Same coach, two states!!

[JRutledge]

I posted this on the other board, I thought I would share this story here too.

On Friday night, I was doing a boy's varsity game in North Central Illinois. The visiting team was in the same conference but closer to the Chicago area.

The game was a back and forth battle all night. The game came down to a last second opportunity that the visiting team had to make a 3 point shoot. Well the visiting team player missed the shoot, but flopped to try to draw a foul. Of course I was not buying it, and it was in my primary. Well I happen to be standing right in front of the visting team coach and he was complaining that I did not call the foul. I just walked off the court and no other incident came of the play.

Low and behold, I have a college game on Saturday early evening in WISCONSIN!!!! I have a game that is a little over 2 hours away from where I live and has to be about 2 and a half hours or more from this town that his school is in (traffic considerations). I was walking with my partners in the lobby after we had gotten dressed waiting for a Parents Night program to begin before our game. I see this coach from the night before standing in the lobby. I at first did not realize it was him for sure but he approached me as we were standing opposite the table during the pregame warmups.

The coach approached me and noticed it was me. He then started apologizing (I assume for the night before). I guess he was thinking that either his behavior was bad the night before, which in my opinion was not really bad at all. The only thing I thought that he did that might have pushed it was the fact he wanted to know one of my partner's names so I guess he could rate him bad or report him to the assignor. I did not tell him, but he asked me if I was Jeff and that is all I confirmed with him. But for the most part he was fine. He was not differnent than the other coach, and he even praised me because I would actually listen to him complain, and one of my partner's appartently would not listen to him at all. But other than the usual complaining that goes on during a conference varsity game, I took his behavior as rather mild. Or maybe he was thinking that I am a college official and he should have acted better. I sure hope not because the only difference between a college official and a HS official, is the fact that someone asks you to do a game.

Apparently, he coached some of the players at the school that I was doing the game at. So that is why he was there.

Usually you see coaches at different games at the same level. But it is very unusual to see a HS coach at a college game, back to back nights and in two different states. And for both of us to be so far away from where we live.

This blew me away that both of us would see each other under this circumstances. Kind of funny too.

Peace