What coaching box?

[mick]

Local girls' 7th grade tournament.

Both new coaches are behaving themselves and are really into coaching, encouraging and directing, but I noticed they were basically walkin' and talkin' from midcourt to the end of the bench area.

During a stoppage, I turned to one of the coaches and asked if she was comfortable with where the coaching box was located. She said "The what?" I pointed about 12' upcourt and she said, "That's it!!?".

So, now I was obliged at the next earliest convenience to ask the other coach if she thought the coaching box was too small. She said, "What coaching box!??" I pointed it out about 8' down court and she said, "No one has ever said anything about that to me. I didn't even know about it."

Knowing how Jr.High ball is run, I believed everything these coaches told me, and they believed me, too. I watched with some amusement as they would stray a little and then the light would come on and they'd start looking for where they were supposed to be.

At the end of the game, I explained to one of the coaches, "Now that you know there is a coaching box, what you may want to do is to see how far you can stretch it's use without aggravating anyone."

(During a dead ball near a bench, somewhere in the middle of notification of the boxes and the end of the game, a cute little ballplayer asked, "Mr Referee? Why does my coach have to stand in one place? Is that special for this tournament?" (I think the coaching box as in front of her chair )

mick