I coach girls AAU, and I have a big pad that I use to bang around my post players. Why? The intent is to get them used to contact without actually hurting them, because they will be scratched, grabbed, slapped, etc. in the game and they still need to finish, with or without a whistle from the officials.

I would hope the coach in the OP was practicing against the extreme and not teaching it, but it sounds as if he/she is a dumb a55. I bet he has his kids hoisting up three pointers every other possesion.

1. I do not want to beat up the coach unfairly. I have only watch one practice. Perhaps that is his teaching method..:rolleyes:

2. Lets say he doesnt discourage the 3-pointers either.

Bump the cutters
 

At one of my varsity games earlier this year I heard the coaches telling their defensive players to "bump the cutters". First opportunity, I told my partner, what I'd heard and we needed to pay even more attention off ball than normal. Sure enough, early in the game, we have a foul on this team on defense, don't remember if it was a hold or a block we called, doesn't really matter but after the first one, we did not have a problem the rest of the game. I'd like to think we'd have caught this regardless, but their yelling, "bump the cutters" definitely helped us focus on correctly officiating this illegal off ball contact.

Bumping the cutter
 

You're taking it too literally. "Bump the cutter" means to anticipate where the cutter is trying to go and legally beating her to that spot. We specifically teach to not foul in that situation.

No, you're misinterpreting what he said. Red didn't say that they would call fouls for <b>legal</b> plays. He said that they would call fouls if there was <b>illegal</b> off-ball contact on the cutter, and that's exactly what happened. The defender fouled the cutter and got called for it.

If your players legally get to the spot first, you'll never have a problem. If they don't legally get there, they'll get called. Whatever coaching verbiage that you're using isn't really relevant at all. Just because you teach your players not to foul is no guarantee that they won't.

I concur totally.