What's in a name???

[jeffpea]

As a former assistant college basketball coach-turned referee, I can tell you that calling officials by name was a common occurrence. It was one of my duties to jot down the name of each official during pre-game introductions so that the head coach could use it later on. It didn't matter if it was DIII or DI - using the name of an official when talking to him is a standard practice.

As an official, we are in the "people business". We need to communicate with our partners, the scorers table, players and coaches. To run a smooth game, you are going to have to resolve conflict, prevent problems, have a feel for the tempo/tenor of the game. The best way to do that is by communicating. We're both going to be here for the next 2hrs, so why not have a working relationship. I don't have to like the coach, but we certainly need to work together. If I'm talking to a coach, I want to use his name; it creates an feeling of "approachability". I want a coach to talk to me, not yell at me. A coach just wants to know that you are willing listen to what he has to say - within reason, of course.