How to talk to Officials

[ChuckElias]

Coach, if you have a genuine question about a rule situation or about what the last call was or about who the last foul was on -- then, by all means, ask politely, as others have said. Any good official will take 20 seconds to explain what s/he saw on a given play.

If you have a comment or are trying to make a point, then please don't be offended, but you're better off just keeping it to yourself. Your comment is likely to be ignored, at best. Even if you think you're helping by pointing out that "22's bumping my cutters on every play", the official is not likely to pay much attention. You'll get a nod and then the official will forget whatever you just said. That's not intended as an insult; it's just a fact. There's too much stuff going on for us to worry about everything a coach wants called.

JMO, but I think somebody already gave you the best advice: forget about the officials and coach your team. On the rare occasions when I've given a T to a coach, it's amazing how they go back to coaching once they realize that they're done working me for the night. And the team usually plays better when that happens.

Best of luck with your team, Coach.