When I first started officiating HS basketball, I was extremely quick to bang a coach for complaining about calls. I quickly learned that I needed to have some thicker skin.

As I have improved over the last few years, I have more confidence in my calls and in turn, complaints from coaches don't seem to affect me as much. As long as they don't get personal or profane, I haven't really been hitting them with 'T's.

Recently I was observed and it was suggested that I might be taking too much from coaches and I should think about working on that. Does anyone have any advice on defining the "line" that coaches can't cross?

I probably would fall in your category. I know that I will give the coaches some latitude as long as thye are not geting personal, that is an instant T.

I will admit, I tune them out pretty good, and it is only after a game some one will ask me why I didn't whack them, it is usually becuase I didn't hear.

I actually gave more yellow cards to coaches in volleyball this year, than I have T's.

Maybe I'm wrong but I try to listen to the coaches if they are semi reasonable and then give them a I hear you coach or I'll keep an eye on that.I've given one "T" this season and had only a few arguements.Now by same token I'm not going to listen to same complaint over and over.It seems after I say thats enough after aknowledging the first complaint the coach shuts up.I have heard a lot of coaches speak at clinics and such say they hate to be ignored so I try to at least listen within reason.Please correct me if anyone feels i am wrong.

To start the year, I fell into the bang-em early, bang-em often category. I found that this strategy in controlling coaches doesn't work. I have adopted this as my "line in the sand". I don't care if coaches question my calls.

My line that I draw is this: If the coaches chirping begins to annoy me, I'll stop it with "Alright coach, I've heard enough" and I'll show them the stop sign. Every night, this line is a little different. After that the coach knows he is close the line. After the first warning and when it gets annoying I will say, "COACH! ENOUGH!!". After that, it's T-time. I haven't had one since I took this approach!

Also, I will usually "T" a coach if his/her behavior is demonstrative, excessive, and/or incites the crowd. If a coach is overly demonstrative in his protest, I will issue a T. (Wildly throwing his hands up and out toward me like a call was crap, throwing anything with the intent of showing disgust, etc.) I figure when a coach ACTS like an out-of-control child, it's time for coach to get "TIME-OUT" T-TIME. He can sit the rest of the game.

Do you remember the Sienfeld Episode where George gets the nickname "COCO" because he is wildly flailing his arms around because he wants to be known as "T-bone"? I will typically "T" for that kind of childish behavior.

I was once admonished by an AD not to let a coach get a "T" to get his team fired up. You want a T? You're not getting one coach! Has anyone else ever been told that and followed that advice?

I like to use a little game awareness. Perhaps this is the wrong approach as a first year official, but it seems to work for me -- I feel comfortable with it anyway. If the score's close late in the game (4th quarter), I'll usually go to an irate coach with something like "Coach, do you want your girls/guys to lose a chance to win this game because of a technical foul?" Usually the coach will utter some last half-hearted comment and be quiet the rest of the game....and by doing this I feel that I have placed a little of the course of outcome on his/her shoulders. Of course, if it's a blowout or early in the game and the schmuck won't shut up, whack 'em!

"Sorry, Coach. If I have to stay for the rest of this, so do you."

I use a couple of criteria for Ts with a coach. There are untouchable subjects: My wife, my mother, my ancestry, cheating, or my integrity. Other automatics: swearing loud enough, belittling me to his team, charging at me, excessive demonstration or yelling at me out of the box.

As for the rest of the time, you have to use some discretion. Is the nagging to the point that you cannot concentrate? Has the coach not let go of something that went on too long ago in the game? Is the coach interfering with your work? These types of scenarios need to be dealt with. Don't necessarily have to T the guy, but you need to get it stopped. Talk to them, use the stop sign, etc. to deal with them if you can. Maybe you just need to stay away from the coach for a while. As is most of what we do out there, dealing with coaches is much more an art than a science.

Good Luck!!

I remember reading an article in Referee Magazine a long time ago where Hank Nichols was asked his criteria for calling T's on coaches and his answer was "when he acts like a jerk." It doesn't get any better than that.

I have a confession of sorts to throw out there.

I hate giving T's. I think they disrupt the game and draw attention to us. I try to avoid them until absolutly needed. I think this is why I hate admin T's even more, and I have had to dish out 3 of those this year.

I think this is why I have the a great ability to not hear the coach.

Brian,

Respectfully, I think that this approach will hurt you in the long run. You have to hear the coach. No, you shouldn't have 'rabbit ears', but you have to know what is going on and give technicals when necessary.

I have watched far too many officials take crap from coaches who are WAY across the line. If a coach does something which warrants a technical - give it to him!

