Originally Posted by Brad (Post 881311)

Yeah, but if that is what the leadership in your organization want you to do there is value in doing it even if it is stupid / pointless. That is, if you want to work games :)

Originally Posted by The Rooster (Post 881273)

I'm looking for thoughts on Captains and Coaches pregames. (Captains and Coaches... sounds like a cereal, eh?)

For my Captains' meeting I usually go with "Good evening fellas/ladies. (I then introduce my partner and myself) Let's make sure we're pursuing victory with honor. It's real important that white talks to white and blue talks to blue. Any questions? Have a great game and good luck."

What I avoid:
"I'm so and so, this is my partner, so and so and we'll be your referees tonight." I bite the inside of my cheek when my partners say that lest I bust out laughing thinking of all the smart ash things that could be said in response...
"Help us out with the balls that go out of bounds, etc."
"Let's watch out for the hand checking."
"You're the speaking captains, so we'll listen to you."
"Are your teammates properly equipped?"

For my Coaches' meetings... I introduce my partner and myself then ask if players are properly equipped. I remind them of the coach's box and ask them to make sure they're pursuing victory with honor. I finish with "Any questions? Good luck." A handshake and out.

I don't like the "Help us out with the timeouts, thirty or full." Nor do I like the "We'll be happy to answer any questions during the game."

Anything I should add or subtract for either? Why?

Thanks.

Originally Posted by scrounge (Post 881274)

I like to keep it VERY short and simple. Say hello, have them introduce themselves to each other, ask for their help if they see a teammate getting a little excited ("It's a LOT easier if you deal with it than if we do"), ask if they have any questions, and wish them luck.

None of that "who's the speaking captain?" nonsense. Speaking for what? There's no coin flip. No extraneous stuff. Let's just get going.

And another thing, I don't like telling them my first name. They're high school or junior high kids - it's not a meeting of equals. Maybe that's just me, but I prefer at least a little formality.

One of my partners that I had a few times was pretty much like this:

"Ok, we've got a white (or black or whatever) line all around - that's the out of bounds line. We have a center line right here [no sh##, we're standing right on it]. If the ball hits the wires or supports above the basket we're going to blow it dead. Now we want you to play with your feet, not your hands. We'll try and talk you out of stuff. Make sure you hustle in and out of timeouts. Ok, who's the speaking captain? Can you raise up your warmup jacket so I can see your number? Ok. You've been selected as captains for a reason, so we'll look to you for leadership. We want good sportsmanship tonight and your teammates and your coaches are looking for you to lead the way. Listen for the whistle and make sure to hand the ball to us. Are there any questions? Ok, shake hands one more time and good luck."

HOLY HELL DUDE! You could often see the kids rolling their eyes. Inside, mine were too.

Originally Posted by Adam (Post 881277)

Captains: Take care of your knuckleheads so we don't have to.

It's shorter than the brief intros.

Coaches: All your players are legally equipped? Let us know on timeouts, and have them out and ready on the second horn. Questions? Good luck.

Originally Posted by Brad (Post 881279)

"Respect each other, respect us, respect the game. Any questions?"

/Stolen

Originally Posted by Whistles & Stripes (Post 881415)

So when the coach asks, "How are you going to call the hand check tonight?" or "Are you going to call it tight, or let em see if they can play through the contact tonight?" what do you tell them?

Originally Posted by Adam (Post 881417)

"Both ways."

Originally Posted by Adam (Post 881431)

I don't tell them to get the ball until the game starts and the ball is rolling out of reach. They figure it out quick.

Originally Posted by adam (Post 881431)

i don't tell them to get the ball until the game starts and the ball is rolling out of reach. They figure it out quick.

Originally Posted by mplagrow (Post 881433)

I'm fat, old, and slow. I got one bad knee and the other doesn't bend. If you don't want this game to take all night, you'll shag the loose balls so I don't have to...

Or is that too much?

Originally Posted by BktBallRef (Post 881309)

OK. But why warn them for something that may not happen?

I agree that talking about hand checking or anything else is inappropriate. But so is this.

Originally Posted by seanwestref (Post 881617)

I think someone here (in another thread) mentioned asking the coaches if they are the only ones communicating with the officials. Is this a widespread thing?

Originally Posted by seanwestref (Post 881617)

I think someone here (in another thread) mentioned asking the coaches if they are the only ones communicating with the officials. Is this a widespread thing?

Originally Posted by Whistles & Stripes (Post 881627)

I once had a coach tell me that he would be the only person talking to the officials, that none of his players would be. We ended up whacking one player that game, and the coach had an early exit.:rolleyes: