I agree that the difference in rules for us Iowans is a problem. Personally, I like having the coaches up. It's easier to communicate with them. At one of the summer camps, however, the head of officials (boys side) said that there was no way the boys coaches were ever going to be up while he is around. He said it was too hard to get them down in the first place, so there's no way we're going to let them up. On a side note, have you heard we're dumping the coin toss on the girls' side? It's about time I think.

I checked the girls' site when I was gone, and noticed they seem to be getting rid of most of the differences. Adaptations 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, and 10 have been deleted. They're only keeping 4, 5 (uniform numbers), 9 (free throw lineup), and 11 (one coach can stand in the coaching box).
http://www.ighsau.org/hoops/bb2006/bbchanges.htm

I hadn't heard about the rest of the adaptations being gone. Maybe they're making strides to join the two unions. The only adaptation the girls have that I like is the free throw line up. I think it gets rid of some rebounding fouls.

Personally, I liked the way the girls changed the alternating possession rule, but I'd still rather both orgs be on the same page. In this case, uniformity trumps perfection. :)

Where I used to live, Wisconsin, the coaching box was only available during varsity games. All other levels were seat belted. It is an advantage if one coach is standing and coaching his players while the other abides by the seatbelt rule. When that happened, I would warn the offending coach once. Next time he was up, I'd blow my whistle and ask him/her if they wanted a full or thirty. They'd usually look puzzled and go on about they weren't requesting a time out. At which I'd reply, "Well you were standing so I thought you were requesting a time out. It's either that or a tech. What'll it be?" "Thirty" was the normal answer. Didn't have a problem after that.

Now for those who say don't go looking for trouble, if the rules are for them to remain on the bench, it is an advantage for them to stand and converse with their players. At this point, I was "auditioning" for varsity games and I didn't see it as over-officiating rather as fairly enforcing the rules. Not that I agree with the rule, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but it was the local rule.

Mregor