Question From A Coach
 

After a loose ball situation, where his player stepped out of bounds as he touched the ball cradled by the opponent who was lying down in bounds,

"How can it be out of bounds if he didn't have possession?"

There was no answer for this.

Choose your words, wisely
 

NFHS 7-2-2 If the ball is out of bounds because of touching or being touched by a player who is on or outside a boundary line, such player causes it (the ball) to go out of bounds.
"Coach, the ball is out of bounds because it was touched by your player, who was out of bounds. Possession isn't part of the rule."
. . . Or something along those line. Everyone has their own phrases for different situations.

"Coach, your player had OUT OF BOUNDS status when he came in contact with the ball...thus, he caused it to be out of bounds".

Oh, we knew the response, but the ABS meter was rising (it would later max out) and the best response was silence at that point. It was such an eye-opening response, really.

A good sense of humor.:)

Silence was your best choice.

I'm not sure. How else does the coach learn anything if you don't say anything?

I like the realm in which Rob and Bad were: "If you're out of bounds, you can't touch the ball, period." (Throw-ins notwithstanding.)

I'm teaching a coach that his player is not allowed to touch the ball while standing OOB.

The thing is, I don't think there's any coach anywhere who doesn't know this, so I really don't think it was a legitimate question. Besides, the coach had already demonstrated he wasn't interested in answers.

To his credit, he approached us after the game to ask a question about the pivot foot and accepted the answer my partner gave him.

Camps preach that coaches wnat to have a dialogue with us during the game and want to be heard and not blow them off...What I have found is that I have no problem explaining a call to them when they rasie a question.."Why was that a charge?" or "why not intentional foul?"...The problem is they want to debate your answer and extend the conversation...

Thoughts on this please...

Not all camps teach the same things and when it comes to something like this not all clinicians in the same camp teach the same things. There are times when questions are very appropriate and other times when they are silly or over the top. Of course a single question should get an answer, but sometimes those questions are to have a debate like you said. What you have to learn is when those times are that way and when they are not that way. Experience usually teaches you this and even with experience not all actions will work every time.

Peace

"I'm sorry coach, did I lead you to believe that my answer was debatable?"

And if you say that to some coaches they will think you are being sensitive or being defensive. You cannot win with these guys not matter what you say.

Peace

True story JRut, good thing my customer is the game & not "some" coaches.

"You asked for an explanation and I gave you one. The play is over."

The mantra I have always been taught and taught to others is "A REASONABLE question gets a reasonable response"...a question like the one in the OP is most certainly not reasonable - that coach was trying to pick a fight or just plain being an a$$-hat. They don't need a response, and in most cases any response will just cause more problems.

Snaqwells likes this

Without seeing the play in person who are we to say it's not a reasonable question? What's the harm in saying, "Coach, your kid was out of bounds when he touched it." If he does something after that to be a PitA then deal with it accordingly but just because a question has an obvious answer doesn't mean it isn't reasonable.

That's essentially what I said as I made the call. The coach's question was not reasonable by any definition.

He already knew that his player was oob when he touched the ball. That wasn't the question that he asked. If you honestly believe that the question that was asked was reasonable, then :rolleyes:

ha!!!

Here's just what this forum needs:
 

lol...http://forum.officiating.com/images/icons/icon14.gif

The same way we make other decisions about what we answer or decide the context of any question asked by a coach.

Peace

The question in the OP says "How can it be out of bounds if he didn't have possession?" Obviously he knew his kid was out of bounds. There doesn't appear to be anything antagonistic in the question. Assuming the coach hadn't been a pain up until that point, saying what I said earlier or, better yet, "Coach, that doesn't matter" as you're moving in the other direction isn't going to kill anyone.

If he's been a pain up to that point I can see saying "Coach, please..." or something to that effect but the question itself taken as it's presented here doesn't appear to be unreasonable. Silly, yes, but not unreasonable. Not answering it, or at least acknowledging it, provides ammunition for the coach to say "I asked a legitimate question and didn't get an answer."

+1

Possession is not required for an OOB violation, coach.

The response to his potential "complaint" is simple. "It wasn't a legitimate question." Besides, the ball was live, and he wasn't asking me (the calling official), he was asking my partner as he transitioned into new lead.

You may have missed it, as it wasn't in the OP, but this should answer your implied question:

I'll add that while it's possible for such a question to be asked in sincerity, I have a hard time believing a coach actually is confused about this particular rule.

I can also add that his tone was certainly antagonistic.

This gives an acknowledgement and also tells him that you know he's being an a$$-hat.

Ooops I meant to end that with a question mark. Answering questions (when the answer is obvious) with a question isnt a bad thing in these situations.

Coach: Thats not a travel?
Me: What foot did you have as the pivot, coach?

They never know the answer & the convo stops there.

Oh, this coach knew. He screamed about a travel no-call where the opponent picked up his pivot foot before shooting. "He picked up his pivot foot!" Next opportunity (when the coach was calm), my partner took a moment to explain to him the rule about picking up the pivot foot.

Be careful. In some cases, it doesn't matter which foot you or the coach had as the pivot foot as it would be a travel either way.

Examples: a player holding the ball with both feet on the floor and both feet are moved....call either one the pivot and it is still a travel. I see this type of travel in post moves and on perimeter shots. In the post, it is often called a power step, but often the timing of the dribble and the step is off or there is no dribble at all. On the perimeter I often see it when a player catches the ball in front front of the 3 point line who then hops back for a 3-point shot without dribbling.

Again, you don't need to know the pivot foot to call some travels.

True story Camron, but I was speaking on the drive to the basket where the coach has backs & butts and cannot possibly see when the ball was gathered.

Okay, that part was missing from the OP.

I assumed it just by the mere fact that Snaqs posted about the situation.