Coaches Behavior

[JRutledge]

I think at the high school level, it is getting worse for some time. I think part of it is because we have a generation of kids that are not held accountable for a lot of things and the adults seem to be dealing with that generation blaming us/officials for things we would have never been even thought to be accused of before. When I was a player I could not even address the officials about anything. That is what the coach was for. But instead we have coaches that allow their players to say all kinds of things to us and if we as adults address them directly, we get "Well he is the captain" or "You should be able to talk to him" BS. And I think part of that is we have adults afraid to address their kids in a certain way because then they might have to deal with parents that feel their kids can do no wrong, so it often comes to their behavior as the coach to not address things they once would do without question. Often times the issues that I see are issues with players and their behavior. Coaches never seem to suggest their player did something wrong and it must be something about us that made us call the foul or penalize their players.

Peace

[griblets]

I have had the exact opposite experience this year. I've never had a season with coaches as calm as this year. Coaches have been cordial in every game I've worked this year, even in the tightly contested games. Maybe it's because I work in a small association and see the coaches on a regular basis.

[ODog]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I think at the high school level, it is getting worse for some time. I think part of it is because we have a generation of kids that are not held accountable for a lot of things and ...

... those kids are gradually becoming coaches. Each season, as the old guard retires/moves on, they are being replaced by many in their late 20s/early 30s who were at least partially raised in the climate of which you speak.

I am (relatively) young in the scheme of things, and I'm starting to notice that I'm older and more experienced than many of the head coaches in our area; whereas when I started, there were many more longstanding (and generally, older) coaches who are dropping by the wayside just by natural attrition.

So yes, it has gotten worse and will continue.

[SC Official]

The younger (20s/30s) coaches in my area are the ones that seem to act up the most.

[Multiple Sports]

I'm not sure if the coaches are getting better ( or worse ) at the high school level. I also work HS softball and soccer and I do notice that the non teachers seem to be more of a problem. We have a lot of non teachers especially in softball and they seem to want to argue everything and have very poor rule knowledge....

It's been more fan behavior for me. I've thrown out several fans this year, 2 in HS contests. In all cases they were making direct, personal comments to me and the ref crew. And somehow refs I talk to still think I shouldn't have done it cuz they didn't use profanity, they only made comments like "you're terrible", "you're cheating our girls", and "you should be ashamed of yourself". Sorry fan, I don't get paid enough to listen to that. In both cases I threw out the worst offender and no one said a word after that. Yet somehow I'm the bad guy.

[Smitty]

Originally Posted by AremRed

It's been more fan behavior for me. I've thrown out several fans this year, 2 in HS contests. In all cases they were making direct, personal comments to me and the ref crew. And somehow refs I talk to still think I shouldn't have done it cuz they didn't use profanity, they only made comments like "you're terrible", "you're cheating our girls", and "you should be ashamed of yourself". Sorry fan, I don't get paid enough to listen to that. In both cases I threw out the worst offender and no one said a word after that. Yet somehow I'm the bad guy.

You had fans thrown out for that??? Wow. You wouldn't last very long here if you can't ignore that...

Originally Posted by Smitty

You had fans thrown out for that??? Wow. You wouldn't last very long here if you can't ignore that...

Here’s the guy I’m talking about!

But no, I don’t throw fans out every time they say a negative comment. These were fans who went out of their way to directly confront me or a partner. They can boo all they want or bitch about the foul count, but once they get personal like that all bets are off. They don’t pay their $5 to just come and harass me all night.

[pfan1981]

Originally Posted by Smitty

You had fans thrown out for that??? Wow. You wouldn't last very long here if you can't ignore that...

Maybe game admin should be doing their job. Have fans forgotten they are there to cheer for the teams?

[Paintguru]

It's funny, this is my first year as a HS b-ball referee, but I've been doing soccer (HS & club) for 20 years. I honestly can't believe how much better coaches and especially players are in b-ball games vs. soccer when it comes to dissent. Granted, I'm only doing JV/Freshman games, so perhaps Varsity is different. Sure, there are coaches that whine and complain, but it is nothing compared to soccer.

Fans are another story though; they're all bad.

[Terrapins Fan]

So far, I have called 5 technical fouls. 2 on players at the jv level. 2 on assistant coaches and 1 on a varsity HC.

Last season I called 3 and worked more games. I am only half way through my season.

The technical foul on the head coach was the most surprising one, he just laid into me 3 consecutive times down the floor and I got tired of listening to him. His last comment was "blow your whistle and call the foul", and I did exactly what he asked me to do.

His frustration came because his team was shooting about 20% from the floor and being out rebounded 3 to 1, that's not my fault.

[CJP]

Originally Posted by AremRed

It's been more fan behavior for me. I've thrown out several fans this year, 2 in HS contests. In all cases they were making direct, personal comments to me and the ref crew. And somehow refs I talk to still think I shouldn't have done it cuz they didn't use profanity, they only made comments like "you're terrible", "you're cheating our girls", and "you should be ashamed of yourself". Sorry fan, I don't get paid enough to listen to that. In both cases I threw out the worst offender and no one said a word after that. Yet somehow I'm the bad guy.

Kudos to you for doing the right thing.

[Smitty]

Originally Posted by AremRed

It's been more fan behavior for me. I've thrown out several fans this year, 2 in HS contests. In all cases they were making direct, personal comments to me and the ref crew. And somehow refs I talk to still think I shouldn't have done it cuz they didn't use profanity, they only made comments like "you're terrible", "you're cheating our girls", and "you should be ashamed of yourself". Sorry fan, I don't get paid enough to listen to that. In both cases I threw out the worst offender and no one said a word after that. Yet somehow I'm the bad guy.

Originally Posted by CJP

Kudos to you for doing the right thing.

Is this common around the country? Maybe it's just here then, but I would get laughed at and then reprimanded if I tried to remove fans for this kind of nonsense. Only personal threats and/or profanity, or someone who is over the top beligerent is worthy of fan removal here. And we have game administration take care of it. We are not to directly interact with fans at all.

[SD Referee]

Originally Posted by AremRed

It's been more fan behavior for me. I've thrown out several fans this year, 2 in HS contests. In all cases they were making direct, personal comments to me and the ref crew. And somehow refs I talk to still think I shouldn't have done it cuz they didn't use profanity, they only made comments like "you're terrible", "you're cheating our girls", and "you should be ashamed of yourself". Sorry fan, I don't get paid enough to listen to that. In both cases I threw out the worst offender and no one said a word after that. Yet somehow I'm the bad guy.

For saying those things? You either need to grow a thicker skin or trim your elephant ears.

There's always an idiot in the crowd saying "that's terrible", among other things. Why give them the satisfaction by letting them know you not only hear them, but it also bothers you and throw them out. They are making themselves look like idiots and the rest of the crowd recognizes it too.

Usually I will just smile/laugh so that the idiot can see me. It really makes them mad because there is nothing they can do about it.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by SD Referee

For saying those things? You either need to grow a thicker skin or trim your elephant ears.

Just awful that an official would make these recommendations.

I assign for 24 schools at the varsity level. I would back any official who had an idiot removed for any reason. Maybe if more people got thrown out, the behavior at these events would improve.

"Thicker skin" and "elephant ears" are phrases normally thrown out by coaches, not officials.

Originally Posted by SC Official

A lot of times when I hear officials tell fellow officials they need “thicker skin,” it’s code for “I don’t handle business when I need to and I let too much bad behavior go.”

Bingo.