Coach Berating Players

[JRutledge]

First of all these are all subjective classifications. I have not heard a single word or statement that was over the line or specific to know where the line might have been crossed. That would help. But telling me that a coach raised their voice and said some words is not enough. Even when the NF says something is profane or inappropriate, they are not speaking the same things for everyone. They certainly have never gotten specific. People love to say "If they use the F-word" but there are places that situations where other words would be inappropriate and that is not always clear to who and where those things would be considered over the line.

Again, stay out of that stuff. If this is a school environment, then someone in the school should be paying attention. I am not going around trying to figure out if a coach is doing their job appropriately to their standards. And I do not want to work with people that feel that is their job to do so. Because most of the time all you are going to do is have a he said, he said situation anyway.

Peace

[VaTerp]

Can we please stop with the "hiding in a corner or under the bleachers" nonsense. Staying within our jurisdiction as officials is not equivalent to hiding behind anything.

It would be helpful if the OP gave more specifics but the lack of details and the fact that the OP said he was searching for an opportunity to T the coach but couldnt find one leads me to believe that it was nothing more than the coach talking to kids in a way the OP personally found objectionable but that does not fall under anything that we as officials could or should do anything about.

For one, kids are much more resilient than many adults think. As a HS football player I heard HS football coaches say some of the worst things imaginable to me and other players. Somehow we survived and became relatively well adjusted adults. I've also worked with youth sports in different capacities than just an official. Kids will speak up, either directly or to others, when they don't like the way they are being talked to. Often when they are being talked to in a rather mild manner btw. If this is a persistent problem then I'd bet any amount of money that multiple parents, school administrators, etc are aware of the issue. Particularly if its happening in games where there are plenty of eyeballs to observe whats going on. They will deal with it accordingly and how they see fit.

It is not within our duties to tell the coach how to treat his players, even when we may personally find it objectionable, unless some pretty clear things are violated. I think MTD's examples are good guidance. Note that a T was not a remedy he used or sought.

Again, as officials we have no business injecting ourselves into the coach/player dynamic like this. And the negative consequences of doing so far outweigh any positives you think you are going to achieve.

[billyu2]

I agree. The decision to leave the situation alone is within our jurisdiction and should not have been equated with "crawling under the bleachers." I apologize for making that statement!