"I don't know what that means." (LGP)
 

Coach A verbalizes loudly for a foul on B-1.

Me: "The defender had LGP all the way, Coach."
Coach: "I don't know what that means!"

Okay, granted, this was a middle school game. Still, shouldn't all coaches know a valuable rule concept like LGP? Or, am I talking too much in ref-speak? Or, is there something that could be done to teach this concept, so we can all get on the same plane?

I don't care for broad-brush statements like, "Coaches don't know the rules." In truth, some know more than others. Still, shouldn't the knowledge of LGP in the coaching ranks be as universal as that of travelling and double dribble?

Did you use the acronym?

Typically if a coach questions a foul call and I use the term "Legal Guarding Position", they just look at me and say "OK"....with a deer in the headlights look. Very few actually understand this rule, especially at the sub-varsity level.

No this is not just middle school, it even applies to college coaches. And LGP is a rules term, those are the things you should use rather than "coach speak" like "reach" or "over the back." At least if you use those terms and they repeat them you are not causing confusion with those the coach reported to, like your supervisor.

Peace

If a coach (or any other person) wasn't interested in knowing about LGP on his own, defining the term can turn out to be counterproductive. The next step is "That can't be a foul on my player! The defender didn't have legal guarding position!!"

It's happened before.

Heck no. Coaches at the high school level don't know what this means. It's not their job to know what it means.

If this happened to me, I would say "What the defender did was legal, coach." and leave it at that.

How often do we feel compelled to give any explanation for a foul call?

I cannot speak for them, but at least in a 3 Person game, you are often in front of a coach and will get asked about a call even when you did not make it. Sometimes you cannot just ignore them.

Peace

Sure, I discuss calls with coaches when it's convenient, but not because the coach:

I do agree with that. But sometimes when they are loud they need to be addressed or they will get louder and you will really have to do something about it.

Peace

Yep. Two words: E NUFF

I never answer a question that is shouted at me.


No, he didn't! Yes, he did! is worst case scenario.

I guess I did not read it the way you did. I did not take the OP as when a coach was shouting. Some coaches just are loud, that does not mean they are shouting at you. At least that is the case in my experience.

Peace

I disagree. If they don't know what this means, they're putting themselves in a huge hole. How can you effectively teach the game if you don't have a thorough rules knowledge, let alone being able to effectively communicate with officials?

Having good rules knowledge can certainly help coaches. But, at least the coaches I've dealt with, apparently don't spend any time teaching their kids the finer points of the rule book. They're worried about coaching basketball, and they let us worry about the rules.

Most high school coaches have never read a rule book. In Va. each school is given one by the VHSL every year. I think the schools recycle them to help the environment.

The number of coaches who know this rule (and quite a few others) is small enough to make them the exception rather than the rule. Middle school even more so.

Go Figure ...
 

Which is exactly why I, as a middle school coach, took the classes offered by the local official's board over thirty years ago. I didn't even plan to take the test, I just wanted to learn the rules. I ended up taking, and passing, the test, and discovered that I could make same extra cash (teachers weren't paid much back then) officiating games. I stopped coaching after over twenty-five years (if asked today, I would only coach a team of orphans). I'm still officiating, and plan to keep doing it as long as I'm healthy.

I had a GV game yesterday where I called a PC foul on the V team as the Trail. One of my partners told me that as I was reporting, the H coach was asking him why we weren't shooting free throws. :confused:

This was the same call where the V coach asked me what her girl did. I told her she used her forearm to displace the defender. She told me "That hasn't been called all weekend" (This was a tourney). I just told her that I hadn't been there all weekend so I don't know what or wasn't called.

Took me a second, but that is funny!!

Its a sad statement regarding the current state of affairs regarding student athletes' parents.

I still don't understand if you used the acronym (LGP) or said "legal guarding position" to him. If it was the first, I can understand why he was confused. In the second, less so.

There it is, a coach that stepped it up.

Aside to fiasco, look at the quote again. That's what I said.

Then I can absolutely understand the coach's confusion.