I recently posted a thread on dealing with a coach whose in your ear.

Last night I was working a freshman level game. Ball touched by white rolling on its way out of bounds. Red touches it just out of bounds. I give the ball to red. White coach is complaining behind me. Next time I pass White bench coach has his hands 18" apart and says Red touched it that far inside. Following advice given here, I said, "I saw what I saw. That's enough." and I kept moving and calling the game.

A few minutes later he's in my ear complaining about my not calling something. He's not letting up. I'm right in front of white bench on next dead ball. I blow my whistle and raise my hand to get my partner's attention. I then turn to the coach.

ME: Mr. X, you coach, I ref. If you do it again I will give you a technical.

COACH: OK, but I want you to start......

BAM! I hit him with a technical. This was the beginning of the second quarter. Not a peep out of him about the reffing the rest of the game.

During the administration of the technical, one of his players said to another player, "THAT was an embarrassing technical." I thought that was an interesting comment.

Rita

Rita...how'd it feel after that first time?
Did it come easy?

Don't worry, it will feel better the next time.
Just watch out...you'll be wanting to do it all the time now. :D

I know just how you feel. I had not issued a T (HS) in 2 years and I had 2 last night (separate games). First game, FB, 2 min. into 4th qtr. T'd visiting assistant coach. Had already warned him and the head coach that we were not going to listen to his (assistant) constant b*itching/critiquing/complaining anymore -- had been getting progressively worse/more vocal. Reminded the head coach that he was responsible for his bench, he turned to the assistant and told him to "zip it". I started walking away and before I had gone 5-6 steps, the assistant said in a very loud voice, "You haven't got anything right all game". Whack! My only regret is that my partner and I did not whack him earlier.

Second game, JVB, my partner T'd A-1 and a couple of minutes later I got to do the honors of a second T for the infamous "F" word. A-1 did a terrific job of driving from mid-court through several players in the paint, went up for a monster dunk and slammed it off the rim. When he landed, he screamed out the "F". You could have heard him in the parking lot. Good-bye, A-1.

To Rookie Dude
 

I've been an umpire for 5 years. I'm used to ejections. I like the T because it is not as drastic as the ejection. A T can be used earlier to keep the game under control. I think this one accomplished just that. The coach knew right away that I wasn't going to tolerate his propensity for wanting the last word. It made the game better for everyone.

I don't want it to be easy. It's a game management tool and this is the first time I've felt the need to use it. Most of the coaches so far have done nothing more than just the expected whine about calls they don't like.

This guy last night would wait for me to pass and say something as soon as I was in earshot. It was a childish demand to have the game called like he thought it should be called. That I couldn't tolerate. It's enough that I have the words of my fellow officials in my mind as I work.

Rita

FWIW
 

Rita, just a suggestion but I probably would not do this. Raising your hand and blowing the whistle brings unnecessary attetnion to the situation. That's why the player made the statement he did.

Also, we've all said "Mr. X, you coach, I ref, but honestly, that';s not the best remark to make either. One of the best ways to handle this situation is give him a visible stop sign and say, "Coach, I've heard enough." That'll do it. The threat of the T is there without even saying it. If he then chooses to run the stop sign, BUST HIS A$$!

But until then, be as gentle as possible. ;)

Re: FWIW
 

OK, so do I just then put up my hand to get my partner's attention? I didn't want him to put the ball back in play while my attention was diverted.

And it was girl's basketball. I also know the player. I don't doubt she was embarrassed by her coach's action.

Rita

Re: Re: FWIW
 

The whistle was surely enough... and it would have been better if you could have done it without the whistle - less attention, less embarassment; like during the previous three second before you needed to blow your whistle to stop your partner.

(This is given that you and your partner have agreed in your pregame to not put the ball in play without first making eye contact.)

Coach your girls. Quit trying to coach me.

To build on what Tony said, I wouldn't say "If you do it again . . . . " - this is similar to "if you say one more thing, you get a T" - the coach requests a timeout and you technically have to whack him.

Stick with the stop sign and "that's enough."

Re: Re: FWIW
 

Simply speak to the coach firmly and strnely while keeping an eye on things at the same time. The wghistle and the hand bring unnecessary attention to the situation. At the next opportunity, inform your partner that the coach has been warned.

Quote:

And it was girl's basketball. I also know the player. I don't doubt she was embarrassed by her coach's action.

No doubt. But just make sure that you aren't the one embarassing the coach. he can do that by himself. ;)

Re: Re: Re: FWIW
 

There is nothing wrong with talking to a coach during a live ball. Do this long enough and you will find yourself having a dialogue on occasion while officiating.

Blowing the whistle and stopping play is only advisable if you're actually following through with a technical at that point. Stopping the game and getting everyone's attention at that point is likely to make the coach embarrassed and will make him want to get that last word in.

One member of our association is a college assigner. In a recent meeting we were talking about giving Ts. His comment was that he feels we should look at the T as being no different than any other foul. If a player or coach commits a T-able infraction, penalize it and move on. Don't give it any undue ceremony. Don't go out of your way to minimize it either.

You have gotten plenty of good advice.Always try to be as low key as possible while dealing with coaches.Bringing attention to the situation gives you the appearance of being the aggressor.

If you handle it without fanfare,then the coach looks like the aggressor,if they continue and get whacked.That is one of the reasons that when you call a T,you get away from the coach,they earn the second one if they follow you and everyone in the gym knows it.

Re: To Rookie Dude
 

I agree with what everyone has said. I mean, I agree in theory. This has been one of my most troublesome areas and I'm continually re-evaluating my own T's and non-T's based on the concepts these others are expounding. The secret is, as you said, for the T to make the game better for everyone. The way to pull that off is going to be different in every game. You know you did it right when the game gets better.