While at camp last week, a coach happened to be sitting by us refs and he turned around to tell us that the rules can never keep up with the tricks that some coaches teach. For example he said that when the hand checking rule first came out he taught his kids to hold there hands straight out when guarding and to jab the opponents with the ends of their fingers. He stated that a foul was never called on his team for this.

He also said that he taught his post defenders to pinch the sides of the offensive players posting up. The referees would never see this but would see the offensive player throwing the retaliatory elbow.

When I used to coach, I never thought of teaching such evil and illegal manuevers. Has anyone else here heard of similar techniques that we officials need to be on the lookout for?

...A knuckle to the solar plexus.

My college roommate was a wrestler in HS. The stories he used to tell me about the places that he got pinched. . . :eek:

Not sure I'd use the word "evil" for such tactics, in any case. But they're clearly "below the belt".

Our standing high school defensive ends had the inside foot back and their first step was a knee to the groin of the opponent.

I'd certainly call this a foul.
Probably true, but dumb. I'd hate to be the kid that takes the elbow to the face. I don't think it would be worth it.

This type of thinking is part of the "If you don't get caught, it's OK" mentality. Just another example of the deterioration of sportsmanship in sports.

Unfortunately, there is a large number of people that subscribe to this credo in other parts of their lives.

Like traffic!!

You should also be aware of player tactics. Things coaches never teach their players to do. They resort to these kind of tactics when frustrated defending the star player. A good example is stepping on the player's sneakers (front of)when the player goes up for a shot. This throws the player's balance and shot off. Makes them look like awkward geeks instead of All-Americans. Know this can happen at college level. Haven't seen it at HS level.

My general thought stirred from this post is that most players, now, will usually come to an official, tell him of the "evil tactic-below-the-belt" stuff, and ask him/her to take care of it. And if not, they tell the coach, and usually the coach will tell us.

Right?

Besides we had a kid in our district that gave nuckle monkey-bumps to his opponent's forearm and it didn't take more than two weeks that the word got around to the officials in our association. Unruley players who continue to use 'non-baskeball plays' seem to be tempered; don't you think?

I've heard of defensive players putting their fingers in the offensive players waistband of their shorts.

There is no limit to the tricks employed when there is a chance the ref is not looking. From pulling on shorts till they almost come down, to pulling on shirts, to pinching butt cheeks, to sharp jabs to the kidneys. I once had a guy use all 4 of these at the same time on me!

And it works if you can get away with it!

So that explaines why coaches (most of them) dont know anything. They spend all of their time teaching kids such evil things. :-p

A couple of years ago, I read a story stating that a prominent player in the Australian Football League was given a lengthy suspension for using illegal tactics like these. The most aggregious was when he apparently gave an opponent a rectal exam in a scrum!! :eek:

I read about this. It was a match between the "Anal Intruders" and the "Rectum Wreckers". I don't know who won, and frankly, I don't care.

Mark thats funny!

Going through your DVD collection again I see...

Yeah - and they're in 3-D!!!

3-D is ok, as long as you don't have that "Smellivision" or whatever John Waters used for his weird movies. :eek:

Randy -

Bottom line. Watch out for the "step on sneaker" trick. I don't think you have to look for the scrotum assault.

I had one of my players tell me her MS coach taught her to step on the sneaker of the person in the lane box next to her on FTs. I told her she would sit if that's how she needed to get an adavantage on rebounding. And i told her to re-learn how to block out.

But moving into the HS ranks of AAU, I see a lot more shirt grabbing, off-ball forearms, body shots, etc. Especially stting under the basket scouting other teams. Never underestimate the creativity of older players to try to get an advantage, whether coached to do it or doing it on their own volition. They want to win and will do what they can get away with doing.

Hawks Coach,
I have told players, when they ask if something is legal or not, that they can go illegal as long as it's free, but they should be ready to adjust when it's being called.
mick

I do tell my players to adjust to how a game is being played and called, but am not a fan of using illegal tactics to gain an advantage. You can win just by playing well, if you spend your time teaching or learning how to play well. It sounds a little optimistic, but I have watched it work through the years, and you can win the tightly called games if you are solid and another team likes to cut corners.

It's hard to win if you only know one way to play and they won't let you play that way that day.

That's a fact!
(<I>eg, Pistons-Lakers</I> :) )

My Pistons Lakers analysis is a bit different. I saw one team that came to compete and competed. I saw another team that thought the NBA Championship would be a coronation rather than a competition.

The Lakers never were mentally or physically prepared to fight for a ring. They quit in every game, because as a team, they didn't have that deep down commitment to do whatever it takes to win. Part of that is style of play, and part of that is will. The team with the stronger will clearly won.

And here I thought it was all about conditioning, defense and playing the same way they played all year, instead of attempting to play a brand new reactive style. :)
mick

I would agree that the Lakers mailed it in all year and got away with it, didn't in the finals!

Might be even simpler to say than that. Just say that the "team" won. And deservedly so.

Duke v. UConn may be more appropriate here.