Coin toss or coin flip?

[Big Slick]

Originally Posted by Andy

When I flip at a softball game, I ask the player to call it while the coin is in the air....Is that a standard practice?

Not for me. I assign a side to each team. I'll usually hold it up, with me looking at the edge, and say: "you are the side you see" and flip it with my thumb and index finger (not just my thumb). If a team gets to the plate meeting first (and it's a youth tournament), I may ask which side she would like.

Pet Peeve with a funny story: why do people have to say "heads" or "tails"? My state flipping coin has a flag on one side and the ASA umpire logo on the other. When I allow a player to choose a side, I'll ask: "would you like the flag or the umpire" (while showing both sides). I make a joke in clinics - "strangely enough, all women players say 'flag'". It gets the usual mix of groans and laughter. I repeated that story to a women's SP team waiting to play (we switch fields due to time, and I was called into service as the UIC). The team thought it was a funny story; when it was time for the actual flip, I look at the dugout and said: "what do you want?" and they all said "the umpire!" I think they lost the flip.