What's the difference?

[rainmaker]

Originally posted by williebfree

The philosophy that sticks in my head is one offered to me by one of our local athletic directors. "I expect my coaches to maintain the same composure as the teachers in the classroom. The gym is the classroom."

By this standard, the coach would get a T from me every time for "That call was garbage!" What an offensive remark to hear in the classroom!! In theory, I agree with Mark, and further more, I have seen many instances where giving the T to the coach actually helped him and the team. The kids in these cases were playing poorly because they were rattled and emotional from the coaches rantings. Once the coach knows where the line is, (by receiving the T) he settles downs AND SO DO THE PLAYERS. I've seen it where this actually changed the outcome of the game in favor of the team receiving the T.

In practice, I find that if the coach says it once or twice and then lets it go, I can let it go too, although I'm finding it easier to challenge these remarks than I used to. "Ref, that's the worst call you made all week!" "But, Coach, you didn't see my game last Tuesday evening --I had a real lulu that night!!" or "Well, I'm glad I finally got it out of the way!"