This may or may not apply to you, but I usually cringe when I hear officials say, "I never hear the coaches." or "I don't pay any attention to them.", etc. More often than not this means that game management will be non-existant!

I hate when admin Ts occur, but from your perspective as a ref, these should be the easiest even though they disrupt the game. There is no question of was it bad enough to warrant a T, as there is when you whack a coach for excessive demonstration. Admin Ts draw attention to the bozo that screwed up, not the ref. And I hope you are not passing on any automatic Ts, such as plane violations, admin Ts, etc.

We had a pair this weekend that passed on two automatic Ts for violating the plane (yes, I mean violations #2 and #3). The first violation occurred in the first half. The second and third occurred within 2 minutes of each other in 4th quarter. After the second, I asked trail "Isn't that a T, second violation?" He ignored me. I turned toward lead, and asked him if this wasn't the second violation because he administered first half warning. Lead threatened me with a T because I had been one step out of the box when I asked my question of trail (at the time I asked lead, I was back in the box - believe me, I looked right down when he made the comment).

I should emphasize that I had made no comments about any calls all day and did this as non-confrontationally as possible in the form of a question. Other team as usual is riding refs. Lead had an attitude all game (and has in previous games as well), so I didn't even ask for the T when he warned our opponents for yet a third violation two minutes after the second. On this one, they actually reached over on our baseline inbounds, tipped the pass and prevented an easy layup by our wide-open center (in a two-point game) - there are reasons for these rules. I wish that they would be enforced evenly. The night before, we got banged because my manager put the wrong number in the book for one of our starters - he has a printed roster, so don't ask cause I don't know! I didn't complain, it's an automatic. We also had a player that consistently broke the plane rule, to the point of getting T'd out of one game. She learned, and hasn't had a violation since, and I never complained about the calls - just talked to her about self control. Let 'em shoot, and let's play ball. But please call them all.

Isn't a plane violation a team technical? 10-1-10: "Following the team warning for delay in 9-2-11, commit a violation of the throw-in boundary-line plane."

Yes, a plane violation after a warning is team technical. But if B1 touches the ball while the thrower A1 is still holding the ball, it's technical foul on B1 and a team warning, if a warning hasn't already been issued.

But a player shouldn't be ejected for breaking the plane.

Guess I shoulda complained in the first instance as well.

On the subject of T-ing coaches, give me a little advice on this one:

This is from the horrible game I had on Sunday (see thread below titled "Humiliation"). I'm trail, table-side. A1(red) throws a bad pass, B1(white) jumps up to grab it, but misses completely (in my opinion), and the ball goes sailing oob. I blow the whistle, and ofcourse before I can say anything, all the girls are hinting, "White! White!" "She touched it!" "Red ball" etc. I call "White ball" The A (red) coach yells, "Did you call that or did she?" He meant a white player.

Now, does that question my integrity? does it question my competence? If I had called a T, then when things got ugly, I could have tossed him. But of course I couldn't know that ahead of time. At the time of the comment, I felt that giving a T would be stooping to his level and I just ignored it. I know, I know, I ended up stooping even lower, later.

What should I have done?

I guess I need to clarify myself.

I NEVER pass on Admin, or other items that are auto T's. In fact last night I had a girl reach through and bat away an ball during the inbound, but that is another story.

And, I will hit a coach when he is overly demonstrative and acting the fool. I just hate to do it, seems to be a huge waste of time and it punishes the players, not him/her. It is the chirping I let go, and I know I let it go too far.

Having said that, I did whack a coach last night in my second and last MS game of the year.

Actually I couldn't believe I did it, but I think the guy was just not going to stop.

He had been working us all game, all 6 minutes of it so far. I was trail over by the bench side. Scrum in the corner, ball goes OOB, other team gets the ball. He is up that was terrible, you need to carry your partner, etc. Gave him the hand and told him it was enough. Next play, his girl steals the ball and travels. He is in my ear again, this time it is about how I am not calling anything and I should learn how to use my whistle. Whack. I won't take that at the Varsity level, I am not going to take it from some has-been jock who thinks this is the NBA.


I admin the tosses and go to take the ball out and he is still stalking the sideline. I motion to my partner and and ask him if he is going to sit him down. He walks over and a long conversation takes place. We get in at the half and I ask what went on, apparently he didn't think it was right that we were going to make him sit, because we were already "taking the game" from his kids. Classic.

Then I pulled a Dave. 3rd q his girl reaches over the base line and slaps the ball. I call the T and go over to the table. This coach and his asst are telling my partner the ball was over the line and their girl did nothing wrong. My partner came in strong and backed me up. He told them I called it so it must not have been over. The ASSt. tells him, "how could you tell that you were back here?"

