PRE-GAME CONFERENCE

[ChuckElias]

Originally posted by RookieDude
Oh Yeah,
IndianaUmpRef, One remark I like to say to the Captains and Coaches in the meeting is..."My Mother isn't hear tonight, so there isn't one person that paid to come see me officiate...they all paid to see you players play and you coaches coach...give them a good show...we'll keep it fair."

Dude, this is just my opinion, but why in the world would you mention your mother in a pre-game conference? The less you say, in general, the better. Your captains' conference should go like this:

"Gentlemen, shake hands. I'm Mr. RookieDude, this is Mr. SuperRef. Black line all the way around, make sure your players aren't wearing any jewlery. Questions? Have a good game, guys!"

You'll quickly learn that they aren't listening to you anyway. They simply don't care if your mom's there or not. You're going to catch just as much crap either way. And someday, some smart*** is going to make a crack about "your mama".

Short and sweet. This applies to the captains; it applies to the coaches when you greet them; it applies to your foul reports to the table; and it applies to when you line the players up for free throws. It even applies to any explanations you give to a coach. You give a correct explanation, but keep it as short as possible.

Again, that's just my opinion, but I think it'll benefit you in the long run.

Chuck