Techniques for dealing with coaches

[JRutledge]

Originally posted by jeffpea
PS2Man - As a Communications major in college, I know that the message that is received can be different from what the sender intended. Furthermore, discussion boards like this are not the best way to communciate ideas or thoughts for the same reason.

Now that I have been on both sides of the issue at hand (coach and official), I hated it when officials would take the "don't talk to me becasue I am always right and I know it all"-approach and I certainly don't like it when coaches complain about every call and do it for the benefit of the crowd.

The best way to avoid these situations is to communicate with each other, albeit within reason.

The Cliff-notes version of my advice: Linsten better. Every comment doesn't need a response; smart-aleck retorts don't work; and simply ignoring the problem doesn't provide a resolution. Use the following progression: "I hear you, coach"; "I'll watch for it, coach"; "that's it - I've heard enough, coach"; then "whack" - T.

Part of the problem with this entire discussion is the fact it is too general. I agree that officials should not be a smart-aleck when responding. But I have had coaches go ballistic and you say nothing at all. Larry Brown got upset and the official did not say anything to him. We are damned if we do and damned if we don't. We are accused of taking sides when there are not logical reasons to be seen that way.

I T'd up a freshman coach the other day and he claims that was the fastest I he was ever T'd up. I did not make any comments back to him. I answered many of his questions when I had a change. I had his assistant screaming at me as if I really need to explain anything to an assistant. He came to me at halftime after he was T'd up and insisted on talking to me directly. I told him, "This is not the time. I will talk to you later." All that did was make him raise his voice and do more to try to show me up. I think I showed a great deal of restraint and professionalism and not getting upset. The funny thing is that I was being observed by the assignor of this league and the assignor asked me about the situation. This person is a D1 official and knows a lot more than I do about officiating and someone I respect very much. He told me to bring the coaches together and ask this coach "what he wanted to talk about." He also went on to say, "you need to tell him that we cannot talk on my time without the other coach being present." Amazingly when I did this the coach did not comment the rest of the game. He went back to coaching and behaved like a human being should dealing with kids. You would have thought that I did nothing but hurt a family member because I answered one of his questions. I did not deserve him talking to me like I was a child. I am a man too and coaches like these think that they are entitled to say whatever they like and not bear the consequences. In my thinking if you are able to ask a question, you are responsible enough to shut up while it is answered. In my pregame meeting I said, "What you see on TV does not apply on this court." This is a freshman basketball game, not varsity, not NCAA and definitely not an NBA game. I think many of the coaches are not seeing what you seem to understand when you were coaching. Coaches are getting out of hand and it is not on the lap of the officials.

Peace