Fibnally Grew A Pair ...

[tomegun]

I have some things to think about when it comes to giving coaches technical fouls and your post. IMO, a coaches job is one of the most helpless in basketball because they can only give instruction and not actually do what they would like done on the court. Having said that, a coach still has no excuse for certain behavior and that behavior should be addressed. I'm not saying call a T, but the behavior cannot be ignored.

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Right or wrong. Good or bad. I don't usually give high school coaches technical fouls. I have a very long fuse compared to most. It's not because I'm trying to stay on the coach's good side. Here in Connecticut coaches vote for state tournament officials and I'm no where near that caliber of official, so I can give a crap about whether they vote for me, or not. Maybe it's because I coached middle school basketball for over twenty-five years and know how frustrating their job can be. Maybe it's because I am so concentrating on what's happening on the floor that I don't hear, or see, what's going on off the floor. Maybe after twenty-nine seasons of doing this my skin has gotten thicker, and I've learned how to "tune out" the coaches. I would rather defuse problems with various game management techniques, including, but not limited to, warnings. My last technical foul to a high school coach was in 2006-07.

Yesterday. Prep school. Visiting coach seems displeased with some of my foul calls and non calls, questioning why a foul "down there" is not a foul "up here". He's not distracting me, and after several times up and down the court, I'm not close enough to address his questions. All of a sudden he yells loudly, "That's ridiculous", at the same time I'm reporting a foul against his team to the table.


Also, game management was 100% easier after that technical. It certainly made the game better and smoother. Also, it felt good, real good. I hope that this isn't addictive, because I have an addictive personality.

It seems like you are trying to justify why you don't call technical fouls while making some back-handed remarks about those who do. I'm referring to the comment about your skin getting thicker. In the end, your game management was easier - sort of like you realized what other officials who call technical fouls realized.

Originally Posted by BillyMac

No, I only heard it once or twice, just never got a chance to answer his questions, by being close enough to him, after several "trips" up and down the court. I believe that he was questioning the competence of my calls rather than my integrity. I would of liked to respond to him, because both the calls he was referring to were actually very similar, except one involved no displacement, and the other involved displacement. Of course, he never gave me a chance to answer is questions, unless you consider my whack a response.

Like someone mentioned, this isn't part of coaching. Questioning an official's calls is simply that, questioning an official's calls. You can rationalize it all you want, but he did it and it should have been addressed.

It isn't really that big of a deal though. The good thing about a T is, if I'm around within half a court's length of a coach, maybe farther, I have no problem whacking him.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by tomegun

Making some back-handed remarks.

Back-handed? Sorry. Why should I have been so coy? Maybe I should have been more direct. I do not have a problem with officials who have a shorter fuse than me. None what so ever. They make our job easier when we go into the same gym a few nights later. I do have a problem with officials who allow coaches to get away with murder because they are afraid that they will not get enough votes to work state tournament games. I will be part of a crew that has to work in front of those coaches a few nights later, and now he thinks that he can get away with the same crap, so we have to pick up the pieces, with game management skills, with warnings, and, yes, with T's. On my off nights I will often go to games that my colleagues work. Some of them, not many, but a few, let coaches get away with things that I, with my very long fuse, would never get away with.

Slightly off topic. One night I guess that I showered a little quicker than normal. As I was getting out of the shower, I overheard my partner, in the outer office, practically begging the coach for a vote, "If you liked my work tonight, coach, then give me a vote for the tournament and you may see me there". I almost puked all over my bare feet. I know my limits. I know that I will probably never see a state tournament game. I also know that if I ever reach even close to that level, I will never kowtow to coaches to get tournament games. There are other reasons why I believe that I don't call a lot of T's, as outlined in my post above, which you are certainly free to agree, or disagree with, but one reason will never be to please a coach.

[26 Year Gap]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Back-handed? Sorry. Why should I have been so coy? Maybe I should have been more direct. I do not have a problem with officials who have a shorter fuse than me. None what so ever. They make our job easier when we go into the same gym a few nights later. I do have a problem with officials who allow coaches to get away with murder because they are afraid that they will not get enough votes to work state tournament games. I will be part of a crew that has to work in front of those coaches a few nights later, and now he thinks that he can get away with the same crap, so we have to pick up the pieces, with game management skills, with warnings, and, yes, with T's. On my off nights I will often go to games that my colleagues work. Some of them, not many, but a few, let coaches get away with things that I, with my very long fuse, would never get away with.

Slightly off topic. One night I guess that I showered a little quicker than normal. As I was getting out of the shower, I overheard my partner, in the outer office, practically begging the coach for a vote, "If you liked my work tonight, coach, then give me a vote for the tournament and you may see me there". I almost puked all over my bare feet. I know my limits. I know that I will probably never see a state tournament game. I also know that if I ever reach even close to that level, I will never kowtow to coaches to get tournament games. There are other reasons why I believe that I don't call a lot of T's, as outlined in my post above, which you are certainly free to agree, or disagree with, but one reason will never be to please a coach.

Pretty sad that morons like the 7 on 5 guy have the power to select officials for the tournament. Too bad officials in your state weren't able to choose the coaches.

Good job ringing him up.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by 26 Year Gap

Pretty sad that morons like the 7 on 5 guy have the power to select officials for the tournament.

Believe it, or not, the coaches actually do a pretty good job, with only a few exceptions, of selecting our best peer rated officials. After all, they never select me, so that proves that they do a pretty good job.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by 26 Year Gap

Pretty sad that morons like the 7 on 5 guy have the power to select officials for the tournament.

The seven against five coach pulled a Tiger Woods and wrote a letter of apology to everybody except his mother.

[justacoach]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

The seven against five coach pulled a Tiger Woods and wrote a letter of apology to everybody except his mother.

He probably needed to dictate it as his arm was in a sling from all the twisting it took to convince him to own up.

[SmokeEater]

I had to toss only the second coach in my 29 year career last night. Boys grade 10 (JV) COnference Division Semi's.

Home team is up by 28 in the second quarter and the visitors just quit trying. they are walking up and down the court, get into the front court and jack up 3's that were not going in. The home team decided to use his bench in the 3rd and rest his starters. The lead is slowly getting knocked down to where its only aroud 11. This has been a fast game and really haven't had any fouls to call all game (what do you expect when they are not playing defense). Well finally the visiting team realizes they have a shot if they would only try, and the home coaach puts his starters back in.

Coaches superstar goes up for a 3 pt shot ad the D contests the shot. I had a clear look and the D jumped right past the shooter. Coach looks at me and says "what no foul?". I reply and say "No contact coach." He looks right at me and says "If you didnt hear that then your an idiot!" That got him his first T. Now he decides he should challenge me and walks right up in my "personal space" and says, "Oh yea now that thing works, your a real tough guy calling me, you gonna show us how tough you are and flex some more." Well that got him tossed from the game. We shot 4 shots and finished the 4 th qtr. Problem is if his team had not quit on him then they may have had a chance.

Now I'm not a little guy, 6'04", 225 lbs. But I am also not what you'd call a muscle head so I don't know where these coments came from.