Talking to Captains (NF)

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Originally posted by bigwhistle

Mark,

Is it just possible that you are not doing as good a job of communicating with the players as you think you are? Have they tuned you out because of your demeanor or attitude on the floor? Only you can honestly answer those questions, as we have not seen how you work on the floor?

A player asking again how many free throws deserves an answer if he was polite in his request. It does not take that much effort to raise the proper number of fingers for him. If you don't, all you have done is moved a step closer to alienating him from you, and you never know which player may be the one to stop a problem later in the game. What if you just lost the most important "lifeline" with the other players on the team.

Just points for you to consider the next time you look in the mirror to shave.

My H.S. coach, who won 378 games in 21 years, has made the same observation that I have, and that is that coaches do too much coaching. Everytime that the officials blow the whistle, the coaches think that this is time for them to have a mini-timeout with their team. Go to a jr. H.S. or H.S. game and observe what takes place during free throws. The players have to run over to their bench and get instructions from their coach, and then they go to the lane and start discussing what they are to do during the game. Many times they will not stop their talking to listen to the Lead official when he steps into the lane to announce the number of free throws. When I played I would have never of thought to ignore an official and his instructions. It is an official's job to wait until the players are done with their mini-timeout before stepping into the lane. We have a job to do, and one of the jobs of the players is to realize that when the Lead steps into the lane, it is his/her show. If a player chooses to not pay attention when his opponents are paying attention, why should the officials bail him/her out for not doing his/her job as a player.

I am a "bleeding heart liberal" but do not give me this horse manure about important "lifeline" with other players on the team or alienating that player. This is not different that the baseball/softball player who does not know how many outs there are in the inning. The number of outs in the inning dictates defensive and offensive strategy and if a player is not paying attention, he/she has to find her information from a teammate or coach. For the base umpire to tell him/her the number of outs is the same as coaching that player.

Lets start expecting some respect from players when we as the Lead step into the lane to administer free throws at the H.S. level and below. If our boss (wives) we giving us instructions we sure would not carry on a conversation at the same time with a co-worker.