Coaches who are also Officials

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by deecee

I use an honest approach when a coach tries to inform me he is an official or that his kids will be playing XYZ style. I look at him and say "I don't care." and walk away. It sets a horrible tone for allowing those types of conversations and makes it clear I'm there to officiate. I have found that coaches that like to remind us these things are usually the biggest pains in the butt.

I've decided that for now on my response will be "I used to coach, and I was a strong, physical post player".

[Valley Man]

I am on the opposite of this story actually.

Loved learning the rules of basketball as I first started out as a coach One season we failed to attend the clinic so I had to take the test. Scored well, but found out I needed to learn more than the basics! 21 seasons later I got out of coaching and some officials recruited me. Just finished my 5th year with a whistle.

[LRZ]

Coach: "I'm a ref...."

Me: "Not tonight you're not."

[justacoach]

+1
Great line

Are you Mark Padgett's understudy?

[Stat-Man]

A few years back, I had a CYO coach that told my partner and me he also officiated. I was largely indifferent over the revelation. In a different game I officiated with his team later that year, I had to wonder about his training when I called what turned out to the 5th foul on one of his players and he insisted I couldn't call a PC foul on his player because the defender was under the basket.

On the other side of this perspective, I've captained an adult kickball team in one of our area's social clubs in recent years. Should I need to approach the umpire about a rule issue or concern, I do everything I can to avoid mentioning that I'm also state-registered in softball and I try to treat the umpire as I'd want to be treated should a coach/captain have a question or concern to address with me when I'm officiating a game. I'd rather not become the discussion topic of one of these posts if I can help it.

[justacoach]

[QUOTE=he insisted I couldn't call a PC foul on his player because the defender was under the basket.[/QUOTE]


Obviously, he assumed you would divine he was an NCAA official and forgive his confusion...

[RefsNCoaches]

I coached my own daughter for a number of years (she's a JR now and has since stopped playing) but I still work with our local youth program and our V Coach with summer camps and our travel team evals)....I started calling games prior to my kid starting to play.

As she moved into travel hoops, the league we played in, I was also a ref for for a few years prior. Most of the guys that called my games, I had worked with so I never had and never would tell another guy during the heat of the game, "I'm a ref/official also"...

My demeanor and how I speak to guys officiating my games will let them know I know what I'm talking about. When I have a question, it's using terms like Lead, Trail, legal guarding position etc...

I know first hand what the guys in stripes are going through. Especially at lower level where it's a mess....I don't need help from the bench when reffing and I am not going to make an a$$ out of myself when coaching. I've got kids watching me and I set the example for how I want my parents and players to act/react.

Truthfully, I'm so focused on my kids while coaching them in game that I don't really allow myself to focus on the calls...they are what they are and as we all know, no amount of complaining about a call you disagree with will make the guy with the whistle have some epiphany and change his/her mind.

I'm a far better coach because I have officiated and I think I'm a better official because I have spent time on the bench. Having the perspective from both sides has served me well in both roles over the years.