Having heard enough, I looked at him as I walked back by "Well if he couldn't see it back here, and you were sitting 5 feet away from him how could you see it?" Logic triumphs again.

Didn't hear a peep the rest of the game.

Two T's your gone
 

I guess I'm reading the Rule book wrong...I thought Two Technical fouls and a player is ejected. I didn't think it mattered what kind of technicals they were. i.e. Dunking the ball before the game, slapping the ball behind the plane, etc.
Also, Rainmaker...veteren officials tell me not to have "Rabbit ears"...ignore chips...untill they "act like a jerk".

Rainmaker,in my humble opinion that is a to each his own and depending on how the coach has been acting.You might say coach I make my own calls or you might ignore it if it is the only thing the coach has said.If the coach has been on you all night then you might give a"T".Sometimes a well placed ice stare is a great response for this kind of comment sometimes that stare says how dare you qustion my integrity.

Re: Two T's your gone
 

That's true -- what led you to believe it wasn't?

2 T's and your gone...
 

...not neccesarily true. If a player has 4 personal fouls, and a technical foul is called, the player has to sit, because that totals 5 fouls in all. However, I thought that the coach was allowed 3 technicals?

Matthew

Respectfully Disagree
 

I belive RookieDude was refering to the above quote "a player shouldn't be ejected for breaking the plane"...I believe he is on the same page with me...if that player has already received a technical foul, earlier in the game, and the "team" has already been warned not to break the throw-in plane, then a player who chooses to ignore the warning and break the plane again receives a technical foul. Afterall, it was an individual player who broke the plane, not the whole "team". I believe the "team" warning implies a warning to all "team" members not to do it again. Thus, Hawks Coach's player got ejected for breaking the plane after the whole "team" was warned.

Re: 2 T's and your gone...
 

A coach is allowed a total of three technicals and then he is ejected on the third, sort of. Head (and, in some cases, assistant) coaches receive direct and indirect technicals. If they get two direct, they are gone. If they get any combination that totals three, they are gone. Direct technicals also count as team fouls, but indirects don't because they are adjunct to a direct already being given to someone.

I don't get it
 

Are you agreeing or disagreeing with the statement that a player who commits his team's second (and subsequent) plane violation (just for breaking the plane, not slapping the ball) receives the technical as a player technical? The rule, of course, is that he does not. It is a team technical. If a player breaks the plane and hits the ball before the release toward the court, it is a player technical even if no previous warning had been issued to anyone (including that player) on his team.

Mark P is right, as usual. It was something that passed right by me. 10-1 has all team technicals, 10-3 has player technicals. Although a player clearly commits the violation leading to the penalty in both cases, one is a team technical and the other charged to the player.

10-1-10 Following the team warning for delay in 9-2-11, commit a violation of the throw-in boundary-line plane. Team technical

10-3-12 Reach through the throw-in boundary-line plane and touch or dislodge the ball. Player technical.

Two messages
 

First, sorry that I didn't clarify that 10-1 was team
techincal fouls.

Second, to Brian Watson:
>>Having heard enough, I looked at him as I walked back by "Well if he couldn't see it back here, and you were sitting 5 feet away from him how could you see it?" Logic triumphs again.<<

Just be careful. With some coaches, logic backfires, and you end up with a big mess to clean up. Just put the tarp down first.

There was not a tarp big enough for this guy. I can say with out a doubt, if he cached my kid I would have pulled my kid from the floor.

He yelled louder at those girls than I ever remember my dad yelling at me (And I did some silly stuff as a kid). I just don't see any reason to treat kids like that.

I should have given them the night off from being yelled at given him the big boot.

Re: I don't get it
 

Hmmmmmm, so a player can commit a "team technical" and not be held personally accountable? Ok...next questions...does the "team technical" count toward the bonus? I say yes. Does the coach receive an indirect technical for the team technical? I say no. Do direct technical fouls on the coach count toward the bonus? I say yes.

Re: Re: I don't get it
 

You are correct on all those questions.

Brian -- We did threaten to pull our daughter from a team one year when the coach was abusive, and routinely got T's in games. Fortunately for everyone, our daughter was far and away the best player on the team, so the threat was not an idle one. It was kind of pathetic to hear the coach's daughter saying (over and over and over), "Dad, don't say that! Dad, quiet down. Dad, go away!) Needless to say, he isn't coaching anymore.

Another question: It says in the book that we can give coaches T's for abuse of their own players. Has anyone ever done that? I bet it wasn't a big hit!! Any interesting stories here?

Unless he used severe imporper language or physically assulted one of his players, I would probably not pull that one out of the bag.