Come backs for Coaches

Y2Koach

BillyMac wrote
COMMUNICATION WITH COACHES

Having the officials in closer proximity often calms down the coach.
Be in control and speak in calm, easy tones. Be aware of your body language; maintain positive and confident body language.

Do not try to answer a question from an out of control coach; deal with the behavior first.

If you’ve missed a call or made a mistake; admit it. This technique can only be used sparingly, perhaps once a game.

Don’t bluff your way through a call.

Specific Communication Examples:

Coach sees the play very differently than the official:
“Coach, if that’s the way it happened/what you saw, then I must have missed it. I’ll take a closer look next time.”

“Coach, I understand what you’re saying, but my angle was different than yours.”

Coach is questioning a partner’s call:

“Coach, they had a great look, but if you have a specific question, you’ll have to ask them, they’ll be over here in just a minute.”

Coach is raising their voice asking the question:
“Coach, I can hear you. I’m standing right here, you don’t need to raise your voice.”"Coach, I need you to stop raising your voice and just ask your question calmly.”

Coach is commenting on something every time down the floor:
“Coach, I need you to pick your spots, we can’t have a comment on every single call that is being made.”

Coach has a good point and might be right.
“You’ve got a good point and might be right about that play.”
“You might be right, that’s one we’ll talk about at halftime/intermission/the next time out.”
“You might be right; I may not have had the best angle on that play.”

Coach is venting, make editorial comments:
“I hear what you’re saying”
“I hear what you’re saying, but we’re moving on.”

Coach just won’t let it go:
“I’ve heard enough and that’s your warning.”

Source: Topeka (Kansas) Officials Association

In the opinion of a coach, these are the points that separate the good officials from the not-so-good ones.

Good officials should not avoid getting near a coach and get upset when a coach yells his question/comment out loud across the court. If you are within 10 ft of a coach and he is still yelling, he doesnt have a question, he probably deserves one "calm down" warning, then T him.

The relationship between coaches and officials becomes combative when officials/coaches feel that they are never wrong. Officials that feel they never miss a call (or can not admit to missing a call), coaches that feel that their player never fouls and only misses shots when he is fouled... All credibility is lost...

There are coaches that think their job is to "work the refs", and officials that don't/won't tell an overzealous coach to STFU and differentiate between a legit question about a call as opposed to "you just missed every single call on every single play of the game and I don't know how to coach so I just do play-by-play of every one of your missed calls".

Y2Koach

Mark Padgett wrote
Whenever a coach wants to dispute my interpretation of a rule, I tell him that I have a rule book in my bag and we can look it up. If he's right, I'll give him ten bucks, but if I'm right, he has to go out into the parking lot and wash my car.

I've never had a coach take me up on this yet. 😃

I do the same thing, but I'm a coach. and I HAVE had officials take me up on it, but I've found that officials really hate it when I'm right, and use a rule book to prove that I'm right. I actually got a technical foul several years back for showing my players on the bench a rule in the rulebook that the official just kicked (point of interuption after a double foul), and the official gave me the technical foul because I was "undermining his authority". I replied "your lack of knowledge of the rules undermined your authority" and then followed it up with "are you thinking about if what I just said deserves a second technical? go ahead, take your time."

I've matured since those days, haha.

JugglingReferee

Y2Koach wrote
I do the same thing, but I'm a coach. and I HAVE had officials take me up on it, but I've found that officials really hate it when I'm right, and use a rule book to prove that I'm right. I actually got a technical foul several years back for showing my players on the bench a rule in the rulebook that the official just kicked (point of interuption after a double foul), and the official gave me the technical foul because I was "undermining his authority". I replied "your lack of knowledge of the rules undermined your authority" and then followed it up with "are you thinking about if what I just said deserves a second technical? go ahead, take your time."

I've matured since those days, haha.

I would have T'd you too. Maybe even given you a free pass. Even if you're right - leave the damn book hidden.

And that's a see-ya. You deserve to go. Such a bad example, it isn't funny.

Just my 2 cents.

BillyMac

icallfouls wrote
The more people that have access to the list, the better, especially for officials that could use the extra help communicating. It doesn't matter who gets credit for coming up with the list, just that there is more than one location to find it.

No offense taken. I think it's a good list, especialy for young officials.

Who's Francis?

JRutledge

Y2Koach wrote
I do the same thing, but I'm a coach. and I HAVE had officials take me up on it, but I've found that officials really hate it when I'm right, and use a rule book to prove that I'm right. I actually got a technical foul several years back for showing my players on the bench a rule in the rulebook that the official just kicked (point of interuption after a double foul), and the official gave me the technical foul because I was "undermining his authority". I replied "your lack of knowledge of the rules undermined your authority" and then followed it up with "are you thinking about if what I just said deserves a second technical? go ahead, take your time."

I've matured since those days, haha.

I would have T'd you up as well. You would not like it if I stopped the game and brought a rulebook out on you to show you what you did not know. That is very unprofessional on your part.

That is my 10 cents.

