Coaches who are also Officials

[justacoach]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

1. He grabbed a teenager?!?!? Should have been ejected from the venue immediately.

More like tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. His yelling didn't work as the ref is good at tuning out coaches.

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

I have a slightly different perspective regarding a Head Coach who is also a registered basketball official. So please bear with my comments.

I graduated from high school in 1969 and became an OhioHSAA registered basketball official in 1971. I immediately joined the Trumbull Co. Bkb. Off. Assn. and have been a member of the TCBOA ever since even the four years I attended college in Miami and the two years years I lived in Glendale, California.

My high school basketball coach was an OhioHSAA registered basketball official from 1948 (while he was attending Youngstown State University) until 1971. He was the boys' VAR basketball coach at my high school from 1951 to 1971, during which his teams were state runner-up once, regional champions once, district champions three times, sectional champions 17 times, and league champions 15 times (I played on two of those league and sectional championship teams).

Of all of his players (including his two sons and me) people always picked me to most likely become a basketball coach. And yet I was the only one of all his players that put on the striped shirt. He was a founding member of the TCBOA in 1948 and he was the reason I became a basketball official.

He was always asked why he, a basketball coach, was also a registered basketball official, and his response was always the same: "How can you teach someone how to play the game if you do not know the rules."

His best example of his philosophy was guarding and screening. Three times a season the FR, JV, and VAR teams would practice together and the whole practice was dedicated to learning how to guard and screen per the rule book. If one were to have sat in the stands one would have thought that he was watching a basketball officiating camp. He taught players how to guard and screen right out of the rule book. He would read the pertinent section of the rule book and then have us guard and screen per the rule book.

I can honestly tell people that the guarding and screening rules as well as the traveling rules have not changed for over 50 years because I have been able to literally quote chapter and verse since I was a FR in high school.

We are required to officiate the game as if the players and the coaches know the rules. I have always officiated that way because I had a coach that taught us to know the rules and to play per the rules.

MTD, Sr.

[Adam]

6th grade travel ball (MAYB) a couple of years ago. First game, I oversaw the replacement of both the dads at the table because they couldn't stop fighting with each other.

Last game, close contested game, and team down by a few late decides to start fouling. Defender walks right up to the kid with the ball, puts two hands in his chest and shoves. Easy X.

After the game (travel league, so my bag was at the table) the coach starts telling me I shouldn't have called that at that point in the game. Some dad walks up, proceeds to tell me he works college ball, and that it was the wrong call.

I tuned them all out at that point, changed my shoes, and walked out. At least that's how I remember it.

[ODog]

ANY time a coach I don't know feels the need to bring up his officiating credentials, it elicits one of two responses from me:

1.) If it's before the game, I nod politely and note him as a potential problem child with a short leash.
2.) If it's in the heat of battle and he begins a sentence with "I'm an official and ..." I stop him right there and say, "I'm sure somebody lets you ref games somewhere, but you're no official."

Anyone in general who claims to be an official (coach, parent, fan) as an opener to arguing with the officials is an embarrassment to the profession and a total clown.

[ChuckS]

Originally Posted by ODog

Anyone in general who claims to be an official (coach, parent, fan) as an opener to arguing with the officials is an embarrassment to the profession and a total clown.

Exactly! Which was why these two experiences were so surprising to me. . . I kept thinking that of all people, THEY should know better.

[Multiple Sports]

The

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

Ole Scott Foster is a Legend up and down Virginia.

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

Hey stop insulting my guy....!!!!!!

[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.

[Rich]

I coached softball for 2 summers.

I had the hardest time with umpires who clearly were pulling things out of their backsides. But I never, ever told them I was an umpire. It just wouldn't help.

I got ejected once each summer. In both cases, it was an umpire who decided that he was above answering any questions whatsoever and decided the easiest way to deal with me was to make me go away.

When one found out I was an assigner for HS softball, he tried to talk his way back into my good graces the next day. That made things even worse in the end.

[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.