Good luck or not?

[reffish]

What not to say:
We are gonna call (fill in blank)
Who are my speaking captains? And those that ask this, why? I asked That Guy and he said......well, he didn't have a reason. In the meeting, after asking who are my speaking captains, That Guy said, anyone can talk to us. So why the distinction of a speaking captain?
And anything else that drags the meeting past 1 min.

[tref]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Someone should come with a list of things not to say in a pregame captains/coaches meeting. Freddy's given us a good starting point.

Originally Posted by reffish

What not to say:
We are gonna call (fill in blank)
Who are my speaking captains? And those that ask this, why? I asked That Guy and he said......well, he didn't have a reason. In the meeting, after asking who are my speaking captains, That Guy said, anyone can talk to us. So why the distinction of a speaking captain?
And anything else that drags the meeting past 1 min.

"We're gonna work hard for you tonight!"

[Freddy]

Don't mean to hijack this post, but it's on the same general topic; and besides, Billy Mac opened the door:

One thing not to say during the brief pre-game meet/greet with the coach: "So, coach, are there any questions you have about the rules?"

One thing good to say . . . "Coach, after a timeout or intermission, bring 'em out at the first horn; we'd like to make the ball live at the second horn."
(Funny thing, when I say that prior to a game, the players seem much easier to exit their huddles. When I don't say it, we spend the whole game like a dentist yanking out teeth extracting them from their bench areas. Saying "First horn coach..." twelve times each timeout gets old real fast.

[tref]

Originally Posted by Freddy

One thing good to say . . . "Coach, after a timeout or intermission, bring 'em out at the first horn; we'd like to make the ball live at the second horn."
(Funny thing, when I say that prior to a game, the players seem much easier to exit their huddles. When I don't say it, we spend the whole game like a dentist yanking out teeth extracting them from their bench areas. Saying "First horn coach..." twelve times each timeout gets old real fast.

Use the assistant coaches to help get em out OR try sitting the ball on the ground at the throwin spot. You won't have anymore trouble during the game!!

[Freddy]

Originally Posted by tref

. . . try sitting the ball on the ground at the throwin spot. You won't have anymore trouble during the game!!

Yes, the RTP proceedure. And you are correct. Cf. personal tagline below. It works.

[Freddy]

Originally Posted by reffish

What not to say:
So why the distinction of a speaking captain?

Do any of you sense that the "captain" role has become merely ceremonial for most teams nowadays? The book asks us to identify the captain (singular). Maybe the whole "speaking captain" thingie evolved from guys not wanting to demean the other two or three or four or five, whatever, by asking, "OK, which one of you two or three or four or five is the real captain?"
Shucks, there's no prohibition for the whole team to answer the call if they wanted to. And frankly, I wouldn't mind having everyone from both teams come out and hear my dog and pony show on sportsmanship.
Still, identifying the captain is a required responsibility of ours.
Some find the whole "speaking captain" thing misleading anyway, since most will certainly allow any player to speak to them in a polite and respectful manner, right?

I like it most when my partner introduces me as the non-speaking official. That way I don't feel compelled to respond to anything the coach says to me.

[bainsey]

Originally Posted by Freddy

Do any of you sense that the "captain" role has become merely ceremonial for most teams nowadays?

That depends on the team. FWIW, one official in my area said he had a coach this year that insisted on conducting the meeting without a captain. It's highly unusual, but I don't know any penalty for not bringing a captain to the meeting.

During those meetings, I don't bother asking for speaking captains, because any player (i.e. those on the floor) can speak to you during the game, anyway. If the game goes into overtime, I'll worry about it then.

[stir22]

Originally Posted by bainsey

That depends on the team. FWIW, one official in my area said he had a coach this year that insisted on conducting the meeting without a captain. It's highly unusual, but I don't know any penalty for not bringing a captain to the meeting.

