Some of you "older" folks will remember Art Linkletter’s show segment "Kids Say The Darndest Things"…
Sometimes when I Referee Basketball I get to see my own private version of that show called "Assistant Coaches Say The Darndest Things" on a pretty regular basis!!
In Arizona we have a very simple rule for Coaches and Assistant Coaches STANDING
and Coaching in front of the bench while a game is in progress. ONLY the Head Coach can stand and coach. The Assistants have to remain seated, except to cheer a specific play, greet a player coming out of the game or during Time Out, and between Quarters/ Half Time.
When my Partner and I go to briefly meet the Coaches before the game starts I point to the lines that mark the Coaches Box Area in front of the Team bench and ask the Head Coach if their Assistants are familiar with the Coaches Box Rule. They always say "Yes".
Tonight, we were barely 2 minutes into the game and I see an Assistant Coach for the Home Team standing up shouting instructions to the players since the ball had gone Out Of Bounds and I was near the bench area, I could quickly step to the Head Coach and say, "Coach, may I offer a quick reminder that Assistant Coaches must remain seated during game time?”
He nodded yes but I got a perplexed look from the Assistant Coach.
A few minutes later I see the same Assistant standing, again!! Fortunately I was in front of their bench area again with the clock stopped and stepped back to remind the Coach about the Assistant not standing to Coach rule.
He again acknowledge he knew that and then the Assistant Coach says to me, "But our Head Coach was sitting down, so the rule is that I can stand up, right?”
It is my practice in this situation to always address ONLY the Head Coach. I'm not being arrogant or showing disrespect for the Assistant, but since the only Coach that is supposed to be communicating with the Referees is the Head Coach, that’s who I talk with.
However, in this situation, I was so amused with the Assistant attempted rebuttal (he is not the first Assistant to try it out this "rule") that I looked first at the Head Coach and smiled, then I looked at and spoke directly to the Assistant Coach saying, “No, I'm sorry Coach, that is not the rule. Only the Head Coach can stand. As far as I am concerned, Assistant Coaches do not exist, and since they do not exist they cannot stand and Coach the players. Now if you want to test that theory you can, but the consequence is a Technical Foul and I suspect if your team loses this game because of a "T" on you for standing, you're existing as an Assistant Coach in the figurative sense might become quite literal……"
The Assistant looked at me, then at his Head Coach who sort of nodded his head towards the bench as if to say to his Assistant, "Go ahead and just sit down, son." And he stayed seated the rest of the game
………
The Home Team won by 4 points. An untimely "T" could have turned the game the other way, so I hope it was a lesson well learned by the Assistant!
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