coaches "working" officials

[bgtg19]

Originally posted by SMEngmann
I respect the domain of the coach, I don't question him or discuss the strategic elements of the game with him, and I think that such compliments as the one you suggest cross over that same line onto rules/mechanics, which is the domain of the official. In my opinion, it's a matter of respect.

We certainly agree that it is a matter of respect. I suppose we might have some disagreement about how best to demonstrate that respect. Just like there are a lot of different parenting styles, the most important thing to get across to your children is that you LOVE them. Even though we parents mess up and say or do something wrong, our kids generally *know* when we're being genuine and they're pretty forgiving of our mistakes. I think the same thing goes here. We officials generally *know* when we are being respected and when we are being snowed. We can be pretty accepting of the wrong words from a coach who has demonstrated the right motive. And so we're back to our area of agreement: it is a matter of respect.

For what it is worth, although there is nothing "special" about the words I suggested, I do not agree that a coach talking to her/his players about rules is crossing into an arena that belongs exclusively to us as officials. Good coaches teach their players the rules so that the players can play within them. We have often talked about how the good team will adjust to what officials are/are not calling. A coach plays a significant role in helping her/his players learn how and where to adjust.