A coach even a mother couldn't love :(
 

Watched a camp game today between a pretty good 4-A school and a much less talented 2-A school. With about 7-8 minutes left in the game, the winning coach started to play his subs.

Then his scrubs.

And pretty soon he was putting jerserys on what looked like 6th grade boys and putting them on the floor. And before you ask, no these were definitely not diminutive freshman. The first one on the floor was wearing a collared shirt under his jersey, and obviously was not there to play. Perhaps they were younger brothers of some of the players. Who knows.

Needless to say, he pissed off pretty much everybody in the building who wasn't one of his weenie supporters. And there was an understandably ugly moment after the game with the opposing coach.

I wondered at the time what I would do if it were my game. I considered that if I were the losing coach, I'd probably pull my team. If I were the losing players, it would be hard not to give one of the little wannabes a lesson in playing with the big boys. (Okay, I discarded that idea pretty quickly).

A little later on I settled on what I could do as an official.

1. When the little kid reports, I refuse to allow him into the game
2. When the coach wants to make something of it, I inform him that making a travesty of the game is grounds for forfeit, and I would not hesitate to do so
3. Find the first possible opportunity to unload the *******
4. If he doesn't have an assistant, even better as I would forfeit the game

Any thoughts?

What were the camp restrictions for the age of the players?

If the kids meet the camp requirements, or there weren't any written down, then its none of the official's business who the coach plays as part of his team.

You may have to go to camp directors about this one. However if players were removing their jersey's while on the bench you could call a T for removal of the jersey and being bench personnel that would also be an indirect to the coach.

Do I have this right
 

We have a coach drubbing the opposition. He continually reduces the caliber of player on the court -- beginning with taking the starters out, then going deeper and deeper to his bench (and perhaps his imagined bench).

It's a camp? Absent formal requirements on rostering and eligibility, I'm not having a big problem with a coach avoiding humiliating an opponent by sitting kids who outclass the opposition (unless the depths to which he reached to get players on the court is, in an of itself, humiliation)

But again, I'm not very bright so I might have missed something.

Reducing the caliber of players is one thing. But when you start ad hoc suiting up 6th graders and sending them in a varsity game, especially kids that are not even on the team...that's not avoiding humiliation. That's heaping humiliation onto the other team.

And, at that point, it ceases to be a contest because, to the losing kids' credit, they pulled back and let the little kids shoot, pulled up at times to make sure they didn't accidentally hurt one of the little kids. Though they did swat away a last second shot attempt by one of the little guys.

Yes, I believe there are some age restrictions. At least when I asked a younger player before one game why he was sitting across the court from his varsity team and, "Aren't you a starter?" the kid smiles and says, "Yeah, but I'm too young to play in this game." Not exactly authoritative, but certainly suggestive that there is some age restrictions for varsity play at least.

I'd avoid 1-4 and go with:

5) Officiate the game
6) Inform the camp director

I agree. Getting involved in too much stuff at a camp.

Peace

What did your evals have to say about that game?

assuming the players aren't on the roster and need to be added, just start issuing Ts. This may be an exception, but I have never worked even a summer league that specifically discarded the roster rules.

I don't remember the last time I did a summer where there actually was a roster.

Yeah, summer and camp games are pretty freelanced, but if they aren't on the bench, in uniform, or arriving late and the same, I'm not letting them in the game -- at least not without the other coach's approval. If they say, "hey, there's no book," I'll say something like, "we're going to pretend there is and what you started with (or who came late legitimately) is what you have for the game."

Just remember, you wouldn't dare let a JV team (just for example) put in a college player. Why would you let them put in a jr. high player?

The coach should look at you as if you are from Mars. The two camps that I've done so far this summer didn't have rosters and didn't keep individual fouls. Only the running score and team fouls were charted.
As others have already said, it's a poor idea to try to get involved in something which doesn't concern you.

Because the jr high kid may be permitted to participate. The camp could be for kids age 12-18 or something like that.

