First time to toss a coach

[Rich]

Originally Posted by KJUmp

Just remember...T's are just business, they're not personal. Just like EJ's in baseball and softball. What is important, 1s that when it's called for you have to take care of business.

I've never met a really good ref or ump who's a T and EJ 'happy' kind of official. But every good official I've met knows when and how to issue them and not give it a second thought.....it's just business.

Let's not kid ourselves, though.

I've been to so many camps where the clinicians say, "It's just another foul," blah, blah, blah.

Let's get this out of the way: They're full of crap. They're not just like any other foul. No other foul is called because of the behavior of someone. Someone who we already tolerate asking questions, disagreeing, etc. There's emotion usually involved -- instead of denying it, we should acknowledge it as a fact and work however we can to deal with it.

The best officials I've worked with can lose their place in the seconds after issuing a direct technical foul to a head coach -- going to the wrong end to administer free throws, heading to the wrong spot, putting themselves in a position to take more grief, etc. This is the moment where the partners are crucial -- get the official out of there, take a second to let the official gain his bearings, figure out the next steps.