During those meetings, I don't bother asking for speaking captains, because any player (i.e. those on the floor) can speak to you during the game, anyway. If the game goes into overtime, I'll worry about it then.

newer guy here.....why would this make a bigger difference for overtime?

/thanks!

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by reffish

What not to say:
We are gonna call (fill in blank)
Who are my speaking captains? And those that ask this, why? I asked That Guy and he said......well, he didn't have a reason. In the meeting, after asking who are my speaking captains, That Guy said, anyone can talk to us. So why the distinction of a speaking captain?
And anything else that drags the meeting past 1 min.

I ask who the speaking captains are. The meeting never lasts over 30 seconds.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

I ask who the speaking captains are. The meeting never lasts over 30 seconds.

I get the number of a spokesperson from each team. I circle the numbers in the book. I may need to go to the captains at some point to talk someone out of a bad situation. Would be nice to remember who they are, but my brain only has so much capacity.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

I ask who the speaking captains are.

If they're wearing warmups, do you ask them for their numbers? And, if so, do they pull up their warmups to show you their numbers? Can't they remember their own numbers?

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

If they're wearing warmups, do you ask them for their numbers? And, if so, do they pull up their warmups to show you their numbers? Can't they remember their own numbers?

We do that and I want to see them. This is for my information, not their benefit. Do we ask players to tell us what their number is when they foul if we cannot clearly see them? No, so I want to see their number. And I mark the speaking captain in the book.

Peace

[reffish]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

I ask who the speaking captains are. The meeting never lasts over 30 seconds.

In the big picture, asking for a speaking captain makes no difference to me. If my R wants to know then so be it, however, I do not understand why the need to ask. Even so far as marking the speaking captain in the book; I don't understand.

Shaking hands I avoid, the fist bump is what I prefer to avoid contracting a cold or flu, although each time I handle the ball, I am part of the transfer of germs. So, I am back to square one. Well, the bump is more piece of mind then than actually pure germ warfare.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by reffish

In the big picture, asking for a speaking captain makes no difference to me. If my R wants to know then so be it, however, I do not understand why the need to ask. Even so far as marking the speaking captain in the book; I don't understand.

Shaking hands I avoid, the fist bump is what I prefer to avoid contracting a cold or flu, although each time I handle the ball, I am part of the transfer of germs. So, I am back to square one. Well, the bump is more piece of mind then than actually pure germ warfare.

I like notifying the captains before the jump. It's a relic that's still in the NFHS manual.

Also, if I have a real issue (if the game gets chippy), I wouldn't hesitate to talk to a captain. In football, I have the numbers written on my game card. I don't have such a device in basketball.

I know it may not be needed to know who the captains are for 10 years, but the one day when I'd like to use the captains to help settle a player or a game, it's nice to have that information available. It's simply a tool in a big toolbox.

[reffish]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

I like notifying the captains before the jump. It's a relic that's still in the NFHS manual.

Also, if I have a real issue (if the game gets chippy), I wouldn't hesitate to talk to a captain. In football, I have the numbers written on my game card. I don't have such a device in basketball.

I know it may not be needed to know who the captains are for 10 years, but the one day when I'd like to use the captains to help settle a player or a game, it's nice to have that information available. It's simply a tool in a big toolbox.

Chippy games can explode quickly if not handled. To be honest, I ask any teammate to chill someone out or calm them down. I really don't know if they are a captain or not, just a teammate. If I need captains during a dead ball for some reason, a simple cattle call for captains and they come a running. Maybe I need to increase my game recollection to know who my captains are during the game to quickly call them and settle a game or player. I just don't see the use in knowing who my speaking captains. It implies that the other captains are not speaking and that they can be the only ones to speak on the team's behalf.

I understand in football that officials need specific answers from a team spokesperson on the field during play. In basketball, there are few instances that I need input from a captain to the point that I don't need to know who is the speaking captain. All in all, a moot point. I was on a fishing trip to get insight on the need to ask for dem speaking captains.