whaddya got?

[zeedonk]

I am not a "talker" or a "toucher", far from it. I don't go out of my way to explain, talk or inject myself into much on the court. I will talk to a player or a coach if the initial inquiry is pretty calm and mostly respectable.

I understand the Forum's general aversion to touching players and coaches (this is overly broad, I know). The general averison is to prevent a worst case scenario of instigating or in extreme cases, assault and possible litigation.

Having said that, it appears to me that this is being made out to be so much more than it is. If I give a kid a tap on the shoulder, back or behind to get him to come to the spot where he needs to be for a throw in, I see no problem with that. To me, it's better than saying "Over here" 2-3 times while he's trying to listen to me, teammates and coaches setting up a play (and yes, I will let him get all his instructions before putting the ball on the ground and counting).

It also seems to me that this mindset is more of a concern for not insulting or offending someone who is overreacting to a call in the first place and thus doubly overreacting to being touched, period. We do need to be concerned with not overstepping personal boundaries, but I feel that unless we are too touchy and grabby, it is not an issue.

I would agree with those who might suggest that a problem with "too much" touching is a larger societal issue, but I am not letting a kid yell at me to get my hands off him.