Is It Inappropriate to Laugh?

[Indianaref]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I completely disagree with your opinion on this. You cannot tell what works for everyone. Coaches say sarcastic or use humor a lot (in my experiences) and I have no problem using the same tactic. I have found that it gets them to laugh or use levity in situations that ordinarily are very intense. Also if you always keep a serious look on your face, for some people you are being mean or angry. And it is not in any way unprofessional to use what works for you. Now maybe that does not work for you, because you cannot tell a joke or you are not quick on your feet to come up with certain lines. I have seen some of the best officials use sarcasm or laugh and smile to perfection. If that is your personality, that might work very well.

Peace

Jeff, there is nothing wrong with your statement above. I also will one line with coaches with success. This is part of what makes the game fun. You're right, each situation is different. However, IMO, in the OP, by discription, three minutes into the game, sounds like we have a screaming coach that is a little on the mental side. Soooo, my intial reaction is to warn him. Most likely, it's a HTBT situation.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Indianaref

Jeff, there is nothing wrong with your statement above. I also will one line with coaches with success. This is part of what makes the game fun. You're right, each situation is different. However, IMO, in the OP, by discription, three minutes into the game, sounds like we have a screaming coach that is a little on the mental side. Soooo, my intial reaction is to warn him. Most likely, it's a HTBT situation.

This is where personality might come into place. I would not want to warn a coach that early without giving them a chance to see their behavior for what it is. Because if you warn them, now you have to go to the next step if they do the same thing. I would consider a warning to be the last resort before taking more serious action. But this is why laughter might set a tone (and it may not) where as coming off as a jerk (what the coach might think) might be counter-productive to having a smooth game.

Peace