Partner tosses coach

[Mark Padgett]

Yesterday, I worked three 5th-6th grade boys games in a "competitive" league at a local venue. All these boys attend various camps and their coaches are the guys who run those camps.

Second game, team A scores. B1 grabs the ball after the basket and immediately tosses it to my partner who is the new trail (two person mechanics) and who is standing OOB along the endline. My partner jumps out of the way, lets the ball bounce away and starts his five second count. B1 runs after the ball, grabs it along the sideline and throws it in. My partner, who has already reached five seconds, blows his whistle for the inbound violation.

Coach B goes nuts. He runs down from his bench (on the other side of the division line) and gets right up in my partner's face, yelling about how that was a "bush league play" and "where did he think he was - in the NBA?". My partner (a guy I've known for about five years) tosses him. The guy yells a little more, then gets outta Dodge.

I had no problem with the toss, but do you think my partner did the right thing in avoiding the ball instead of just tapping it back to B1? He told me afterward that he was going to explain the violation to the player but the coach took away his chance.

Actually, I've done the same thing a few times over the years, and I always explain it to the players. That's how they learn.

BTW - it was great to see an old acquaintance, David Lucas (Maurice Lucas' younger son) coaching at this place. I've known him ever since I used to ref his 3rd grade games. He's now in his late 20s and about 10 feet tall. We talked for a few minutes. Unfortunately, I didn't get any of his games, but I hope I will in the future. He's a great kid and he runs camps, besides playing on a semi-pro team.