Calling coaches by name.

[26 Year Gap]

There are two local schools [I live in a very rural area] and I know the coaches of all the teams well enough to call them by their first names. One school is 2 divisions higher than the other. So, the only time they face each other is in pre-season scrimmages. And that is the only time I refer to them by their first names. There are a handful of other coaches I know well enough to address them by the first name, but unless I know them both well, I always call them 'coach'.

[zebraman]

Many (or most) coaches are paranoid. Even though I know most of the HS coaches, there is some turnover. I'm afraid that I would call one of them by their name and not remember the other one. If you don't think they notice stuff like that, you are wrong. Many of them are constantly looking for a reason to justify their paranoia towards officials.

At the college level, I sometimes have never met a coach before. I don't trust my ability to remember that coaches name all the time. So one thing that I know will work for me every single time is to just call them all "coach."

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by zebraman

Many (or most) coaches are paranoid. Even though I know most of the HS coaches, there is some turnover. I'm afraid that I would call one of them by their name and not remember the other one. If you don't think they notice stuff like that, you are wrong. Many of them are constantly looking for a reason to justify their paranoia towards officials.

At the college level, I sometimes have never met a coach before. I don't trust my ability to remember that coaches name all the time. So one thing that I know will work for me every single time is to just call them all "coach."

You make a good point. If someone is not good with names, then this isn't going to be a good tool for that person and they should stick with the basics. However, if you are good with names, then this has been known to generate a positive response.

[CoachP]

Originally Posted by zebraman

Many (or most) coaches are paranoid. Even though I know most of the HS coaches, there is some turnover. I'm afraid that I would call one of them by their name and not remember the other one. If you don't think they notice stuff like that, you are wrong. Many of them are constantly looking for a reason to justify their paranoia towards officials.

At the college level, I sometimes have never met a coach before. I don't trust my ability to remember that coaches name all the time. So one thing that I know will work for me every single time is to just call them all "coach."

1) I've got other things to worry about than stew over why you called me "coach" and the other coach "Mike" during the course of a game. You must have a lot of paranoid coaches in your area, I don't see it.

2) It will NOT be noticed/dwelled on/remembered during the heat of a contest if you called me by my name or called me "coach".

3) I know about 90% of the officials that do our home games by at least first name. The best officiated games are when I have to look in the book after the game to remember who called them.

[grunewar]

I always call the coaches "coach" as not to show any favoritism - no matter how long I have known them. This mostly comes into play in my REC Leagues where I have coached, know the same folks coach annually, and see the teams more than just a few times a yr - as was stated here previously. I haven't reffed long enough at the HS level yet to consider this.

But, having coached and reffed many of the kids in REC for so many yrs, I do find it advantageous to use the first names with the players I know....i.e. "Sean, don't hold" or "Watch the hand check Aaron" or "Get out of there Kevin."

Good discussion. I'll see how I use this in the future.

[Ref in PA]

Before and after the game I will used the name of the coach if I know it. During the game they are "Coach." That is it.

[Junker]

Interesting discussion. I use their first names at times, but basketball is so fast for the most part, I don't process and use names all the time. I also work baseball and football. Especially in baseball, I find it easier to remember and use a coach's first name, in fact, my crew pretty much requires it in baseball. I find the coach/official relationship interesting in how it varies from sport to sport.

[Nevadaref]

Two additional thoughts:
1. Many kids don't respond to their number being called. "Hey, 12, blah blah blah." May just get ignored. A lot of these kids change numbers each year or aren't that focused on what number they are wearing. Some teams even have different numbers for home and away jerseys. A quick, "Kevin, calm down," or "Ok, Mike, I'll make sure to watch for that." Really connects with the kids.

2. Every coach in this area knows that I know their names. Most of the players even know it now too. They've remarked on it before games. Prior to the girls state final in soccer I heard, "It's so cool. He knows all of our names." One team thought it was fun to challenge me before a game in warmups to rattle off their names. It was worth a good laugh when I did it. I even had two girls who graduated two years ago at a local school come back for a game, see me there and come and ask me if I still knew their names. Not only did I, but I also told them what numbers they used to wear! So, I'm good at it.
What's my point?
The point is that it makes for a great contrast when I don't use their names. If I turn around and sternly say, "COACH, that's enough." The shock value is quite high and they know not to press the issue any more. Just another example of how this can be used to help control a situation.