What would you do or say?
 

Partner is lead, calls travel on A1 in the lane. Team A coach goes nuts, and yells to partner- "How is that a walk?"

Partner: "He took three steps coach"

I get in position on opposite end of court as new lead, right next to team A bench. Partner is new trail on other end, administering throw-in.

Coach turns to me, "How can that be a walk"
Answer "He saw him move his pivot foot, coach"

Coach, "Thats BULLS...!" Not loud enough for the crowd to hear (crowd on opposite side of court), but certainly loud enough for the players on the court to hear it...

Automatic technical foul in high school games. If you don't you're giving him, as well as the oppposing coach, permission to crap all over the officials. It doesn't matter whether it's addressed to you or your partner either. You're a team out there.

Wait a minute......let me amend that a l'il bit. It <b>should</b> be an automatic "T" in high school games. Some officials would never dream of calling it though.

Profanity has no place in our game. If you hear it from a coach or player, it doesn't matter whether it is directed towards you or your partner.
Automatic Technical Foul.
We have to be more proactive in reducing the amount of unsportsmanlike conduct on the court. Coaches have started getting out of hand and need to be reminded that this kind of conduct is not tolerated.

I gotta agree. I wouldn't "say" anything. I'd hit my whistle and go report the T.

Thanks for the responses. That's exactly what I did. It was actually my first T on a coach.

My main reason for posting is exactly what you said. I think he was genuinely surprised that I made the call. As soon as I blew the whistle and signaled the T, I heard someone in the crowd go "It's about time!"

No way this comment was referencing anything that night, as there wasn't borderline behavior from him before that. That told me he may have a habit of unsportsmanlike behavior.

At halftime, partner and I came out a couple minutes early as our room was hotter than ... and adjacent to locker rooms- we could hear everything.

We were standing near entrance to court when team comes out, and coach asks if he can talk to us. We said he could ask us questions. He said he has been confused; this is 3rd travel call this season on same kid; that he has seen tape of other 2 and really doesnt think kid is traveling. We just said it looked like a travel to us and we can't speak to the other calls.

Coach walks away and tells me I need to get thicker skin....
HAHAHA! Again, confirming that he has acted this way before and others have let it go...

Glad you called the 'T'. However, I think you should have ignored the coach's question to you. Your partner had already answered the coach's inquiry. Plus, you gave a different answer than your partner did ("3-steps" v. "moved his pivot foot").

I never answer for why my partner did or didn't do something. If it is something obvious and I would have had the same call or if I had double whistle then I might say "Coach, I saw the same thing", other than that my answer is "I didn't see it, you'll have to ask my partner".

Do I know you? I was thinking the exact same thing!

You could have also gave him a warning. Not all responses need to be dealth with so harshly. Coach was a little emotional about the travel, warning sign would have been good here follow also by please do not curse at me again. And if he steps out of line again, he's then seat belted. Though, I have no problem with the technical you gave. I think your skin going to have to get a little tougher too. If you would have tried the warning first, you might have won yourself an ally.

Food for thought....

<i>"I'm warning you, Coach, don't curse at me <b>again</b>".</i>

Yeah, right......:rolleyes:

That ties for the dumbest post ever made on this forum.

Though, I have no problem with the technical you gave. I think your skin going to have to get a little tougher too.

Old School-Could you please explain this statement. It seems you are contradicting yourself.

Well to clarify, I didn't hear what my partner told him. At the time, all I knew is that he had complained to my partner. I was walking away from my partner at the time, and did not hear the exchange. It was only at halftime that I learned what was said. Sorry if that was unclear.

When he asked me, I intended to give a matter-of-fact answer. By definition, traveling means he took a step with his pivot foot. My answer was not inconsistent with my partners- given the way the player was driving the lane, the "third step" would have been with his pivot, and what triggered the call.

My answer also signaled to the coach, I think, that he wasn't getting anymore information from me.

I've been taught to answer a coach's question. I wonder what others think about deferring to your partner. Does that put him out there by himself?

Not at all. Accessing a technical or any foul is a judgement call. I was not there so I can not say for sure I would have access a technical here. Depending on how the coach said it, if I know the coach, etc. You know Bobby Knight is screaming and cursing all the time, but officials don't whack him everytime he says a curse word. Growing thick skin means, okay coach, I heard you but I appreciate you not using that type of language. I have given coaches technicals for not cursing at all but the demeanor in which it was said, how much tolerance I'm willing to take that day, and yes, some days are worse than others.

