Team Control during a free throw?

[Raymond]

"2) If concise, ten word explanations prevented coach ejections, there would be far fewer coach ejections."

Yes, they do prevent technical fouls and ejections. The problem is a lot of officials don't know how to be direct and economical with their words and stay rooted in the rule book. And of course not knowing rules in the first place is part of the problem.

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[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Raymond

The problem is a lot of officials don't know how to be direct and economical with their words and stay rooted in the rule book. And of course not knowing rules in the first place is part of the problem.

Agree. But, unfortunately, they're still out there officiating, and are sometimes our partners.

But even our best "game management" officials still have to occasionally eject some coaches.

Just like we have some poor "game management" officials, we also have some poor "game management" coaches that end up being ejected despite the best "game management" practices of the best "game management" officials.

Especially here in Connecticut.

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Connecticut coaches are still ejected (too often according to the CIAC, which recently increased the ejection penalty from one game to two games, multiple ejections can lead to a $250 school fine and the team being barred from CIAC postseason competition) ...

I've been very lucky in my forty-plus year career.

I've never driven home from a game thinking, "I should have ejected that coach".

However, I will admit that I have driven home from a few games regretting not charging a few technical fouls.

Live and learn.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Just like we have some poor "game management" officials, we also have some poor "game management" coaches that end up being ejected despite the best "game management" practices of the best "game management" officials.

Officials have gotten better at "game management", so have many coaches.

Back when I was starting, not only were there "old school" officials who would purposely get into arguments with coaches with the intent to eventually eject them, but there were also many "old school"coaches who spent a considerable amount of time during the game, starting with the jump ball toss, "working" officials. They thought it was expected of them, as did their players, athletic directors, principals, parents, and fans, a normal part of their job.

But that's become, for the most part, thank God, a "lost art". Some, a few, still do it, but most interscholastic coaches spend most of their time during the game actually "coaching" their players, and only challenge officials for, what they consider to be, egregious calls.

Unfortunately, they often react to these egregious calls in egregious ways, resulting in technical fouls.

Instead of the "slow burn", "death by a thousand cuts", of "ancient times", it's become a "flash fire", "knife to the heart" situation.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

I will admit that I have driven home from a few games regretting not charging a few technical fouls. Live and learn.

From 2007:

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Girls varsity prep school tournament game. Visiting coach had been complaining about calls most of the first half. Nothing worth a technical foul, but just a constant "nag". Just before halftime a visiting player is fouled, she falls to the floor, injured and crying, certainly enough to beckon the coach onto the court. He comes onto the court with his trainer. The trainer tends to the injured player. The coach "tends to us" and takes this opportunity to complain to both of us that we're not calling enough fouls, we're doing a terrible job, etc., quietly, not yelling. We move away from him, and he proceeds to follow us, so we move farther away, he goes back to his player. This behavior would have and should have deserved a technical foul under any other circumstance, but my partner and I discussed it and decided that we did not want to make a big deal and call a technical foul while the the player was still in pain on the floor, making every one believe that we were more concerned about the coach than the player's painful injury, but that we would give the coach no more latitude and would call a technical foul the next time he complained. Wouldn't you have it, the coach never said "boo" the entire second half.

We missed our chance. I learned from that experience. It will never happen again.