What's the best way for a coach to question a call?

[Jimgolf]

Originally posted by coachgbert
It was the recent Christmas tourny game. We were inbounding the ball in a side line play, and hadn't released the ball yet. An official called a 3 second violation on us and turned the ball over to the other team. The defense was in the lane, my players were lined up at the sidelines waiting for the ball.

First of all, there is no 3-second violation during an inbounds play. He may have called a 5-second violation, and either mis-called the violation or perhaps you mis-understood him.

If he indeed called a 3-second violation, you should call time-out and ask for an explanation. If the referee recognizes his error, you should not be charged with a timeout. Be polite, and ask something like "Could you explain why it is a violation to be in the lane during a throw-in?"