So How Come You Are Letting That Coach Stand Up……?

Sometimes I just do not know if some coaches really do not know a rule or if they are just pretending not to know a rule to see how much they can get away with.

In High School Basketball, the Head Coach is allowed to stand and COACH – NOT yell at the referees – in a designated/ marked area in front of the Team's bench. Only the Head Coach can stand and coach in this "Coaches Box.”

But when a Head Coach receives a Technical Foul, or an Assistant Coach or other player/team assistant sitting on the bench gets a Technical Foul, the Head Coach loses the opportunity to stand and coach. He/she now abide by the "Seat Belt Rule" which essentially means the coach cannot stand up anymore to coach the team! The Coach is figuratively wearing a seat belt.

A few weeks ago I called a "T" on a Coach. Not long after that Coach was standing up in the Coaches Box coaching again, so I stepped over to remind the Coach he had to remain sitting. He sat down.

Again after a few moments, I see the same Coach standing up to holler instructions to his team.

I was well justified by this time to "Whack" the coach with another "T" and eject him. But then I have to fill out paperwork and send it in to the AIA to explain why I Ejected the Coach. I'd rather not do that if possible, so I tried the "nice guy” approach.

I again stepped over to the Coach. "Coach, I have now politely reminded you twice not to stand up while coaching because you have received a "T". The coach pointed to the other coach at the opposite end of the court and says to me, "so how come you're letting that Coach stand up then!? "

Image by Fort Meade via Flickr

It was all I could do not to start laughing……

I glanced at the other Coach, then back at the one with the "T" and said, "well, I suppose the reason I'm letting that coach stand up is because he does NOT have a Technical Foul. You do, so you get to sit. Stand up again and you will be ejected. Do you understand the rule now?”

Fortunately, one of his own team fans hollered out, "Come on coach! You have a Technical Foul and have to sit down!! We want to see the kids play."

The coach said he did now understand the role and remained sitting for the rest of the game.

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If You Had Kept Your Mouth Shut......

I was Refereeing an 8th Grade Girl's Basketball Tournament.

At Game Time the other Referee had not shown up, but the Game, like the "The Show," must go on, right?

Coaches, Fans, ect, think TWO Refs miss a lot of calls, so what is the chance ONE Ref can see everything?

We were barley 3 minutes into the FIRST Quarter and the Visiting Coach had been hollering at me for every little thing he thought I was not calling. Naturally ONLY things that would have benefited HIS team......

One of his girls stole the ball and off they raced to the opposite end of the floor. I was well behind the play trying to catch up when his player, who could barley dribble the ball while running and NOT being defended, lost control of the ball and stumbled into 2 defensive players. While stumbling, she tried to push up a feeble shot and the ball went out of bounds.

I blew my whistle and awarded the ball to the other team for having gone out of bounds.

At that moment, the Coach comes stomping onto the court, nearly to the Half Court Line, hollering about how I should have called a Foul. It was quite and most definitely unsportsmanship behavior, so I "whacked" him with a "T".

Not satisfied, and apparently accustomed to Referees cowering to his bellows, he took another step towards me and yelled even louder, "That was a HORRIBLE Call. You are an awful Ref!!"

I replied, "You might be right on both accounts, but you are now a coach that has been ejected from the game!" And pointed to the Exit.

Evidently the Home Team had been witness to this Coach's intimidating antics in a previous game - which the other Referees had allowed to go on without any "T's" on the Coach -  and cheered loudly when they knew he had been ejected.

A few minutes later the other Referee showed up - there had been a traffic accident along the way that had delayed his arrival.

He asked if he had missed anything interesting.

Photo by Paul and Cathy (Becker1999) via Flickr

When I responded, "Only my ejecting the Visiting Head Coach 3 1/2 minutes into the game." He commented, "That explains the fellow who confronted me on the way in."

As I looked quizzically at him he continued, "As I walked up to the door to the gym some guy came up and complained he had been ejected from the game. He was rather agitated and seemed like a real jerk, so I said, 'Well, if you had just kept your mouth shut you would still be inside, wouldn't you?' and walked thru the door."

Coaches & fans rarely get ejected for something they do NOT say.

(If you want to find out if this Coach was better behaved then NEXT time I officiated a game for his school you can read about that here. You Decide the Call, Coach!!! )

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Coach, It's YOUR Student Section....

I was Refereeing a Girl's Varsity Volleyball Match when some kids in the Student Section decided it would be fun to start calling out opposing team players by their uniform number while making specific and unkind comments.

The Rules do not allow that and I am not gonna allow it.

The school Athletic Director was not present. Neither was a school Administrator. Only a fellow in a yellow shirt emblazoned "SECURITY," So I called over the Security fellow- who was standing about 20' from the offending students and doing nothing about it-  and asked him to stand with the Student Section and calm them down.

