Had a well contested game last evening and learned a good lesson.

The ball got tied up at the top of the key, beyond the 3-point line. My partner as Trail called a held ball. I'm moving from lead and heading down the court and coach, who was even with the play says to me "you should have called that." Having 8 other players between me and the action and the play being well out of my primary, I wasn't sure what he was saying so I asked, "What?"

Coach responded, "He threw an elbow."

So,as I'm running by him I responded, "Okay, I'll watch for it."

A few minutes later half time comes and my partner spend 30 seconds in discussion with the coach. When we get to the locker room my partner tells me the the coach is livid with my flippant response.

WHAT!!!!

Guess what the coach heard?

All he heard was "Okay." And he interpretted that to mean that I was saying it is "Okay to throw elbows!" No wonder he was livid.

I got opportunity in the 3rd quarter to clarify what I had said and all was better.

The lesson learned is: make sure the full statement is communicated and perhaps DON'T EVEN USE THE WORD "OKAY."

"I hear you coach and I'll watch for it." might even be too much to say as you run by the bench. Shorten it up. Nodding my head yes say "I'll watch for it."

I'm sure some of you others have garnered some good lessons. Help the rest of us learn from your experience. What is your lesson?

A little longer answer is not a bad idea, just to clarify when you have time. I would not, however, go back and clarify to the coach later. I've learned this lesson well. Only talk to a coach when they ask you a question. When an official initiates a conversation, the majority of the time there will be bad results.

Just nod your head to signify that you heard the coach. You can't mis-interpret silence.

The wording I use is, "Thank you." It works very well.

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Coach, I must of missed that. I use that one when the others dont apply and I will also add "I watch for it coach." Good lesson for everyone!