I wonder- did this coach stop to think that he (and his kind) are responsible for for the lack of officials? The reason there are "new" guys doing games is because he has run off the experenced people. It's not fun working games for coahes like this. They yell on every call and belittle you infront of the whole town.

The flip side of this is that there are times when the official did not miss the call, but the coach thinks they did. And when the official doesn't admit it to them they interpret that to mean that the official won't admit he's wrong.

We shouldn't admit we're wrong when we aren't. If an official doesn't think he missed one then he cannot be expected to act like he did. We just have to find a professional way to communicate under these circumstances.

I think it is also important to point out some things about coaches.

I don't mind if a coach talks to me (talk being the operative word) and asks me questions about calls to a certain point. I do mind if a coach yells at anyone on the crew, makes borderline comments and displays unsportsmanlike conduct. I've had coaches yelling across the floor at one of my partners (rightfully so) and I told the coach, in a calm voice, that yelling across the floor wasn't going to do anything to help the situation. The coach, who is one of the few good coaches in this area, realized I was right and stopped yelling. I constantly tell them the official will work his/her way around to them in the natural rotation and they can ask the question then.

I have recently been sickened by the conduct of many coaches in the Gulf Coast area. I was recently in DC and got a chance to work a few games. Since I worked the games here then DC and here again I got a chance to compare the players and coaches in a short span of time. Surprisingly, the players in Mississippi can compete with the players in the DC/Maryland area with the exception of the Washington Catholic league. The difference is the coaching. I wouldn't want my kid anywhere near most of the coaches here. They are so concerned about the officials, but they can't teach there kids the fundamentals of the game. They can put on nice suits, but can't make sure there kids are learning how to be responsible on the court.

Exactly, of course. Absolutely, if you think you made the right call, then stand strong. That's not what I was alluding to. You hit the nail on the head...the magic word is communication. Most coaches and many officials have no idea how to communicate.

You are right and I think it is almost mandatory to tell coaches during pregame that you will answer questions, if possible, but you cannot answer every comment.

I had one just the other night where the coach acted like an idiot. However I also realized later that if I had just slowed myself down a bit and better explained the call he may not have taken the opportunity to expose himself himself as one. : > )

You are probably right. However, it is not your job to explain the rules to coaches. I am not at all saying that. What I am saying is that many officials have such a hard time dealing with coaches b/c they take a coach's questions to be personal insult.

Anybody else notice that he signed off as "Coach T?" Sounds like that might be the right name for him. :D Maybe an official in Indiana can write their "state of the game" point of view.

All I read was the first post and the article; I'm not from Indiana and I've never officiated in Indiana. I think it is pretty embarrassing that this coach used to officiate at the varsity level and he can't take anything he learned and apply it to his point of view when it comes to coaching. Why anyone who has officiated would ever hang other officials out to dry (regardless of their current position within the sport) is beyond me. That's pretty sad.

One of my partners who worked one of the games Coach Salkoski comments on IS writing one!!

;)

He seems like the type that from now on will be unable to view any calls he doesn't like without thinking the officials are getting back at him for writing this article. I can hear his next line now...."You guys are just trying to screw me because of that article I wrote."

Then he should have thought about that before he wrote the article. There are consequences for just about everything you do.

Peace

Agreed. I think he's created a problem for himself. Perhaps this is one reason among others why there are prohibitions against doing what he has done.

I went ahead and wrote the guy...thought I'd pass it on. I could be way off base, here, though...correct me if you think I was out of line:

Coach -

Read your article. Not saying I disagree on all the points you've made, but you should know that not every "bump" should be labeled a foul....contrary to what your article suggests. I do disagree that the bumps on the rebounds, even though brought down by the player fouled, should be called every time. Most of the time we don't call these, as the contact doesn't affect the play. Our job as officials are to get the fouls that mean something to the game because they affect an opponent's speed, agility or direction. When we start blowing the whistle at everything, it's bad for the game, bad for the teams, bad for the fans. If you'd rather see all the guys/girls foul out of a game than watch a contest of athleticism and ability (and I'm not saying this to be rude) then you should probably get off the sideline.

By the way....did you notice that your baseball reference was a contridiction to the point of your article? When it comes to basketball, as the level gets higher, the calls get looser (not tighter) and players are expected to play through contact they may not have experienced in Jr. High/JV stuff. If we start calling "touch" fouls, at the varsity level, then we are not preparing them for the next level, and doing a great disservice to the players.

Now I only referee men's basketaball, both at the high school and college level. Perhaps over on the girls side, the players should be treated like...I don't know...girls?

Take care,

Mike

You were unreasonably kind. : > ) But that's probably good.