It doesn't - except when it just leads to another question. And another. And another.

Or it leads to "Why didn't you call that when their guy did it last time".

I don't have any problem answering legit questions - but I am generally pretty skeptical of the number of "questions" that are actually legit.

Which is why I think coaches have the "hate it when they ignore me" pet peeve - sometimes we are ignoring them because we don't think their comments or questions warrant a response. At least that is why *I* sometimes ignore them.

I am not overly satisfied with this response on my part though - sometimes I think I should be more pro-active about getting coaches to quit chirping about the officiating when it becomes persistent.

On the other hand, I don't really buy into the idea that I *should* respond to their chirping - that seems like it is just validating them trying to coach me by me responding. Why should I have to explain my calls to the coach? Does he need to explain to me why he is running a 2-3 zone instead of a box and 1?

I haven't really come up with a good solution yet that works for me. I suspect that I will be required to yack it up with coaches more though, but that will be a response to the realities of the job and how games are assigned, rather than any actual valid reasoning for why coaches need to have calls explained to them.

Higher levels require a bit more talking, but some officials who are very successful say little while others are Ed Hightower (I just saw him yesterday and he was talking to the coaches, especially Bo Ryan, the whole game).

As others have said, I'll go into a game willing to answer questions, but as soon as I get the "call it at the other end" response, I'll say to myself "well, you tried, not going to be a repeat of this" and then stay more distant on purpose. A coach really does direct, for me, how approachable I am. A warm handshake can turn to a cold shoulder before long, and it's always the coach that determines how it all goes.

"Because they bought foul insurance and you didn't." :cool:

A lot of off-ball fouls will generate questions, because new officials do not have a monopoly on ball-watching. Especially, the team control fouls. But if a coach is not going to play Jeopardy and make the request in the form of a question, I am not going to engage in a debate.

This.

I am more than willing to answer a coach's questions throughout the game if he's willing to listen to the answer. I've had much better outcomes in games when I engage the coaches and vice versa than if I ignore coaches.

I will even acknowledge a chirper sometimes, even if it's just a shake of the head, to let him know I heard his comment. Many times that stops, or at least curbs, the chirping.

But, bottom line, I've found more success in actively engaging coaches who ask questions early and letting their responses guide the level of engagement with them through the rest of the game. This works for me, but I also know it doesn't for everyone.

During pre-game, I always tell coaches that if they have a question, we will be happy to address it on a break, but not during play. We don't want them distracting us from what's happening on the court.

About three years ago, I had a coach yell a question about a call to me while his team was shooting an uncontested layup. Of course, I ignored him. At the next timeout, he asked my why I didn't answer him, since his team was on a break! Yes, he was kidding. I even thought that was funny.