You don't have to answer every coaches question. If I can't think of an answer that is quick and answers the question. I don't respond. I might say, I will get back to you on that one but I don't try to answer every single question. I don't try to answer my partners calls either unless I have definite knowledge. In other words, some calls, you got to ask the calling official. If I got the same call my partner has and I'm closes to the coach, I will support and re-enforce that that was the right call to the coach.

OS- Maybe YOU don't have to answer their questions. In my association, we are expected to talk to coaches and answer their questions. There is no use debating this, as this is the CLEAR, UNAMBIGUOUS expectation if I want to continue to work games, and ever advance.

I agree completely. Letting this kind of behavior go only makes it get worse.

Not at all. In a lot of cases you are not going to know exactly why your partner made a call because you are working your area. Things I use are "My partner was right there and had a great look at the play" or "My partner will be around here soon, you can ask him about it". I try not to speculate on plays I didn't see myself.

Joe, saying "I didn't see the play, you'll have to ask my partner" is both an acknowlegement of the the coach and an answer to his question.

Communicating with a coach does not equate to explaining your partners' calls.

Coach: How can that be a walk?
Me: Didn't you just ask Debbie that?
Coach: But...

I walk away.

OR

Coach: How can that be a walk?
Me: Check the tape after the game.

OR

Coach: How can that be a walk?
Me: I trust Debbie to make a great call on that.

AND

Coach: That's bulls***
Me: ~Whack!~ (There's no "OR" to this one, it's automatic).

I like that- will add this one to my toolbox.

Thanks to all for the feedback- well with one exception. :)

Exactly the correct answer.

There's nothing wrong with this. This is also where you will need to grow some thick skin and maybe that's why the association is forcing you to do it.

Something to consider because this will happen in the game. If a coach asks me a question and the ball is live and I'm standing either next to him or within ear shot of him. If I give him an answer, it has to be 1 or 2 seconds, really quick. So, if I fail to come up with something during that quick timespan, ball headed in the other direction, I'm gone with the play and I might not come back on that side of the court when we come back down. End result, I didn't answer his question on that trip and I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. More often than not, they will forget about that question and move on to the next incident. If the coach wants to call a timeout and wants talk to me. He's more than welcome to do that and I will then go and speak directly with him.

PS: OS, you actually posted something sensible above my post.

This is actually a decent post.

The only problem I have with this is it doesn't include the people factor. If I don't know the coach, or have had a bad experience with the coach in the past. Yes, I will whack immediately for this. However, this does not consider IMO, when you do know the coach. For instance, I played bb with some of these coaches. We curse each other out on the floor all the time. I referee some of these coaches in the rec men's league. What about the ones you respect and have a personal relationship with. And I always like to use the Bobby Knight example.

That's why I like to say it's a judgment call here. You don't have to agree with me here, but you should acknowledge that these relationship do exist among referee and coaches. And there are things that are said in the heat of battle that don't get met with the same immediate T response like what was suggested here. Some officials may give a coach a little more latitude because they know the coach, and in return, the coaches is going to want someone with a thicker skin like that on their bigger games. Turn the TV way up on a WNBA playoff games. Sometimes, they mick up the coach or someone that's close by the bench. You will hear some swearing going on and it is directed right at the official in the C slot. Those coaches will get all over the officials. WNBA officials are very inconsistent, imo. In fact, Bill Lambier won the battle with the officials in the WNBA this past season. Got them to call it more consistently which benefited his team.

If I know them, they know me. They also know that for me Bulls*** is an automatic T. Even if the coach were my own husband or my daughter, I'd whack for this. If we have a relationship, they know this. They make their choice, they take their prize.

BF last night. V35 gives me the easiest hand-check call I've ever made right in front of the home bench, it's his 4th, so coach pulls him immediately. As I'm administering the inbound, H coach asks, seemingly out of the blue, "Can he say 'Bull Sh!t' like that?" Only loud enough for me and his players to hear.

I simply respond by telling him I didn't hear it (I can only assume it was the offending player on his way to the bench, but I seriously didn't hear it). There's a dead ball right away, and I turn to the coach and look him in the eye and say, "Coach, if he said it, I honestly didn't hear it." "I know, it's just that I heard it and I was standing right next to you." "I know, coach."

So, I guess I can't say the words are an automatic T for me now. :)