"I played the game my whole life"

[Mark Padgett]

This Sunday, I called an intentional foul on B1 who just ran up to A1 and pushed her in the back to stop the clock. Team A was up by 5 with about 30 seconds to go in the game. Coach B couldn't believe I called it intentional. I told him what happened and he said, "That's not an intentional foul. I should know. I played the game my whole life."

My reply: "Really, coach? Your whole life? Even when you were a baby? Did you dribble while dribbling?"

He just stared, turned around and walked away.

There's a guy who lives in the neighborhood who was a boy's V coach for over 20 years and he comes to watch a lot of the games (he's retired and doesn't have much else to do, I guess). We talk sometimes between and after games and he came up to me after this one and said he couldn't believe that coach didn't think that was an intentional foul. He said, "What did he think needs to happen - the girls head has to fly off?"

Saying you know how to officiate because you've played the game is like saying you know how to fly a plane because you've been a passenger.