Talking to Players & Coaches

[ChuckElias]

Originally posted by LepTalBldgs
1. Do you say "Sorry I kicked it"

Nope.

or "that wasn't my best call",

Better, but not one I use personally.

or "I may have missed that one"

This is probably the best of the three, in my opinion. I will generally tell a coach what I saw, and if he disagrees, then I say, "If that's the way it happened, Coach, then I missed it." It doesn't admit that you're wrong, but you are recognizing that it may have been questionable.

2. When my partner calls a questionable foul and we line up to shoot, I've had players slide over to me as T and say, "Hey, you saw that wasn't a foul, right?". What do you say?

If I got a decent look at it, and I think it was a decent call, I will generally say, "I had the same call". If I didn't have a good look, or if I don't think it was a decent call, I'll say, "I didn't see it, but you can ask my partner. S/he won't mind telling you what s/he saw." I don't think that's selling out my partner, but it doesn't make me stick up for a questionable call.

3. If my partner calls something in my primary I've had a player say "That was your area", or "He wasn't supposed to call that". I have said "He may have seen something I didn't". Is there anything else to say?

I think that's all you can say. If you didn't see it, then you have to assume (hope) that your partner did see it. So just say that. I think all the comments in the thread are pretty good. Remember that at lower level games, you're going to be working with lower level refs or newer refs. Try to work it out after the game, and not during the game. Sounds like you're doing pretty well.