Coach walks off floor....with players

[NYBLUE]

Girls AAU Tournament played back in early April.
This particular game was 16 and under (I think).

Coach asks for a TO midway through the 1st half and wants to talk to my partner and I at midcourt. He proceeds to say he doesn't want to see any of his girls get hurt and asked if we can tighten up the game a bit (we had already called 8-10 PF's at this point). He didn't even talk to his girls during the TO, just us.

Early in the 2nd half, coach asks for another TO and immediately instructs his girls to pack up their stuff and vacate the bench. Nobody said a word to my partner and I nor to the other team and coaching staff.
Apparently, he wasn't getting his way and called it quits.
At the time of forfeit, his team was trailing by 12 or so.

Anyone ever see or hear of something similar happening?
A coach simply pulls his players off the floor and leaves??!!!

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Originally Posted by NYBLUE

Girls AAU Tournament played back in early April.
This particular game was 16 and under (I think).

Coach asks for a TO midway through the 1st half and wants to talk to my partner and I at midcourt. He proceeds to say he doesn't want to see any of his girls get hurt and asked if we can tighten up the game a bit (we had already called 8-10 PF's at this point). He didn't even talk to his girls during the TO, just us.

Early in the 2nd half, coach asks for another TO and immediately instructs his girls to pack up their stuff and vacate the bench. Nobody said a word to my partner and I nor to the other team and coaching staff.
Apparently, he wasn't getting his way and called it quits.
At the time of forfeit, his team was trailing by 12 or so.

Anyone ever see or hear of something similar happening?
A coach simply pulls his players off the floor and leaves??!!!

NYBLUE:

Welcome to the wonderful world of AAU, YBOA, and any other alphabet soup group you can think of. All I can say is take you game fee and be thankful for the extra time you have to rest before you next game.

MTD, Sr.

[JRutledge]

Yep, it happened in a couple of real HS games this past season (Not games I was working). One coach was suspended by his conference. The other coach for all I know did not get in any trouble.

Peace

[canuckrefguy]

What a wonderful lesson that coach is teaching his players.

To quit.

What a loser.

[RookieDude]

Yes...it happened to me and my partner some years ago. (2 person crew in WA)

Varsity game...big schools, 4A....big rival...radio game.

Visiting team losing by 30...visiting coach had history as a hothead. (Ex- UW player turned part-time coach...big guy...had kicked a few official's room doors after losses in his time...generally abusive...I believe he had been reprimanded, by his school, before.)

Anyway, about the end of the 3rd Quarter...this guy starts *****ing about calls. I ignored him about once. He stood up on his next complaint as I was running by...WHACK! He said we were screwing him...I told him, "Coach, we aren't 30 points bad".

He said, "What you'd say...WHAT DID YOU SAY!?"...I ignored him.
He said, "You can't talk to me that way"!...and preceded to call his team off the floor. He walked off to the locker room, ranting the whole way.

The Home crowd is loving it...the radio guy looks confused...the Home coach has a smug smile on his face...and the visiting crowd doesn't know what to think.

My partner and I get together at mid-court and calmly discuss our options.

My partner wanted to forfeit the game right then and there. I wanted to wait for a bit. (Could have easily walked then...and coach would have really been hung out to dry...probably fired, as later told)

Well, the Principal of the visiting school was there...and asked us to come over to the scorer's table. He begged us to allow the team back on the floor...he asked if we would just give him a minute to talk to the coach.

I said sure...my partner wasn't so sure. But, we ended up letting the Principal go to the the locker room and talk to the coach and his team.

To make a long story a little shorter...the principal got the coach and team to walk back on to the floor, amongst a raucous crowd. As the smirking coach was walking back on the floor...I WHACKED him with his second T and pointed to the door. His assistants had to hold him back...he seemed a little upset.

His assistant coach took over and actually did a pretty good job...he got them within 20 in a losing effort.

SIDE NOTES:
As my partner and I were being escorted, by the local police to our cars...the local sports beat writer came up and asked me for a minute. I told him we weren't allowed to talk to the media...he used my name and said "... you might want to reply to this." "Reply to what", I asked him.

The writer went on to say that he had spoken to the ejected visiting coach...and the coach had told him that I said, "you are losing by 30...and I'll make sure you lose by more if you don't sit down and shut up"!

I was flabbergasted...all I could tell him was, "that is absolutely false"!

I phoned my assignor, as soon as I got to the car, and told him everything. He said don't worry about it (he was pretty laid back) it will probably all blow over in a few days. I wrote my report...and that was pretty much it.

I did hear that the school showed the WIAA the game tape...because the coach had cried favoritism...and from what my assignor said, they could only come up with two questionable traveling calls for the whole game.

My assignor put me on this teams games the following year and many years to come. Never had another problem with the big guy. He has recently got out of coaching...and from what I heard, if we hadn't of let his team return, that fateful night...he may have been ousted much sooner.

Soooo, for better or for worse...we may have done the guy a favor.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by RookieDude

To make a long story a little shorter...the principal got the coach and team to walk back on to the floor, amongst a raucous crowd. As the smirking coach was walking back on the floor...I WHACKED him with his second T and pointed to the door. His assistants had to hold him back...he seemed a little upset.

