Good Coach Stories

[basketballen]

Sadly, no. Nothing of the nature you experienced. However, I have had many coaches that maintained composure. I always try to compliment them on their team's good sportsmanship and his/her sideline demeanor.
I will sometimes thank them for working with kids. Coaching, like officiating, can be a thankless job.

Have you ever thought about contacting the individual you talk about and telling him/her about your fond memory?

[Corndog89]

Originally Posted by basketballen

Sadly, no. Nothing of the nature you experienced. However, I have had many coaches that maintained composure. I always try to compliment them on their team's good sportsmanship and his/her sideline demeanor.
I will sometimes thank them for working with kids. Coaching, like officiating, can be a thankless job.

Have you ever thought about contacting the individual you talk about and telling him/her about your fond memory?

I actually talked with him after the game and passed on my compliments. I had seen him coach 2-3 times during that season and everything he did impressed me. Unfortunately I don't know his name, but I'll check with the school...good idea. Thanks.

[jkjenning]

Hoop-It-Up: two teams, each of which won their respective championship game, and two different types of coaches. Both coaches were also officials; on one team, the players were physical and the coach complained about calls/no calls [I eventually wised up enough to T him and that helped]. In contrast, the other team hustled while playing well within the rules, the coach rarely commented about calls and never voiced displeasure towards me; this guy was always calm to his players. It was really impressive to watch him manage his team; he would even lighten my load by making sure he filled out the rosters for his games. I came away impressed with his calm, intelligent control of his team and how his respect for the game extended to the official (Hoop-It-Up is 1-man mechanics!); hopefully I'll run across him as a officiating partner sometime!

I have great respect for the many coaches who have worked with my own children and am very happy to say that the vast majority of these coaches rarely focused their ire on the officials. I think that as an official it is always good to keep in mind that the coaches are the ones who spend countless hours with the players, preparing for the game; we are sort of like the "grandparents" who show up to adminster the game and then get to say 'goodbye'.

[Adam]

AAU girls last year. One guy was coaching 6th, 7th, and 8th grade teams. His teams were all vastly superior to the rest of the competition. Had him twice over the weekend, once in the 8th grade championship game. He coached, the girls played. Only questioned one call, but only briefly. It was amazing to watch.

One girl got a little hurt on one play and was crying. He subbed for her, and caught her as she aproached the bench. He place his hands on her shoulders and said, "Stop," slowly about three times until she stopped crying. It was a perfect example of coaching/mentoring. That moment alone impressed me as much as his game demeanor, which I've only seen matched by one or two coaches.

He was a former top-level D-1 player who really made it in D-1 on effort and hustle rather than natural athleticism. Junker and Trigger, I know, are familiar with him. It was Jake Sullivan.

[JeffRobinson]

I remember watching Jake play for ISU when I was living in Nebraska. You did not want to leave him alone anywhere across half court with his shot. Glad to hear that he is doing well now.