So you think he was being nice huh?

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Coach Bill

Many of you insult his credentials and level "Coach Mac" coached at, but I think the article is clearly written for beginner coaches and youth league coaches (where they do have the opportunity shake hands). In fact his whole website seems to be for beginner coaches. I don't envision high school coaches going to his site for advice. And, I think most of the advice he gives seems like good common sense. And, it probably would work to some degree with the officials in the youth leagues, many of which are youths themselves.

Honestly, that makes it even worse for me. Beginning level coaches should coach, and not worry about trying to win friends and influence officials.

The ball they're coaching is going to get officials who, for the most part, fall into one of two categories.
1. Beginners who may actually get flustered by getting "worked" too much. This won't always go the way the coach wants it to.
2. Veterans working to shake off some rust or to "give back." These vets aren't likely to put up with being "worked" by some rookie coach who learned some great tactics from Caoch Carnegie.

Beginning coaches can work on communication with officials, to be sure, but don't go in with the mindset that it can affect the calls. Do it with the mindset to learn more about the game (beginning officials should approach coach communication the same way, IMO).

[Rich1]

Originally Posted by Adam

Beginning level coaches should coach, and not worry about trying to win friends and influence officials.

Beginners who may actually get flustered by getting "worked" too much. This won't always go the way the coach wants it to.

Agree 100% with the first statement. In rec leagues and summer ball too many parent/part-time coaches act as if their auditioning for the NBA. They would win more games if they worked their pkayers as hard as they work the refs.

I've seen this backfire on a coach who yelled at a young ref to watch for three seconds and he went down the court and called one against the coach's team. As a newby there was only so much he could concentrate on but once that seed was planted he got it right away!

[Rich1]

1, 2, 3, 4, 8, & 9 will have no influence on how I call a game.

5, 6, & 7 will only allow me not to call things because your team is not doing anything wrong. If coaches and players act correctly then they will avoid earning a tech and if your team adjusts to how we are calling a game (compared to other crews or certain game flow) then you will be whistled less because of it. But it has nothing to do with you buttering me up and everything to do with good coaching.

I have only seen a few situations where a ref caused a team to lose a game but even then, as I used to tell my players, if they had taken care of business earlier then that questionable late call wouldn't have mattered.

[derwil]

For me, the easiest way to influence my calls is to have a nice hospitality area, with good food and plenty of drinks. The route to a man's heart is through his stomach. You want a call...there better be a BBQ sandwich waiting on me. No wings, no travel. No dressing room water, I might send you to the showers before halftime!

Clearly, the author hasn't experience life on our side of the ball. He doesn't understand what's important to us!

[Mark Padgett]

The way I call a game depends on whether or not either of the coaches bought foul insurance.