Pregame festivities

[SC Official]

Originally Posted by Scooby

While the are differences between the the classroom and sports, they are not totally separate. This is from the NFHS website, so they appear to believe that sports is an extension of the classroom.

"It is understandable that the first responsibility of principals and superintendents is to hire the best possible person for classroom instruction. However, many also agree that the playing field, gym and auditorium are extensions of the classroom. This means a coach’s selection, preparation and continued professional development is equally as important as novice teacher preparation."

Great, that is for the coaches and administrators to adhere to. That statement is as much political theater as it is reality. Sport is sport, at the end of the day.

My expectations of sportsmanship are not based on any sort of "the court is an extension of the classroom" lip service. And I wouldn't be caught dead saying that in a pregame meeting.

To each his own.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by SC Official

My expectations of sportsmanship are not based on any sort of "the court is an extension of the classroom" lip service.

It's not just lip service here in Connecticut. On court, on field, unsporting conduct is not only handled by the on court, on field, officials, and the state interscholastic sports governing body, it's also handled by the school principal, or assistant principal, which in severe cases, can lead to a student athlete being suspended not only from an athletic contest, or a sports team, but also suspended from school, or subject to some other school disciplinary actions outside the realm of athletics.

Same thing can happen to kids on the debate team that violate curfew on overnight trips, or kids in the fishing club that decide to have a few beers on a fishing trip. Or the French club, or the drama club, etc.

These are extracurricular school activities, "extra", but still school activities, paid for out of the Board of Education budget. Some school systems call these co-curricular school activities.

After over thirty years in the classroom here in Connecticut, involved with both sports, and non-sports, school activities, these activities are definitely an extension of the classroom and the school day.

Compare the sportsmanship shown by coaches and players in interscholastic games to the sportsmanship shown by same in recreation, travel, AAU games, etc. Not even close.

Of course the usual caveat, when in Rome ...

[SC Official]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

It's not just lip service here in Connecticut...

But it still has nothing to do with how I enforce sportsmanship. In the rare event I work "offseason" ball I'm just as, if not more, strict on misbehavior. If a principal/AD doesn't like the way a player or coach is acting, that is not my problem. So that phrase isn't really relevant to me.

Heck, you don't hear that phrase at the college level and on average I think college coaches behave better than high school coaches. At the very least they're more intelligent and know how to pick their spots and interact with officials. And college officials are less hesitant to issue technical fouls than high school officials, in my experience.

[ODog]

In my state, we're lucky on two fronts:
1.) We don't have 30-second timeouts
2.) Coaches aren't involved in the captains' meeting

Mine is …
"Mr. X, Mr. Y and Mr. Z. No taunting, no BS, if you have questions during the game, let's talk to each other just like we're talking right now. Any questions (never)? Anything partners want to add (never)? Have fun."

20 seconds max.

[frezer11]

Originally Posted by ODog

In my state, we're lucky on two fronts:
1.) We don't have 30-second timeouts

I didn't know this was true in any state at any level. What state are you in? How does the timeout structure work?

[SC Official]

I don't do the "let us know 30 or 60" thing during pregame. The coaches know all that stuff already, and me reminding them isn't going to all of a sudden make them better about it if they tend to forget.

"Everyone legally equipped? Have a good game."

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by SC Official

I don't do the "let us know 30 or 60" thing during pregame. The coaches know all that stuff already, and me reminding them isn't going to all of a sudden make them better about it if they tend to forget.
...

They'll remember the first time they get charged a full (errr, 60 second) time-out when they only wanted a 30.

I tell my younger charges that instead asking over and over again, just pay attention to what the players do when they get to the bench area. If they sit, charge a full (my bad, 60), if they stay standing, charge a 30. Too many officials are in a rush to report the time-out; let the teams clear each other and use some common sense. It's also why I keep track of what type of time-outs the teams have remaining. Once they've used up their 30's, no need in me asking or wondering.

[ODog]

Originally Posted by frezer11

I didn't know this was true in any state at any level. What state are you in? How does the timeout structure work?

Massachusetts. Five 60-second timeouts for high school.

May sound like a lot, but in my experience at other levels that have them, 30-second timeouts are bogus and all end up being pretty close to "full" anyway.

[bas2456]

Originally Posted by ODog

Massachusetts. Five 60-second timeouts for high school.



May sound like a lot, but in my experience at other levels that have them, 30-second timeouts are bogus and all end up being pretty close to "full" anyway.

Only if you let them.


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[Raymond]

Originally Posted by ODog

Massachusetts. Five 60-second timeouts for high school.

May sound like a lot, but in my experience at other levels that have them, 30-second timeouts are bogus and all end up being pretty close to "full" anyway.

Only if officials aren't doing their jobs.