This process, of course, takes some time.

In the meantime, the Home Team Coach complains to me, "Can't we just get the Match started again?!"

"UTPA Volleyball 1 by Reynaldo Leal" by thepanamerican via Flickr

"Yep, Coach we can. However, it's YOUR Student Section causing the problem and we aren't restarting until they are under control. As soon as they settle down we can restart the Match."

Want to get a Red Card in Volleyball or "T'd' Up" in Basketball by me? Just start making a fuss about a game delay when it's your students or fans that are out of control......YOUR school is responsible for fan behavior control!!

I'm rather certain this isn't the first time this Student Section has gotten out of line. Some school Student Sections just don't know how to behave and I am constantly chagrined that schools see and tolerate behavior- sometimes even smile & are amused by behavior- from THEIR students at Home Games that I am sure they would object to if they were Visitors......

On the other hand, some Student Sections are outrageously hilarious in their antics and make the games & matches more fun for everyone. I applaud them in that effort.

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An Honor Call

It was just my 2nd Varsity Boy's Volleyball game of the season......IN my 2nd Seasons as a Volleyball Referee.

A ball goes out of bounds. I think it is off the Visiting Team and the Line Judge signals it is off the Visiting Team.

Photo taken by Charles "Andy" Lee via Flickr, under a Public Domain License

Just after I indicated awarding the point to the Home team I heard someone from the Home Team say, "Make the Honor Call, then!" 

Turns out it was the Home Team Head Coach AND Assistant Coach. BOTH fellows who are also Nationally Certified volleyball Referees themselves, talking to their player.

A player from the Home Team trotted over to where I was standing on the platform as the Referee and said, "I touched the ball, Ref!"

I asked if he was sure because both myself and the Line Judge thought it was off the other team.

He insisted he had touched it, so I reversed the point award.

I looked up at the Home Team Assistant & Varsity Coaches, pointing to the player that had made the Honor Call and gave them a "Thumbs Up."

After the game I was talking to the Head Coach, who as I said is also a Nationally Certified Volleyball Referee and complimented his player and Assistant Coach for making the Honor Call.

He replied, "We teach our player's that our team's honor and self-respect is more important than any point!"

Well played Coach!!


Campo Verde @ Westwood 3/5/2015

Brian Hannah Westwood Head Coach

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Thanks For Making My Coach Sit Down

So said the Athletic Director as he ushered my Referee partner & me into the locker room after the game.

High School Rules state that a coach is allowed to STAND and coach the team in 14' wide "Coach's Box" in front of the Team Bench.

But if a Coach gets a Technical Foul, that privilege to stand is taken away.

"ESPN Armed Forces Classic - Game Day - U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys, South Korea - 9 Nov. 2013"

 by USAG- Humphreys via Flickr

We recently had a game with a Coach who has a reputation for nagging at Referees. In fact, on our way to the court I overheard the Team Trainer comment to another adult team supporter, "Do you think Coach will get "T'd" Up again tonite?

Well, sure enough I DID "T" Up the Coach.

He did not like it. Few do. But most know the Rule and have enough sense to sit down- even if they do continue to glare at the Refs!

Not THIS Coach......

When the Coach did not take a seat and just stood there glaring at me I motioned with my hand to sit and said, "Coach, Please sit down."

Nothing.

Again I made the hand gesture to sit and said, "Coach, Please sit down!"

A fan hollered out, "What? Is he a dog that you can tell him to 'Sit'?" We ignored the fan. It WAS a rather funny quip.

The reply from the Coach, while pointing to a couple people at the end of the bench near the scorer's table was, "I am waiting for them to move so I can sit down."

"Coach, just go sit at the end of the bench and nobody needs to move. But do it now."

It was quite clear we were not gonna restart the game until that Coach behaved properly.

Finally the Coach SLOWLY moved to the of the Bench and sat down.

"Thanks For Making My Coach Sit Down."

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YOU be the Coach...

You are the Home team Coach.

Your team just scored a basket with 15.5 seconds to go in the game and you call a Time Out.

You are now LOSING by 5 points......and the other team will be inbounding the ball and heading for the opposite end of the court. Again now, there are 15.5 seconds left in the game.

It is your last Regular Season Game. If you WIN, you qualify for the first round of the Post Season Tournament Games. If you LOSE, you become a spectator at the Post Season Tournament games.

You call your LAST time out.

What do you tell your players to do?

You tell them to FOUL someone to stop the clock and hope the other team misses their Free Throw (they are in a 2 shot Bonus situation) so you can get the ball back and score, right? Preferably someone who is not a very good free throw shooter....

