Coach Citing the Foul Counts

[pizanno]

I recently had this exchange:

Coach: "Your last four fouls have been against us"

Me: "Are you asking me to ignore fouls that I see?"

Coach: "I'm just wondering why all your fouls are against us?"

Me: "Believe it or not, I don't keep track. Just call them as they come"

Coach: "Fair enough"

This wasn't one of my "stock" responses, but since I was familiar with the coach, I felt I had some latittude and that's what came out of my mouth. Thought I might try it on another coach, but wondered if it sounded "smart*ss"?.

Stock responses include:

"I hear you coach"
"We'll look at it coach"
"Do you have a question, coach?"

[CMHCoachNRef]

Originally Posted by Spence

First year ref.

I know in general we do not respond to comments.

How far do I let a coach go with giving me the foul totals per team as in "my team has a lot and the other team doesn't have many? Do I simply not comment?

My inclination is to let it go but I'm curious as to how others handle it.

Spence,
As a long time coach, this is one of the most absurd arguments a coach can make. The other related comments include the dreaded, "come on ref, call it both ways" -- when doing soccer I have been known to blow my whistle and point in BOTH directions at the same time (this only works for seasoned old-timers as it could result in a real mess, if you are not careful).

I think that it is a mistake to completely ignore the coach -- this will infuriate him even more. I will frequently make a comment that my partners and I are calling the fouls that we see. I will then ask, "Are you seeing anything SPECIFIC that you would like us to watch for out here?"

The answer to this one can go in a number of directions. If they indicate that you are missing everything that they are doing and seeing everything that we are doing, you know you have a biased-view coach and the only thing you can do is indicate that you are doing your best to see the actions of both teams.

On the other hand, in many cases, they will give you a specific -- my guards are getting bumped on the perimeter, my posts are getting moved out of the post, my guys are getting bumped on rebounds, or my gals are getting hit on shots. Now, you have something specific. You can respond, "OK coach, I will keep an eye out for that for you" or "OK, my partner and I will talk about that during the next break or at the end of the quarter" or "we will be watching for that AT BOTH ENDS."

In many cases, the coaches simply want to feel as though the officials are being fair, that the officials care and that they are willing to listen -- at least a little.

You don't need a lengthy discussion. You don't have to have a discussion with a coach three times every quarter. At the same time, if the foul count is very imbalanced, it is always good to be able to provide some (albeit short) explanation.