from an ex Jr High Coach...
First and foremost, don't ever take any crap off of those coaches, just don't do it. Set the tone early. Sure, you've got a lot to learn, and you'll make mistakes along the way, but don't make the mistake of letting them think they can disrespect you when you're just trying to do the best you can. Becasue if you do make that mistake, it will get worse, I've seen it.
If you feel like you should probably "whack" (call a technical) some fool, don't second guess yourself, just do it. You can always make adjustments later with more experience if you want to. Give yourself permission to do that going in. Remember, you have the ability to guarantee coaches respect you, or they don't get to coach any more. If you don't, and you allow an *** to continue being an ***, well you're going to end up with manure every time.
These guys in here can be pretty hard on coaches as a group, and with the crap they receive, most of us deserve it. It's hard to not become jaded against all of us because of a few of us. Jr High coaches, as a group are like Jr High kids, they're the worst. At least with a youth coach below Jr High, they
might not be taking their self too serious,
might not be coaching to win, and
might not think they know the rules of the game. And if a High School coach started off being overly mouthy, well he has probably learned to tone it down some, or else he will find his self out in the parking lot sitting in the team bus during the game, and you can't build a career on that.
The fact is Jr High coaches don't know the rules very well, only well enough to get our selves in trouble; and most High School coaches know only a little bit more, and then only because they've paid attention to referees when they talk (like in here). Worse, Jr High coaches have no clue of the "unwritten rules," of decorum between referees and coaches. That only comes with experience.
Jr High coaches should be concerned with teaching kids how to play the game first, and winning somewhere on down the line. Some personalities are just too competetive for their own good, and even though they may move their mouth as if they don't believe that winning is the priority, their demeanor on the court, the way they speak to you, and sometimes even to their own players will give them away. These kinds of coaches should not be coaching kids in my opinion. They often appear to be very dedicated and motivated, because they are driven. School administrators and some parents will constantly make excuses for these types, claiming that their passion is miss understood. BS! The best thing you or other referee's can do for this type is not put up with him, whack him, and whack him again. Then whack him the very next chance you get. Make it so that school administrators can't ignore this type. We don't need kids being influenced by this pathetic idea of a model of leadership.
Ok, nuff said, finished with my unsolicited advice. Good luck, I think the fact you're in here looking to learn speaks well for you. I can tell you this much for sure, I had no idea how much I didn't know about the rules of the game until I came here and started reading the threads.
Tue Aug 18, 2009, 10:45pm
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