Coach pleas for a foul... and GETS IT

[Rich]

Originally Posted by bbcof83

...or at least that's how I'm sure it looked to B's coach. I normally don't care how I "appear" to anyone, but this situation bothered me a little.

Sit: Last couple minutes of a well played boys V game. Team A is up by 5. Team B is playing very aggressively against A's clock draining weave, taking chances for a steal but not afraid to foul. A's coach, right behind me (I'm T), starts to yell "HAND CHECK!" any time an A player starts to dribble and B is close. Second time through weave he yells "HAND CHECK!" again. He happens to be correct, A1 was displaced by a push from B1. I blow my whistle and turn to report while partner lines players up for bonus FTs. I'm a little annoyed with the LOUD cry but forget about it quickly.

20 seconds later, next time A has the ball, same thing happens. "HAND CHECK!" TWEET! Hand check foul. Now, this time I turn around and B coach gives me the "Just because he's crying for it doesn't mean you have to call it."

This happens a third time in a row within a 1 minute span. And now I'm aware of how this may appear (doesn't help that I'm the calling official all three times).

Question, would any of you handled this situation specially? Would any of you perhaps said anything to A's coach about toning it down? Since the home team had the ball when A's coach was yelling it was quiet enough for the whole gym to hear. I'm sure it appeared (to some biased viewers) that my whistle was prompted by the A coach's plea. When in fact, he was just anticipating B being too aggressive and fouling and I was, of course, reacting to the players' actions.

I think that it's imperative at the point that you call the foul (or soon after) that you shut that coach down. Actually, you should've done it earlier, but since you didn't it's the best you can do. Otherwise, the perception from the other coach will be that you are letting the coach call the game and he may start doing the same things. He's already thinking it and can you blame him?

I don't think the post below yours is a good one. Technical fouls should be rare and should improve the game. If the coach doesn't respond to a professionally delivered message, "Coach, I can't have you calling the game from over here, I'll take care of hand checks when they happen" or some such and the behavior continues, by all means the technical might improve the game. It's a tool -- but it's a sledgehammer. Sometimes you need something a bit smaller and finer.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

If the coach doesn't respond to a professionally delivered message

Here's one I use. "Coach, let's switch places. You come out here and call the game and I'll go to the bench and act like a jackass."