Despite how irritated I was at the guy for his behavior, after a (very short but) good night's sleep, and a chat with another buddy, I opted to go with Bob's #5 & 6.

I did have the guy for a game that next day, and it turned out to be a helluva good one too. He ended up losing by 4 points (give or take) to the team that took 2nd at the camp.

I've worked quite a few spring and summer league "camp games" and the only question I ask when a sub (who doesn't look like he or she is really "on the team") is coming it is if that kid is registered in the program. If so, they play. If not, they don't. The guys from the program (coaches, etc), not me, decide who plays and what that mix will be.

I'm glad. That's the intelligent route to take.

As for some of the silly things that coaches do at summer camp...

Working the championship game between two teams which had played earlier in the weekend with White winning. This time Blue starts out well and is ahead by double digits. My partner has penalized White for traveling three times. I'm the Lead tableside and the ball is on this side of the court near the sideline below the FT line extended. Player for Blue takes a jab step with his non-pivot foot and then does a cross-over step with this same foot followed by quickly lifting his pivot foot, but not putting it back down, and striding in the same direction as the cross-over step in order to get a better angle when throwing a pass to a teammate near the top of the arc.

The coach says to me, "You have to call that."
Me: "Call what, coach?"
Coach: "A travel."
Me: "He didn't travel, coach."
Coach: "I know that, but your partner has called three travels against us already, and you have to get one against them."
Me: "Sorry, coach, I wasn't aware of that rule."
Coach: "You don't have to be a smart@ss about it."
Me: "I wouldn't be, if you weren't being a dumb@ss about it."

:D</iiiiiiiiiiiii>

Now that there is some real professionalism. Great people skills. Then you wonder why others get punched after games by coaches or have to carry copies of state laws in their bags.

Is using offensive and antagonistic language towards coaches in the rule book or a certified mechanic?

Anyone who talks to a coach like that is an absolute idiot and just asking for trouble.

See Nevada, it's your fault coaches get mad and punch referees.

Maybe not. Or, just maybe, in this isolated instance, it is.

Absolutely not.

As much as I would like to sit back and watch the war of words escalate, I'll just step in and point out your "people skills" seem to be less than absolute.

People skills are <B>absolutely</B> important when it comes to being a successful official. It takes great people skills to know when talk to a coach that way, and when not to. 99.8% of the time that will not work, and will get the official in trouble. But there are the rare instances when the official can tell what works with a particular coach's personality. Even then, it depends on the official's personality and their ability to be able to pull it off. I have heard numerous stories from various big-time D-1 officials and their conversations with coaches that I could never get away with. So how is it they can? Their ability to know how and when - great people skills.

What works for you, or Nevada, or those D-1 officials, may not work for me. Also, what works for me one night may blow up in my face the next night. Part of becoming a good official is knowing what works <B>for you</B>, and when to use it, when it comes to talking to coaches and players.

This could also be a perfect example of the need for the disclaimer: "Do not attempt - professional driver on closed course."

Liability Issues
 

I'm surprised that no one has brought up the liability issues that can arise in this situation. You let a High School Senior play against a 6th grader, and someone gets hurt. Now what?

If they're both registered in the program and having them play against each other is allowed, and all parents were aware of that being included in the program, where's the problem? Please note - IANAL.

I had something similar earlier in the yr in a spring WRECK League game. One team tried to "sneak" a very good B17 yr old into a B13/15 game. I wouldn't allow it.....

And I was made out to be the bad guy. Go figure. :rolleyes:

What has worked really well for me this off-season regarding coaches yelling travel is:

Okay coach, which foot was the pivot?

When they get that confused look on their face, I say in order to properly rule on a travel, one has to know which foot was the pivot.
They either: (a) still look confused (b) can't identify the pivot (c) get their wittle feelings hurt.

The end result is that they stop yelling travel & go to 3 seconds or the cry for a non-contact moving screen :D

You're anal? :D

No. If I was a lawyer, then I'd be anal. ;)