what relatioship do official's have with assistant coaches before and during the game

mikeref · #1 (**permalink**) Sun Aug 13, 2000, 08:18pm

I am interested in finding out the different attitudes and expectations that officials have when it comes to dealing with assistant coaches before and during games. Do you deal with them?? If not, why and if you do, why and how??

Ron Pilo · #2 (**permalink**) Mon Aug 14, 2000, 09:29am

very little latitude with assistant coaches.
I usually use them to relay how many T/O a team has as the head coach is busy. I also use them to help get the teams out of the huddle on the first horn of a T/O. Other than that they say nothing to me or my partner during play.

JAdams · #3 (**permalink**) Mon Aug 14, 2000, 10:48am

Other than the "relaying timeouts" situation mentioned by Ron Pilo above, I don't have anything to do with them,either. In my first year I got ripped by an evaluator at a boys JV game when I allowed an assistant coach to stand and criticize me. Now, as soon as an assistant coach starts to open up, I go to the head coach to remind him that only he (the head coach) is allowed to stand and to address the officials. Works every time!

Brian Watson · #4 (**permalink**) Mon Aug 14, 2000, 10:50am

During a game I had a veteran official tell an Asst. coach that he would only talk to Batman, and not Robin. I would almost classify this as a davism.

I thought this to be funny, but all seriously, the #2 should be seen and not heard (unless you pitch the head coach, and then...well then he should still be quiet because your in T mode).

I have started to notice at some of the lower levels both coaches up at the same time coaching and/or barking at officials. I have very short lease on this.

Tim Roden · #5 (**permalink**) Mon Aug 14, 2000, 11:18am

I agree with my fellow officials on this issue 99% of the time. I did however sit in on a pregame early on where the veteran offical knew that the assistant had a better repor with the players then the head coach did. He told his partner that if any problems start to come up with players he needs to talk to the assistant along with the head coach.

Mark Padgett · #6 (**permalink**) Mon Aug 14, 2000, 01:44pm

I love the Batman-Robin quote above. The closest thing to a true "Dave-ism" I ever heard Dave say to a head coach when an assistant kept standing up was something along the line that only one coach was allowed up and he didn't care which one and that if the head coach wanted to give the assistant a "field promotion" over him during the game, that was OK with Dave. I can't remember exactly how he phrased it, but it went something like that.

BTW - last night at a stoplight, the idiot behind me blasted his horn the split second the light turned green. I looked in my mirror and it was Dave - thumbing his nose at me! What a card.

[This message has been edited by Mark Padgett (edited August 14, 2000).]

walter · #7 (**permalink**) Tue Aug 15, 2000, 09:23am

Assistants, often times, can be a bigger pain than head coaches. I agree with all here who have said that an assistant gets very little latitude. If an assistant is chirping, at the first opportunity I have, I usually let the head coach know that he/she is in charge of ALL bench personnel. Depending on who the head coach is and how well I know him/her, I've gone so far as tell some head coaches "I'll listen to you but I don't have to listen to him/her". That has worked for me quite well, again with the caveat that you need to know who you're dealing with at the head coach level. As for the who is allowed to stand question. I had a situation once where a head coach told me he had hurt his back and asked if it was ok to let his assistant coach use the coaching box. I told him that was fine as long as he was comfortable giving up the head coaching position. When I explained to him that Rule 1-13 (and yes I quoted the rule) only allows the head coach to use the coaching box. Therefore, if his assistant was going to be head coach for a night, he (the head coach) was bound by all guidelines pertaining to assistant coaches including "official tolerances". At this he laughed and informed me that for one night he'd just have to yell louder from the bench.

mick · #8 (**permalink**) Tue Aug 15, 2000, 10:19am

quote:
Originally posted by mikeref:
I am interested in finding out the different attitudes and expectations that officials have when it comes to dealing with assistant coaches before and during games. Do you deal with them?? If not, why and if you do, why and how??

I treat Asst. Coaches with the same respect as I do with any other Coach.
I answer all their questions, although sometimes I have to remind them that they must be seated.
But, mostly, in the past, I have "used" them to parlay a message to the head coach that is busy, or a head coach that is on the edge of "going away" and of whom I no longer have any use.

mick