VC coaching in stands...

[APG]

Originally Posted by billyu2

Saw a similar situation a few years ago during parts of the second half of the JV game. The varsity coach would come out of his lockerroom to sit in the opposite end of the bleachers from the JV team coaching players when he had the opportunity. This obviously caught the attention of the nearby opposing JV coach who rightfully felt disadvantaged that the other team was receiving coaching instructions at both ends of the gym. The officials felt unsure if they could do anything about it. We had a chance to discuss briefly before the varsity game and my opinion to them was, and still is, that in this situation (JV/V game) the varsity coach is not a "fan" but is clearly defined in 4-34 and the performance of any of his duties should be done within the bench location provided by game management. (1-13-1) I don't have a problem if the coach is just watching the game; but if he is going to coach players and have occasional fits over calls then he is subject to penalties under bench personnel. If we were to turn this around, would we allow this in the varsity game if an assistant or JV coach were to position himself at the opposite end of the bleachers calling out plays or defensive alignments?

Coaching players and having the occasional fit over calls? That sounds exactly like a fan.

[billyu2]

Originally Posted by APG

Coaching players and having the occasional fit over calls? That sounds exactly like a fan.

Nope. It was a coach performing exactly like a coach, only well-outside the bench area designated by game management and maybe three rows up.

[TimTaylor]

Fans?....What fans?

They are GM's responsibility. I'm not going to get involved unless they do something to disrupt the game - at that point I'll ask GM to take care of it, and stop the game if necessary while they do so. In my experience, GM is almost always on top of these situations and dealing with it long before we would ever have to get involved.

As to the situation described, if the VC coach is simply in the stands and not on or in the immediate area of the team bench(i.e. row behind if bench is first row of the bleachers), they're a fan and are GM's responsibility. I'm not going to get involved unless they do something to disrupt the game. If the opposing coach has an issue with someone in the stands "coaching", they need to take it up with GM, or through their AD with the state association. Unless/until the state association tells us otherwise, it's not our responsibility. Just my $0.02.......

[Forksref]

We have one school in our area where the varsity coach and JV coach sit on the end of the bench during the sophomore game. They often say something to the officials during that game. This is very bush-league. The JV coach got a T for his efforts one game. When I was coaching varsity ball, I had more important things to do than that! I was more concerned about how they were playing the game and how they were being coached.