Timeout to Vent
 

Prior post almost covered my situation. 1st quarter of an uneventfull 8th grade boys game. Home team calls TO and as I go to report it, I look at the coach for a 30 or 60 option. He turns his back to me, so I walk closer and ask again as I approach. He tells the kids," everyone on the bench." Spins to me and says, "Full!..... and tell your partner I want to talk to him". I give him the stop sign and report the full TO and head to my floor position. I'm really not interested in having a head coach ask me to be his message courier. He barked something across the floor, but I really couldn't make it out. Told my partner about it during the quarter break, but we agreed, no sense in creating a commotion. I try to watch my partners back as much as possible.

Speaking of this, when I get in the angry coaches clutch and have to listen to a chewing, I always come over turn my body, perpendicular to them and continue this through the full, usually one sided convo. An occasional nod and a simple "I understand ". Sure, I've had one or two that we went in a semi, funny circle, but it works for me. I think most of the time, I avoid serious problems with the simple fact that I let them vent and acknowledge they were heard. If the convo turns defamatory, I stick-em.....

IMO, you shouldn't be taking a whole 60 TO full of coach venting. The TO should be for coach to talk to players about the game. Let the coach say a sentence or two, acknowledge their concerns and then head to position on floor. I definitely agree about your not serving as message courier for coach to partner!

It is a common policy around here, not officially supported anywhere as far as I know, to tell coaches before the game: Let us see the 30 signal, or you get a full timeout. This serves two purposes. It keeps the official from having to lean into the huddle for the answer, and it keeps at team from stretching the length of the timeout while we wait for the answer.

For the record and correct me if I'm wrong, I assign a full time out if a coach doesn't specify what length of time out they desire. It saves the hassel of trying to communicate with them and chase them around the players in some cases. Is this wrong?

Same here. If I don't get a signal or response by the time I get to the table, it's a full. I'm with rainmaker, on this also. Don't listen to the coach for 60 seconds. If he has a question or two, answer them. If he's venting, it's going to be very short.

I tell them at the coaches meeting to let us know which you want before we get to the table.


Timeouts are for talking to their team, not us...if they have a legit concern I'll listen and respond, if all they want to do is vent, I'm walking away. If they chase, physically or verbally, they are getting whacked.

I try to both remind at the coaches meeting, and then attempt to ask on the way to the table once. If they don't respond by the time I get there, they get the full.

I've always thought that of all the things coaches do, giving a simple signal about which TO they want would be one they would just automatically do to make sure they don't lose a full when they only want a 30.

Thanks JDW, this is how I will do it from now on. I have been getting tired of tracking down the coach after every request.

I'm down with giving the full TO if they don't respond...I do this too.....but how do you guys handle it when you report FULL TO and the coach says "I didn't want a full...I want a :30!" and now he's really peeved...

I had this happen to me once and I simply told the coach that if he does not specify verbally or through signal to one of the officials it will be charged as a full and to make sure next time he requests a TO that he make sure we are aware....

I had a guy last week asking for a TO by shouting "THIRTY!" at me...I looked cause I thought that's what he wanted (the TO) but did not blow the whistle right away thinking, He could be calling a play....I drew eye contact and he then signaled for :30 and said "timeout!". ;)

It's not wrong. That what one of the books says to do.

If they have a question, answer it. If they are venting comments at you, then get to the blocks and make it so they have to go back their team or get whacked. If the coach clearly ignores your question "full or 30," he's bought himself a full timeout. I ask twice, never a third time.

If you stay over by the coach and let him vent, you've made it so one of two things will happen:

(1) You stay there and you send the message to everyone in the building that he owns you. The other coach is watching, the players are watching, and everyone else is watching. The time out is for him to coach his players, period.

(2) You can't whack him without looking like the aggressor, or worse, looking like you were over there to bait him.

So call the time out, report it, answer any quick question, and turn and go to the block. If the coach follows you, now it is obvious to everyone who the aggressor is and if you have to whack him, it will be obvious to all that he had it coming.

The Good Book of Nevada? ;)

Ok, seriously....Is that in the NFHS rule or casebook?

I say "Coach, in the pregame I reminded you to let us know, and then I asked you on the way to the table, and by rule if you don't respond you're granted a full TO."

And then I go wherever I'm supposed to go.

From a POE in the 2001-02 Rules Book:

"It will still be the responsibility of the coach of the calling team to immediately signal to the official as to whether a 60 or 30-second time-out is being requested."

I've read more somewhere else, but can recall where at the moment.

There's nothing specific to this in the rules book, but it's been emphasized at rules meetings and to coaches in both states I've worked.