Unless mandated to do so, I'd avoid this.

1. This sets coaches up to think the warning is necessary. It's not.
2. I prefer to warn the coach quietly rather than showing him up in front of the entire gym. We don't want him showing us up, so I try to extend the same courtesy. There are plenty of opportunities to update my partners. We pregame this, if one of us warns the coach, let the others know so he doesn't end up getting three warnings.
3. I'm not worrying about covering my ass. Every T here comes with a report that takes about 10 minutes (at most). My report is sufficient CYA.
4. I've generally had more success with the private chat than the public reprimand. I've had quite a few private chats that result in the coach admitting, "I'm just trying to get what I can." I normally respond with, "I know, Bill."
5. A quiet "coach, I've heard you, we need to move on" is most effective for me. The coach knows he's got to stop, and if he doesn't, we'll shoot some free throws.

I find this "official warning" bullshit to be completely idiotic. If I get to the point of the game where I'm going to stop play and create a spectacle, I'm going to take my left hand and right hand and form the sign of a T and we're going to shoot free throws.

If I publicly warn and embarrass a coach, one of two things will happen. (1) The coach is contrite and cleans it up. (2, more likely, IMO) The coach gets defensive and it gets worse and I end up whacking the coach and it looks to anyone like I baited the coach.

I assign a reasonable number of varsity games (324 this year) and I will say that I don't think my officials call enough technical fouls. The stigma on them is really, really stupid and unfortunate and I'm doing my best to reduce that one situation at a time.

The best officials in the world, the NBA officials, give them out like candy -- step outside their behavior guidelines, get a technical foul. This is exactly how it should be at lower levels. I shouldn't have to work my ass off to "avoid calling a technical." I should be able to quietly tell a coach that their behavior is unacceptable and the next time it is, he gets a technical foul. There should be no shame in calling one and also no bravado or belt-notches or story telling. Coach was out of line, whack, free throws, coach sits, life goes on.

If I have to avoid a coach on a basketball court by them being on the court, the only option is me giving them a T. For one it is for my safety as well as the safety of the players that might run into them. I will do everything to tell them to move back, but I am not babysitting. They know the darn rule and we have a rule that is highly expected to be enforced around here. I will be supported just by giving a T if I have to go through all of that drama.

Peace

So many courts have no room on the sidelines and the benches are right up against the court -- they just aren't well constructed for 3-person mechanics. If I'm the C, I want to be out of bounds 90% of the time, on the sideline. That's also in the middle of the coaching box. I'm happy to share.

One coach moved me once and I would've been well within my rights to whack him, but I didn't sense anything malicious so I told him that he gets to move me only if I get to move him if I need to. He laughed, I laughed.

Rich, I respect your position as much as my own. Bottom line is, it comes down to who your commissioner/assignor is, or what the stance of your association is. When in Rome, you call the game the way your boss wants it called.

It's just that some folks seemed to think this "official warning" thing was a rule, and I felt it important to clarify that it's not. It's a tool used by some. My leash is a little longer than yours, and that's a matter of style and preference.

I will say that coaches want to know that they're being listened to, and as long as they're A) focused on coaching their players and B) respectfully asking fair questions, you should give them as much ear as practicable.

I think most of us agree with this, but it has nothing to do with the value of the "tool" being discussed here: the "official warning."

Good post, and I agree. The technical foul is simply a tool in your toolbox and should be used appropriately. Unfortunately Some officials will do all they can to avoid it, and worse yet, when they do have one, they clearly are angry or flustered. Then it has an effect on how they call the game, either they swallow their whistle, hold a grudge, or try to make up for it, all of which are not good. When I pregame technical fouls, I usually make some mention of 'if we need a T, call it.'

Not so fast!
 

I am an advocate for giving the coach a lot of rope to hang himself with.
I am one of those who will request they stop and then tell them to stop.
I am not opposed to the official warning, written or otherwise.
And, on average I give more T's than most refs -- three just this week.

I do not use warnings to avoid T's and if the situation warrants it I go straight to it. Cursing, outbursts, over reaction, and the like are dealt with quickly. But when a coach is constantly chirping or questioning or teetering on crossing the line I may choose to give a warning.

If that's not your thing then I'm ok with that, but it works for some of us and it does not mean we are lesser officials, soft, or afraid to deal with coaches. Often, refs who are in over their heads or who can't keep up with the pace or pressure of the game get frustrated and hit the T way too quickly. We all have different styles and one is not necessarily better than the other.

This is a Texas thing, which I don't like very much. For some reason it's just something they do here. It's not required, but it is used a lot in place of the stop sign or whatever other tools people use to let the coach know you've heard enough. When you give an official warning, you let the everyone know and make a big production about having it noted in the official scorebook. Coaches have so much power in this state - I'm guessing this is something that was done to help coaches from getting Ts.

For what it's worth, I'm very lenient with coaches who kneel or tend to step a foot or so onto the court. A lot of times there just isn't a whole lot of room between the chairs and the court and I do my best to work with them. Especially if they're just coaching.

There are a lot of gyms here or the newer ones have more than enough room for benches and coaches. Maybe 15 years ago I could totally agree with that assessment, but that is not so much the case anymore. And I am not nitpicking a coach's shoes over the line either. I am just not going to do a lot to avoid a coach.

I also do not need to be out of bounds, especially in 3 person mechanics at the C. The ball is usually on the other side of the court at that time so I cannot think of why I would need to be out of bounds. If I am T, I am almost always on the court, so this is not much of an issue for me.

Peace

WRT C positioning, I agree. I used to think OOB was the place to be, but then a JOCO conference commissioner critiqued me and said, "don't run up and down OOB, because quite frankly that's how you'll get hurt, and I don't want my officials getting hurt." So I asked him, "what if the play swings right over to where you are?" He said, "then it's ok to step off briefly to get the angle you need and/or stay out of the way, but then get right back on the floor." It all made good sense.

WRT benches, is it just me or has anyone else lately noticed that when you come to a gym with chairs and plenty of room behind them, the chairs are nonetheless invariably within the painted strip and maybe ~18 inches from the sideline. Makes inbounding the ball in one of those spots a pain in the arse. Seems like a trend in my area. Does anyone ever ask the game manager to have the chairs moved back, or would this be considered taboo?

I've seen this many times -- the chairs are placed in relation to the court. I haven't asked to move any...yet.

I'll move chairs that are too close to the scorer's table.

The 'warning' in my area is more like a "we're done, no one talks to this coach" kind of deal. That's the hard crew warning, I don't consider an individual "settle down coach" or "knock it off coach" to be a crew warning. A crew warning happens when the coach has used up all his rope, be it with the crew as a whole or one individual. When that happens the crew no longer communicates with the coach other than to deliver the warning. The warning official can talk to the coach if need be, but the other two officials are done with him. It's been tricky for me to figure out to say the least. :confused:

I do work with one crew chief who wants any coach's warnings annotated in the book.