Fan comment
 

Had Middle School girls game today. As I am running down the court I hear a fan yell we need to stop the game because a girl is crying. Made me laugh to myself.

Impossible. There's no crying in basketball.

James Naismith was my head coach...

In a 5/6 grade game, there was a little heavy set boy that had been a problem maker in previous games I had called with him. He hadn't really been a problem this particular day, until he comes up to me in the 3rd quarter and says, "number 11 is calling me a fatty." I look over, and number 11 is the one kid who tries his hardest but has no talent whatsoever. I was 99% that this never happened, but I honestly did not know what to do. I ended up talking to both coaches and telling them to tell their players to only talk amongst their own team. Kind of funny when I think back on it

Had a girls 6 grade travel league game yesterday and the asst. coach seemed to always be working us to call something against the other team (travel, charge, block, etc.). Opposing teams guard gets rebound starts dribbling toward 2 defensive players, turns and dribbles back away from defense. Coach cannot see guard is still dribbling and yells "TRAVEL!", then notices guard is still dribbling and says "Oh nevermind she still is dribbling"

6th grade or high school varsity, you need to nip this in the bud IMMEDIATELY. It's one thing to listen to a head coach chirp all day, but to have his assistants chirp cannot be tolerated.

+1.

Head coaches get ONE chance from me to shut their assistants up. If they don't take care of it, I do.

Interesting. Only in my 2nd year but I guess I thought that I just had thick skin. I am learning quickly that I need to speak to coaches more often as part of managing the game.

AAU game today. First quarter and asst coach yells, while seated, "That's a walk!". I'm new trail on table side. On my way by, I swing closer to the head coach than normal, "coach, I need you to keep control of your bench.". Didn't look at him as I was watching the play. I heard him politely acknowledge me, and never heard another peep from Robin.

Learning how to manage the game takes time. I'm not much further along than you, and I'm finding that this season, I'm much better at talking to coaches. In this situation, I'd go to the head coach, and ask him to remind his assistant that only the head coach should be speaking with the officials. The head coach should get the message.

Of course, if it's a 6th grade girls game, the coach may be someone who doesn't have much rules knowledge. They may look at you like your crazy, but that's fine. Be firm and brief, and move on. If they don't get the message, you have to take the next step.

Honestly, in sixth grade games, the head coach doesn't get to try to work me. Thick skin has nothing to do with it. I save my thick skin for the fans, not sixth grade coaches.

You got it again!

As the level of basketball goes down...so does my epidermis (skin) level.:cool:

Asst. coaches get NO leeway! OK...if I'm feeling "nice", the Head Coach gets A chance to take care of the "bus driver".

I remember that attitude, that I must let coaches talk to prove I have thick skin. It really doesn't benefit anyone. Just because you'll address any yapping doesn't mean you don't have thick skin. Sometimes, it's about taking control.

Snaqs is right: "Coach, control your bench" typically goes a long way.

This weekend was the opening of our Fall Rec League. Been doing it for yrs.... Score is ~ 15-2 in the first half.

I'm going down the court near the stands as the L and I notice one of the dad's just shaking his head. I said, "What?"

He said, "New year, same results."

Made me chuckle. :p

There was today in our (Junior and me) game today. Early in the second quarter of our girls' 8th grade game, I notice that the PG from the home team has two silver pellets (that is how I would describe them) in her hair. I honesty don't know how we missed them during warmups, but none-the-less, I inform the young lady and her coach that she cannot play with the hard plastic balls in her hair. The girl pleaded that they could not come out because her hair was braided through them. I told her that I could not and would not make her take them out, but she could not play with them in her hair. At that point she bursts into tears. She was replaced but less than a minute later she was back in the game with the plastice pellets out of her hair.

MTD, Sr.

7th grade girls game: Between quarters, mother comes onto the floor to complain. We needed to call more time outs because mascara was getting into the girls' eyes.

+1

This is the best way to deal with it.

Funny how they can prioritize when they need to.

Frosh boys Saturday. Home player gets warned about attitude. Then, just as they pull to within five, he gets called for a foul and colorfully disagrees. Partner rings him up.

Next game, JV, visiting pg called for travel early in the first and displays just enough emotion (without any words) for me to remind him to just give the ball to a ref next time. He apologizes.

Home fan behind me, "you gave our player a technical."

No way. I don't believe this happened. That's hilarious.

Your fall rec league opens in January? interesting

I guess technically, practices started in the fall.....my bad.

So, now your Mr. Season guy? ;)

Inquiring Minds Want To Know ...
 

What color?

I had the fun of tossing a fan last night in a tiny middle school gym.

I was working by myself because my partner went over to the 8th grade gym when the second official there was late due to the massive amount of rain we had. A section of fans were getting pretty unruly and I mentioned to administration during a timeout they were getting close to being over the line.

After I make an out of bounds call, I hear them explode again and decide to do a little fishing. I delay the inbound slightly and stand with my back to the endline and slowly scan the crowd waiting for somebody to show their butt. Sure enough one person did, standing up and aggressively posturing. I told the players to go to their bench, went to the table and told them that fan needed to go.

He left protesting the whole way and that section got a lot quieter.

"In our pregame, we decided to screw your team with technicals". Oh, how I want to use that line some day, but it would just get me in trouble. :D

We all have talked about funny lines we would love to tell a coach but know it would be unprofessional but I do have to tell two stories.

The first one was the last game of the 1983-84 regular season when my wife and I were still living in Glendale, Califorina. It was a boys' H.S. varsity game my partner was a good official who I had worked with a number of times in the last two years (his first name was Mark too, and wasn't Junior because he still wasn't a gleam in my eyes yet, LOL); I was the R in the game.

From the opening tip-off, the V-HC was on my case and the H-HC was on Mark's case. When the first quarter was over I told Mark I was stop this nonsense once and for all. We brought the two HC'es together and told them that it was obvious that the best place for Mark and I to officiate the game was for Mark to sit next to the H-HC and I would sit next to the V-HC for the rest of the game. The HC'es looked at us with stunned faces but never said a word the rest of the game.

The second story was during a boys' H.S. jr. varsity summer league game. The one team had committed 16 fouls to only 4 fouls according to their coach. He demanded to know what he should tell his players. I told him to tell them to stop fouling. LOL

MTD, Sr.