Coach perspective on playing to officials

[Rob_K]

Originally Posted by twocentsworth

Coach - how 'bout getting your kids to play hard every minute of every game - not just based on the score?

I agree on playing hard (effort), but the aggressiveness (style) is relative to how the game is being called. If one team starts out more aggressive than the other team and racks up points, it can be hard to catch-up (see below).

Originally Posted by packersowner

A few years ago when I was coaching, there was a team that was often much quicker and more athletic then their opponents. They to their credit were very good at stealing the ball with quick hands. They would full court press and look to slap the ball away from the dribblers as they were pressing. I have no doubt in my mind that many of their take aways were not done without some contact to the dribblers hand/arm. If the official watching this game doesn't apply a greater sense of urgency to watch this situation, it most definitely creates an advantage for one team.

This is a GREAT example of what I'm talking about. As a coach, if I don't return the favor if a team is slapping the ball away with some contact, we can get down 10 pts in a hurry.