Dealing with coaches...

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Part of it may be needing to develop a thicker skin. Before I had to take my break this was an issue I had to work on as well. I finally realized that what every "old timer" was telling me is true...at most games there are probably only 2 (or 3) people in the gym who do not care about the outcome of the game. Everyone else is watching with their heart, we are (or should be) watching with our eyes and mind. For me, I also came to understand that you need to hear the coaches without really listening to them. By that I mean when dealing with a talker I monitored them and waited for something important to come out of their mouth. Just because they make a sound, it doesn't mean they need to be addressed. You will know when it needs to be addressed...then use your training, rules knowledge and professionalism to deal with it.

Once you get to know the coaches it gets easier. There were coaches in my area that virtually never said a word to an official. When they did say something, you were almost convinced they were right as a matter of course.