How do you introduce yourself to captains & coaches?
 

Mr. / Ms.? First name, last name? Different for captains and coaches?

I suppose it depends on where you are and what you are comfortable with.
Some believe you need to be more formal to gain respect. We are comfortable being informal and have no problems with respect issues. We are friendly but not "friends". We introduce ourselves by first name to captains. We introduce ourselves to coaches by first and last names as we greet them, each time we greet them whether or not we already know each other.

This works for us - maybe not everyone. Do whatever you are comfortable with - or what your association has determined you should all use.

Mr. Last Name to high school players.

First/Last Name to coaches and college players.

I use my first name. My R the other night went last names with everyone, including the coaches. I just rolled with it. I'll still use my first name.

I tell players my name is "Sir". I tell coaches my name is Tony Soprano.

Please call me Mr. Deez....."Mr. Deez??" Yes, Deez Nutz!! (Dave Chappelle Show)

But seriously, First and last name to coaches, same to players. (I hope if they can remember my name, they have the manners to call me Mr. Last Name for players).

Same for players and coaches.... I introduce myself by shaking their hand and stating my first and last name.

When I introduce myself to a coach, I give them my first and last name as this feels more like an introduction in a business setting. When it comes to the captains/coaches meeting, I only give first names. I want to make myself as approachable as I can, and IMHO this bit of informality helps lower the communication barrier that naturally exists.

Perhaps it's a regional, or maybe a generational thing, but I don't expect the players to call me Mister, and I certainly don't insist upon it. I can command their respect quite adequately without having to demand it.

It is also a cultural thing
 

I give my first and last name to everyone. I only allow coaches to call me by my first name. The players are not my peer or equal. Heck I still do not call adults that were adults when I was a child by their first name. I consider that disrespectful to them. Then again that is how I was raised.

Peace

Introduction to Coaches and Players
 

Mr. and last name is only

If a coach wants to know your first name , he/she will found out sooner or
later

Coaches - I give my first and last name as I shake their hand.

Captains - I say "Hi. How are you tonight?" or something similiar and don't bother to give them a name at all. They don't care what our names are anyway.

Same for both.....
 

Coach/Players - "My name is Mr. G. This is Mr. P. and Ms. Y. we'll be your officials for tonights game......" Our meetings are held seperately (as has been discussed before).

I just personally prefer to keep it respectful, professional and the same for all. Doesn't matter if I know the players, they're my neighbors, or I have coached with the coach or known them for 20 yrs.

To each his or her own.

First name to players. First and Last name to coaches.

Approachable
 

First name to captains, first and last to coaches. Coaches usually find a way to connect with me before the game starts or know from their ADs who's working their games. (I would want to know.)

I appreciate players that call me sir as it shows me they understand we're not peers. That makes me more inclined to learn/know their first name to call them by it as appropriate.

When I ump baseball, I introduce myself to the catcher by first name as we'll have more of a relationship for 2 hours and I want him to feel comfortable talking to me.

First and last name to coaches when we meet prior to the captains meeting and the first and last names again when I introduce myself and partners at the coaches and captains meeting.

In my area, coaches vote for officials to advance in the post season. I want to make sure they don't accidentaly vote for the wrong Scratch.

When I officiated in Kansas, it was recommended to hand each coach a card with our names on it, as they also vote for post season assignments there.

You can mark me down as not liking that process.

Now, it's first and last to coaches. Usually "hey, how ya doing?" to players individually as they come up for captains meetings, but if I'm introducing the entire crew I do "I'm Mr. X, this is Ms. Y and Mr. Z..."

Wisconsin has the same ranking card recommendation. Rankings from schools are supposed to impact post-season assignments. If I'm a coach, I'm tossing the card and verifying names in the book or from my AD. As an official, the card seems unnecessary and bothersome.

We hand out the cards here in CO, at all levels. Seems more of a formality.

And that is still a great way to be raised!

I do the same; my name is unique so I like to see if the coaches who don't know me think I'm pulling their leg.

Agreed...and it has nothing to do with basketball or officiating. All minors in all situations get "I'm Mr. Lastname" when I give my name. Depending on the relationship/dynamics that develop it could change to "Mr. Firstname" over time.

Mr. Rutledge ...
 

I don't think that there are many of us left. My former wife used to hate it when I called my brother-in-law's father Mr. Smith. She thought that it was childish and that I should call him Bob. I've known Mr. Smith since I was a teenager. I'm not calling him by his first name unless he insists. I also use titles when I address people, Dr. Smith, Coach Jones, Reverend Brown, etc, even if they're a lot younger than me, and almost all people are a lot younger than me.

My daughter's boyfriend is from Australia. The first time I met him he called be Bill, not Mr. Mac. He wasn't at all being disrespectful, they are a lot more laid back Down Under. It took some getting used to. I'm used to friends of my three children calling me Mr. Mac. I guess it's because I'm a retired teacher and many of my kid's friends had me as their teacher.

Bond ...
 

James Bond.

I'm in WI. I've never handed out a card in basketball and ALWAYS hand one to the head coach in football. Our names and numbers are in the book.

Eh. I'm 40. I introduce myself as "Rich" to everyone. I use coaches' first names. I'm not one for formalities.

In the end, everyone can do whatever they want.

Different strokes for different folks.

As an aside, with HS school players I look at myself as on par with school administrators or staff members. I sure hope my children (17 & 11) aren't calling the principal or any of their teachers by their first names.

I called a family friend one time by his first name. Not only did he tell my parents, I had both parents tell me not to do that anymore. I learned that lesson quick and I was about 11-12 at the time. I have not done that since. And I am 37 and as I said, if you were an adult when I was a child (and I knew you of course) your first name is off limits. I call you by your title or Mr. or Mrs./Ms.

Peace

This has always fascinated me. I was raised in a very conservative small midwestern town, and I called all the adults by their first names unless they were teachers or coaches. My wife was raised in a similar small town about sixty miles away and she referred to her friends parents by first name, but other adults by Mr. or Mrs. Lastname.

The children in our church in Des Moines referred to adults by Mr. or Mrs. Firstname (an odd quirk), and that is something that I've seen used here as well. I'd never heard that before, but that still seems odd to me.

The lovely Mrs. just reminded me that the first time we heard "Mr. Firstname" was when visiting friends in Houston.

Interesting. I haven't been here that long but I don't think I've heard that one yet.

I like first and last name with coaches and first names with players. I've never had a player call me by first name, only by Mr Official, etc...though my favorite is calling me "blue" while in stripes. :D

I do like being called "blue," it takes me back to my playing days.

Like most, I use first name with players and first/last names with coaches. The players don't remember your name once the game starts anyway, so I'm not that worried about being called by my last name.

I have a friend who is a math teacher. He wouldn't care if students called him by his first name, but the administration frowns on it, so he is mainly called Mr. LastInitial.

He introduces himself to players by first names, too.

I am not an administrator or teacher. I *hope* I am more approachable during a game than a principal would be normally.

I am a teacher, and no, I don't let students call my by my first name and they never would. However, I don't put the same restrictions on sports. It is a different setting. I've never had a problem with crossover mistakes. They know in school I am Mr. S and on court I can be Rob. I've not had experience with any disrespect because of this. Perhaps I am lucky but I like to think it's because I've earned their respect. Most of the athletes are ex-students at the HS level, but I do teach a HS music class and have had a current student or two over the years. (never at varsity level - always turn those contracts away)

I would hope all principals are very approachable while still expecting students to call them Mr/Mrs/Ms. The 2 are not mutually exclusive. I am no less or more approachable by the name I give when introduced. My demeanor and personality determine that.

Snaqs, the Mr/Ms FirstName thing is very common around these parts. My kids use that for my personal friends and also for the counselors in their daycare programs through the years. And if a HS school player happened to know my first name, based on my experiences here in Virginia, they would use Mr. FirstName.

In these here parts, students/players address adults as Sir or Ma'am. On the court, officials are usually addressed as Mr. Ref or Miss Ref. They remember our names about as well as we remember the Speaking Captains' numbers.

I forgot to mention that also but I think some people's heads would have exploded. I work on a military installation and the surrounding area has the highest concentration of US military population in the world, so Sir/Ma'am is a regular occurrence around these parts.

I use Sir/Ma'am on coaches all the time, it throws them off when I feel a rant coming on. :D

I won't challenge your statement about the concentration of military there, but it's pretty significant where I work as well. Coaches don't flinch when I refer to them as sir or ma'am.