How do you prefer to be addressed during a game situation? First name? Mr. (last name)? Mr. Official? I've always wondered and have to this point (12 years) always just called the officials by thier first names and none have ever corrected me. Just wondering...
Coachgrd

First name works for me.

You call me Dave, I'll call you Coach.

I would say it depends on the familiarity level between you and the official. If a coach I don't know from Adam and have never had before is calling me by my first name, I'm not real comfortable with this, would prefer "sir". However, after I've seen the coach a time or two it doesn't bother me at all to be called by my first name, JMHO.

I thought your first name was Big? :p

That's just something my wife believes. Don't tell her any different please. ;)

Coachgrd- I doubt if you will ever have many officials correct you as long as the exchange is respectful/profressional... afterall when we introduce ourselves we give our names, and it is usually announced over the PA system, so what choice do you have?

On the other hand few officials will call you anything other than "coach" for the simple reason of remaining neutral, especially when you're in a situation where you are known by the official but the other coach is not.

Good question

I would much rather be called by my first name. I hate sir, because I am not old and that refer's to people with gray hair or no hair in my book. I know that farther you go the better the coaches are at manipulation. Using your name gives a better background for whatever stance you want the official to look at. When I coach I will always use the officials first name. He then knows that either I am serious or I want an acknowledgement. I would never use a coach by their name on the flip side though. They are always refered to as "coach" and never anything else.

My first game assigned by our association, (only my fifth ever!) the coach kept calling me, "Julie" "Julie, you missed that foul" "Julie, that was a travel" "Blow the whistle, Julie!" It lasted about through the first half. I thought at first that it was a friend of mine who had threatened to come to this game and give me a little friendly hassle. So I just ignored it, and tried to concentrate on what the hell I was supposed to be doing -- which at that point in my career was a TALL order. By half-time, the name thing had petered out. After the game, the coach came over and said, "I thought your name was Julie, but I guess I was wrong. What was it again?" I literally didn't have an answer for that as it was dawning on me that it was he who had been yelling in the first half. As I told other refs about this, they all kept laughing, because this is apparently how he works the refs and I had quite naively de-fused him by just not responding. Beginner's luck, I guess.

All the coaches around here refer to my by my official title, "Galactic Emperor."

Unfortunately, my wife does not. In fact, a few years ago when we incorporated our business and were trying to decide on a corporate name, I suggested we name the company after me. She said, "I don't think the state will register Dumbshi*, Inc."

Seriously, to answer your question - I prefer coaches to call me "ref" and I almost without exception call them "cheetah."

I prefer the Coach to remember my first name and address me by it! Tom , could you please call this or that!

It better be Mr.
 

By kids I want to be addressed as Mr. Rutledge or Sir. I was raised to always refer to adults as Mr. or Miss or Mrs. I am almost 30 and I still refer to people that were adults as Mr. or Mrs. depending on who they are. I just do not feel that having basically children refer to me by my first name.

By coaches, it depends. If I am doing a game with two coaches that I know very well, I do not mind so much by them calling me by my first name. I might do the same with them in those cases. But if I have a coach I do not know very well and I coach I know very well, I will refer to both coaches as "coach."

Let me say this, it really does not matter if the coaches show me some respect. If they want to use my first name, it is really not going to be a big deal to me. I am not going to make a point to have a coach refer me as a specific name just to get respect.

The only problem with this approach for me is if you know one coach and not the other. If you are allowing 1 coach to be chummy with first names and the other not, you give the impression of partiality. When my partner and I talk to the coaches before the game, I always introduce myself by first name and shake their hands. It doesn't bother me for both coaches to call me by first name as long as it is done respectfully.

I get a little hesitant about doing that also, I don't want to play favorates, or look like I am playing favorites.

I'd prefer it if all coaches just called me "ref", but since I've been around a few years many of them call me by my first name. Not much I can do about that, but I call <i> all of them </i> "coach." One of my best friends is an assistant coach and he knows that once I enter the gym, his name becomes "coach."

Some coaches don't need much to be convinced they are getting cheated, and if I'm calling one of them by their first name, that could be enough to start that line of thinking. I'd rather they just think that I'm cheating them by the goofy calls I make. :)

Z

I agree that you put yourself in an awkward situation if you know one coach and call him by his first name when you don't know the other coach that well.

I solve this problem by referring to all coaches whom I don't know as "Beavis." You can just imagine what I call the assistants. :D