Sarcasm

[Rita C]

Ok, I'll admit upfront I screwed up. I forgot the simple rule. Get to the point and tell the coach what you need. Keep it simple. Anything else gives them fuel. I'm sharing my story for the newbies as what not to do.

5th grade basketball. Bench coaches start yelling and screaming because my partner and I didn't call something they wanted called. (This is the first quarter.)

I call the head coach over.

Me: I'm hearing noise from the bench.....

Coach (interrupting): There's no need to be sarcastic!

Me: Don't tell me how to talk. Ask your bench to be quiet. (The last part is all I should have said to start with.)

I think he said something else. The whole time he's got his hand on my shoulder. He complied with my request and we got back to the game.

At halftime, he's talking to my assignor. I said to my partner, "Bet you dollars to donuts he's complaining about me." Sure enough, I found out later, the poor baby was complaining about how terribly sarcastic I was.

As an aside, if I have a coach touch me again like that, what is my recourse?

I'm way out of practice dealing with coaches. I don't get this during baseball season.

Rita