Dude, you are now officially my hero.



You penalized the perp, not the players.

[Mark Padgett]

I think RookieDude and his partner did a great job in the way they handled this. The only suggestion I have (and, of course, this is hindsight) would be to have told the principal right up front that you would let the team come back out but not with that coach.

[Adam]

My sophomore year in high school we were playing a team that was typically in the running for the state championship in our class. We were, well, let's just say we weren't ever in the running for a championship. On their home floor, their senior night. Our coach thought they had a history of running up the score, and he asked us prior to the game if we'd be okay with walking off the court if they did it again. What were we going to say?

Fast foward, beginning of 4th quarter, and we're losing by about 70 or so (something like 95-25), just getting our a$$es kicked. Quarter starts, and their starters are still in the game. Coach calls timeout, and we walk off.

Coach got suspended by the state for 2 games, and when we played that school at home later, their fans came fully armed (verbally speaking).

[JS 20]

I had this happen in a 9 and under (not a typo, nine year old and under) AAU game. Coach isn't doing any barking at all the entire game. Towards the end, his team gets down by about 12 with around 1 minute left. His smallest player gets a steal in the BC and goes to the hoop, defender makes a CLEAN strip of the ball, ball hits the shooter on the knee and since he weighs about 45 lbs, that throws off his balance and he goes to the floor pretty hard, ball goes OB off the shooter. I have nothing but OB and the other team's ball. Coach goes ballistic, other team inbounds and the player who shot the ball basically tackles the ball handler. I run the kid for that obviously and then as I go to the table, here comes the coach after me. I asked him calmly to get back to the box while I reported and I would answer any question he had, he kept after me, got further out on the floor toward me...WHACK. Turns around and with 30 seconds left and his team down 12, he gets them and leaves. I couldn't believe what a terrible example he was setting for 8 and 9 year old kids.

[Stat-Man]

I saw it happen in 1999 during a weekend Semi-Pro Women's Basketball tournament.

We had a three team weekend tournament (Saturday was a round robin and Sunday was the finals) with the winner qualifying to some national tournament.

Anyways, the final game is a local team versus a team from Chicago. The visiting team isn't doing too bad, but as the game prtogresses, the coach is getting more and more agitated and his team is starting to get more physical.

I'm not sure what all triggered the final action any more, but according to my archives, he decided to pull his team off the court with 9:18 left in the game trailing by 19. I do remeber that the league office was contacted. I do know they weren't allowed to participate in the national tournament (which they might have been able to do had they fiished the game and finished as the regional runner-up).

It was crazy. I mean, I can understand coaches being all passionate and such, but pulling a team off like that accomplishes nothing good.

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by Stat-Man

I'm not sure what all triggered the final action any more, but according to my archives, he decided....... .

This is an interesting discussion and I enjoy reading the great game recaps. And, while I too can remember some of my more memorable or "infamous" games, my hat is off to some of you with your outstanding details.

Stat-man however mentions his "archive," which leads me to this question - other than keeping records for tax purposes (game, school, mileage, score, partner, etc.), what other records (situations, controversies, game recaps, personal critiques) do any of you keep and for how long? For what purpose? Do you go back and look at them? Under what circumstances?

Previously, I've only kept the tax info and any reports I had to send to my assignor on game issues.

Just curious. Thanks.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by grunewar

other than keeping records for tax purposes (game, school, mileage, score, partner, etc.), what other records (situations, controversies, game recaps, personal critiques) do any of you keep and for how long?

I keep track of every coach whose head blew up after I spoke with him. I take pictures, too, for my scrapbook. Here's one of them:

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by grunewar

Stat-man however mentions his "archive," which leads me to this question - other than keeping records for tax purposes (game, school, mileage, score, partner, etc.), what other records (situations, controversies, game recaps, personal critiques) do any of you keep and for how long? For what purpose? Do you go back and look at them? Under what circumstances?

Previously, I've only kept the tax info and any reports I had to send to my assignor on game issues.

Just curious. Thanks.

I keep nothing more than the basic schedule and info needed for taxes.

[NYBLUE]

I was reminded of this situation, and therefore posted it for discussion, while I was working a 14U fastpitch tournament this weekend.

During the 1st inning, I glanced into the stands and recognized this one man.
I could not put my finger on where I had seen him before.
My partner comes in to talk with me after the 1st inning and asks me if I remember that coach that walked off the floor during basketball. Right then and there, I realized the man in the stands was that very same basketball coach.

Yep! my partner in that softball game was the very same partner in the hoops game.

We never said a word to him during or after the softball game, but I really wanted to stop play and run over to short right field and ask the guy...
"Hey! Are you gonna pull these girls off the field today too?!"

We wondered if he even recognized us.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by NYBLUE

We never said a word to him during or after the softball game, but I really wanted to stop play and run over to short right field and ask the guy...
"Hey! Are you gonna pull these girls off the field today too?!"

That would have been incredibly cool - as long as the kids didn't hear you, that is.