The passive aggressive I'm not talking to you thread.
 

I'm ok with passing out a T for some accumulation of BS, provided there is at any point a tipping point that I can point to at say to my self they've had enough rope and a line has been crossed.

Do you have any experience with coaches that don't complain about calls or non calls directly but is clearly trying to work officials through instructions to their kids.

ie. "Challenge his footwork . . . its ok they'll catch it next time." "You have to fight through the holds/hand checks". "Just because he is hand fighting doesn't make it ok for you to get held up." etc.

We've got a local coach that this is apparently their new thing. Won't ask for clarification or openly complain to us about calls. However all game long is giving instructions/feedback to his players specific to the what he sees being called and not called. He's never actually been confrontational but I can only hear him tell his kids to keep playing or get tougher in light of something he sees as the other team getting away with before I feel like it has to get dealt with.

I would put this under the 'attempting to influence an official's decision' category of technical fouls.

I've heard coaches say similar things, I typically ignore them unless it's persistent.

And that is exactly what a bench conduct warning is for.

It is, in my opinion, the greatest rule change to be implemented by the NFHS in my 20 years of doing this...and not enough of us are using it enough.

Coach complaining about a call. Persistently. Well after the call.
Me: "Okay coach, move on."
Coach: More complaining
Gave him a warning.
Assistant to a player: "Huh... Must be a new rule."
Whacked him. I don't make passive aggressive comments to them so I'm not going to allow them to do it.

If a head coach is doing it, I'm going to tell him verbally that I've heard enough and record an official warning at the next dead ball. Undoubtedly, he'll play the "who me?" game, and I'll let him know he needs to find a different way to coach his kids. Next time he does it, I'm whacking him. I don't get paid enough to let a coach think they're smarter than me. I probably have less patience than many, but I deal with passive aggressive kids all day, I'm not interested in dealing with that crap from an adult in my hobby/second job.

Cagers ...
 

Interesting. May be worthy of an entire new thread, that will eventually be quite long.

Greatest Rule Change To Be Implemented By The NFHS In Past Twenty Years

Talk amongst yourselves.

Of course, we all know Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.'s least favorite rule change, when they put up the chicken wire around the basketball court. Before that rule change fans were always throwing beer bottles and soda bottles at him, that he collected to return for the bottle deposit to supplement is fledgling officiating income.

I have nothing if the coach is telling his players "get tougher", or "you're not going to get that call", or "I know he's holding you, you play through it, I'll handle the refs".

I do have a problem when they make disparaging remarks about us to their players or bench personnel. I will address those remarks, and not in a friendly manner. I have T'd up a couple of coaches in my career who were in "I wasn't talking to you" mode.

But I Wasn't Talking To You ...
 

Been there. Done that.

Usually the statement starts with the word, "But", as in, "But I wasn't talking to you".

The list in 10-5-1 is not meant to be exhaustive ("includes, but is not limited to"). If he thinks he's found some loophole, he's wrong.

"You encourage what you permit."

4-48: What a Tool. Let's Use It.
 

If this had a "Like" button I would click on it.

Funny to see this come up. I had this happen last weekend in a 6th grade girls game.

Early in the game, I thought I heard an assistant complaining about a no-call, but since I couldn't tell for sure without turning my back to the play, I let it go. Later in that quarter, an assistant clearly complained about what he thought was a missed travel, so I issued a bench warning. The head coached asked who it was on, so I replied, "The assistant complaining about the travel."

The HC tried to tell me the comment was a discussion between the coaches, but I wasn't buying it. I let the HC know assistants don't get to complain about the officiating. The message must have been loud and clear; I had no issues for the remainder of the game. :D