a chance to take care of business. I always try to walk the fine line between working with a coach and putting up with too much.

Last night in a close varsity girls game (3 officials)...after the 3rd quarter the crew got together and agreed we needed to have more whistles. The game started getting a little chippy in the middle of the third and even without talking to each other we started calling it a little tighter. A little more than two minutes into the 4th we have a held ball (I am C, table side, tie-up was FT line extended at the arc on the opposite side). Trail hits his whistle quickly on the held ball but immediately heads down court. Just as he turns the player on the team trailing by 3 pulls hard as she pivots her hips and flings the other player a good 6 feet (she does not hit the floor). I immediately call an unsporting T.

After I report the T, her coach asks the usual "What did she do?" I explain and squash his comment that she didn't hear the whistle and tell him "Now, we're done". As the free throws are being shot he keeps expressing his displeasure so I say "Coach, your team is still in this. Do you really want to keep going on about that call?" I knew I had, in my mind, just warned him but gave him the benefit of the doubt that he may not have taken it as a warning. It helped that he had said maybe three things to any of us all game up to that point.

Should I have whacked him...probably. But the point was made and the game finished without incident...and his team lost by 5 after some late free throws were made.

Is she still up there?

Pretty much all of you guys have given some great advice and great things to say that will handle the situation. Thanks! It's fun to learn how other guys handle things in the profession.

I like Rich's advice and I've used this myself at the sub-varsity level where the coaches probably aren't as experienced:

"Coach, your assistant is about to get a technical foul. That is going to cost YOU your coach's box." Provides a reminder of the incentive to keep his assistant's in line. That's probably not needed at the varsity level.

That isn't the type of comment to avoid. What you need to avoid are the ultimatums. "One more word and you're getting a T!" There's nothing wrong with being direct with a coach about how close he or his assistants are getting.

I also agree with BNR, I don't like to tell coach's how to handle their team.