Sideline control

[JugglingReferee]

In my neck of the woods, if the play is at the other end of the field, the coaches are permitted to be a yard or 2 on the field. When the play is close, we expect that they will be away from the sideline to allow the official room to move. I remind them of this agreement/compromise and they always back away.

I also will remind them that I like to work out of bounds, that way the athletes feel that they have full use of the field, and that an official is not in their way.

If it needs to be, I'm not afraid to tell the coaching staff that "they're not permitted to be there", pointing to the area I want clear.

If I ever run into someone, our mechanics tell us that it's a flag.