Allowing a Coach to Call a Timeout
 

How long has it been since only a Player on the court could call a Time-out? When was the allowance made for Coaches

Thanks

I can't even remember a time when a coach couldn't request a time out. For as long as I can remember coaches can request at time out.

BTW, you're gonna get ripped apart by some of the guys on the forum if you don't say "request". Coaches can't call time outs... they can request it, officials grant it. Just a fair warning:)

It was some time in the late 90s IIRC. Players still had to request them when I played, but coaches could request them when I started calling...at least, that's how I remember it.

What he said:D:D:D

Seriously though, it's a good thing to get used to using the correct terminology.....

Haha yeah its a habit to break going from player to official. You always hear from coaches "Call timeout"

It is a good distinction to make because coaches must know that just because they say "timeout" that does not mean it is supposed to be granted automatically.

And for the record I hate this rule as I think coaches overreact or assume a lot of things as a result of their request. They should teach their players to request a timeout as we are actually paying attention to them.

Peace

Our local kids rec league doesn't allow coaches to request timeouts. OK - they can try, but we ignore them. :)

Oh yeah - we also don't have a coaches box. Can you tell that all four members of our rules committee are officials? :)

I'm beginning to despise the rule as well. It's difficult to pick out the coach's voice in an intense situation more often than not, especially when we're on the other side of the court from their bench.

I agree. Especially in areas where we work only 2 man, there's a lot of things we have to be paying attention to, and listening for a coach's T.O. request is low on the priority list. This one I would like to see changed back to what it used to be - only a player on the floor can request a timeout.

The other thing is that I'm so used to going over to the table to say "Blue Time out, 30 seconds, COACH, start timer". But when a player requests a time out, I will remember the number but I say "coach" by accident at the table and then say "I mean, number 32".

I'm sure that happens to a lot of us.

No, it doesn't. Clearly a lot of things happen to you that don't happen to most of the rest of us.

I was coaching a game on Monday, where our player was in the process of tying up the other team's player in a jump ball, when the opposing team's coach yelled time-out!!! He was granted the time-out and the jump-ball change of possession was avoided. I told the ref that he did not need to grant the time-out, especially when there was a question as to whether which team was controlling the ball.

Can you professionals illuminate the ruling a little more?

You mean to tell me that after a whole season of only coaches requesting a time out, that in your last game of the season a player requests a time out and you go over to the table and don't even slightly have to think about it for a second and say in your head "right, a player requested it this time".

That's exactly what I'm telling you. It just happened this past week as a matter of fact. Probably the second player timeout I've had this season. No problem at all reporting the number. I work hard at this job. I don't find myself in any of the bizarre situations you post about regularly. There is a correlation there...

When there is a held ball situation, no one can request time out. But happens sometimes though, is that the held ball situation will happen, let's say for now, in the corner of the L, and the T doesn't see it is a held ball situation when a coach yells for a time out and the T will stop the ball dead to grant it. But the rules say that once a time out is granted, it cannot be revoked. So you have the time out and you restart the game with that team having the ball OOB.