Peace

canuckrefguy

Y2Koach wrote
I do the same thing, but I'm a coach. and I HAVE had officials take me up on it, but I've found that officials really hate it when I'm right, and use a rule book to prove that I'm right. I actually got a technical foul several years back for showing my players on the bench a rule in the rulebook that the official just kicked (point of interuption after a double foul), and the official gave me the technical foul because I was "undermining his authority". I replied "your lack of knowledge of the rules undermined your authority" and then followed it up with "are you thinking about if what I just said deserves a second technical? go ahead, take your time."

I've matured since those days, haha.

I hope so.

Because on that day, you were a first-class a$$hole.

I would have tossed you before you made it to "take your time".

Y2Koach

Haha, point taken... "Listen coach, I may be wrong, and don't know the rule, but you shouldn't let others know, just keep it between you and me"... so do you guys think it would be acceptable for an official to challenge a coach to a wager with the rulebook in the middle of a game?

It seems to me what you are saying is that the officials can use the rulebook to tell a coach he is wrong, but a coach can't do the same? I'd think it would be more important for the refs to know the rules, no?

I know the "proper" way to handle it in some of your eyes would be to discuss it with the assignor after the game, but that may benefit the officials but definitely not the game play.

Can't wait for the season to start. The local association will be breaking in some newer officials at one of our scrimmages in the pre-season.

rockyroad

Y2Koach wrote
... so do you guys think it would be acceptable for an official to challenge a coach to a wager with the rulebook in the middle of a game?

.

Nope. It's wrong for the official to do it - even as a joke - and it's wrong for you to do it as a coach. It shows a tremendous lack of civility on both parts. Just my honest opinion.

Smitty

Y2Koach wrote
It seems to me what you are saying is that the officials can use the rulebook to tell a coach he is wrong, but a coach can't do the same?

Who said that it's ok for an official to pull out a rulebook to tell a coach he's wrong?

And BillyMac, "Lighten up, Francis" is a reference from the movie: Stripes.

Scrapper1

Y2Koach wrote
so do you guys think it would be acceptable for an official to challenge a coach to a wager with the rulebook in the middle of a game?

No. Mark P. talks about that, but I'm pretty sure that he's just kidding about actually doing it. It's unacceptable for either the coach or official to pull out a rulebook and try to prove the other wrong during a game. It's basically an attempt to embarrass the other person, IMHO.

After the game, in a different setting with no spectators, no problem.

Scrapper1

Smitty wrote
And BillyMac, "Lighten up, Francis" is a reference from the movie: Stripes.

That's it. You just made the list.

rockyroad

Scrapper1 wrote
That's it. You just made the list.

I want to party with you, man!

Scrapper1

rockyroad wrote
I want to party with you, man!

Just don't touch my stuff. Nobody touches my stuff.

canuckrefguy

Scrapper1 wrote
That's it. You just made the list.

And that's the fact, Jack !!

grunewar

"Chicks dig me, because I rarely wear underwear and when I do it's usually something unusual. But now I know why I have always lost women to guys like you. I mean, it's not just the uniform. It's the stories that you tell. So much fun and imagination."

"Lee Harvey, you are a madman. When you stole that cow, and your friend tried to make it with the cow. I want to party with you, cowboy. If the two of us together, forget it. I'm gonna go out on a limb here. I'm gonna volunteer my leadership to this platoon. An army without leaders is like a foot without a big toe. And Sergeant Hulka is always gonna be here to be that big toe for us. I think that we owe a big round of applause to our newest, bestest buddy, and big toe... Sergeant Hulka."

Mark - are you our "big toe?" 😛

canuckrefguy

Mark Padgett wrote
Actually, I hurt my big toe last week and had to call a toe truck. 😛 .

Adam

Mark, I didn't have you pegged for a tree-hugger, but the way you're recycling your material lately has me wondering.

BillyMac

Snaqwells wrote
Mark, I didn't have you pegged for a tree-hugger, but the way you're recycling your material lately has me wondering.

I was wondering the same thing. Maybe he's on vacation and we're getting summer reruns?

BillyMac

Wait a minute. I may owe an apology to Mark Padgett. Like Snaqwells, I could have sworn that Mark Padgett used that "grandmother" joke before, but I just did an advanced search, and I can't find the original joke. Either I owe Mark Padgett an apology, or his joke was somehow deleted by a Forum moderator. Those moderators are really careful about grandmother jokes. Nobody wants to offend grandmothers. The AARP has a lot more power than we give them credit for.

Camron Rust

BillyMac wrote
Wait a minute. I may owe an apology to Mark Padgett. Like Snaqwells, I could have sworn that Mark Padgett used that "grandmother" joke before, but I just did an advanced search, and I can't find the original joke. Either I owe Mark Padgett an apology, or his joke was somehow deleted by a Forum moderator. Those moderators are really careful about grandmother jokes. Nobody wants to offend grandmothers. The AARP has a lot more power than we give them credit for.

Or he deleted it himself to erase the evidence.