"Try it and you'll find out"

[Brad]

Originally posted by Mark Padgett
In reply to everyone who says you should tell when this or that is the situation and the player asks you, I have to say that I must draw the line somewhere on coaching the players as to the rules. I can't tell them "all the time", and I can't tell them "none of the time".

Rarely do I disagree with you Mark, but I really can't believe that you are saying this.

If a kid comes out of a time-out and asks if he can run the baseline on a throw-in and your response is for him to ask his coach, how is that really possible? Should he yell across the court? Call another time-out??

By replying, "No, it's a spot throw-in." or something similar you take care of the situation within 1-2 seconds.

Telling a player whether they are allowed to run the baseline or not on a throw-in is NOT coaching - it is officiating. We tell players how many free-throws we are going to shoot, etc. We tell players what they did when they commited a foul or violation ("push", "walk", etc.)

Our main job out there on the court is communication, so we should communicate as effectively as possible to make the game run smoothly. Statements such as "You'll have to ask your coach." in response to a simple question which you know the correct answer to do not fall under the category of effective communication, IMHO.