In comes the ball, NOT to the other team's Point Guard who is 8 for 8 from the Free Throw Line tonite, but to a recent Sub who is not one of the better players on the other team. (The Sub had replaced a starter that had fouled out.)

Your players makes minor foul contact on the opponent and my Referee Partner calls a Foul.

You holler at the Ref, "Why'd you call that foul!!??"

The opponent shoots and misses the 1st Free Throw, your team gets the rebound and races back down the court and your best shooter hits a 2 point shot to bring you within 3 point with 7 seconds on the clock.

The Visiting Coach calls a Time Out.

During the Time Out the Referee who called the Foul tells the Coach that since most Coaches DO want a Foul Call in that situation he called a Foul even tho it was minor contact that he could have ignored.

Ironically the Ref was thinking Coach would have screamed at him if he had NOT called the Foul.

You tell the Ref, "I didn't want a foul called and I never told my players to foul!"

Well, after the Time Out, the situation repeats with a quick Foul called against your team on a significant contact foul that possibly could have been called an Intentional Foul (which would give the opponent 2 Free Throws AND the ball. Game Over for your team!) But it was just called a regular Foul. (Maybe during this Time Out you DID tell your players to foul?)

The opponent again misses the 1st shot of a 2 point Shot Bonus and with 5.7 seconds on the clock, your player gets the rebound and races up the court to try for a 3 point shot and tie the game.

Most coaches would say this was an answer to a prayer, right?

Remember, you already used your last Time Out and CANNOT call another Time Out without costing your team a Technical Foul.

Your player, NOT your 3 point shooting expert, heaves up a shot with 2.5 seconds on the clock from about 30 feet away. Not many players are successful at hitting 30' shots, so this might not have been the best choice decision of the night......(And, YES, at least one of the Referees, the one away from the ball and play, IS keeping track of time on the clock.)

The shot falls short and an opposing player grabs the ball with 1.8 seconds on the clock and throws the ball to the other end of the court and time runs out.

As the Referee that made the Foul call runs past you to the locker room you holler out, "Dave, YOU cost us this game!!"

Was it really the Referee's fault your team lost the game?

Oh, did I mention 2 Starters from the other team had Fouled out in the 4th Quarter and that with 4 minutes in the 4th Quarter your team had a 6 point LEAD? The other team, with 2 starters out, managed to outscore your team by 11 point in the final 4 minutes of the game.

Yeah, you really should blame the Ref for your team's loss, shouldn't you?

Image Source

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What Happened to the 28 Foot Line!?

The "5 Seconds Closely Guarded" Rule has changed, several years ago, in fact........ but I understand if a mom or a dad now has a 14-18 year old high school student/basketball player that the rule changed AFTER Mom/Dad stopped playing. So them not being up to date I am OK with.

But a Varsity Coach?

Currently the rule is quite simple. If a Defensive Player has ONE foot within 6" of the Offensive Player's nearest foot a "5 Second Count" is started. You'll know when it starts because the Ref starts a distinct arm motion for the "Count". The defender does not even need to attempt to play defense and can just stand there motionless. It is the 6" distant that triggers the referee to start counting.

Photo by Ryan Dicky via Flickr, acquired and modified under a Creative Commons License

In days past, if the Offensive Player was dribbling and went below a line marked on the court 28' from the End Line the "Count" started over again. Not any more. The 28' line isn't even on most courts these days.

I called a "5 Seconds Closely Guarded" Violation and the Head Coach protested, "But he crossed the 28' line!!"

"What do you mean, Coach?" I asked (oh, I knew what he was talking about, but I was highly curious how this was going to play out).

"He crossed the 28' line. You did not start a new count!"

I replied, "What 28' line are you talking about, Coach?"

The coach was a bit flustered, convinced that I was some idiot Referee that did not know the rule as well as he did...

"The 28' line, Ref! Don't you know the rule?"

I was being polite and asked, "Yes, Coach I do know the rule, could you please show me what 28' line you are talking about?"

NOT seeing any 28' line on the floor where he expected to find it, he started to point, saying, "THAT 28 FOOT LINE RIGHT THER....."

He paused, turned to his Assistant Coach, quite perplexed and flummoxed and asked him, "Where's the 28' line?" The Assistant Coach looked up and down the sideline and shrugged his shoulders.

"Coach, that rule changed several years ago, the "5 Seconds Count" follows the dribbler anywhere he goes on the court."

"Are you sure about that?" The Coach asked, not wanting to give up the argument.

"Yes, Coach. That is why the 28' line was removed when your court floor was resurfaced, and you can't find it now."

And I off I trotted to get the game going again.

So, the next time you or someone you know is watching a High School game and the Referee calls some violation differently from how it was when you played, please double check the Rule before hollering that the Ref doesn't know what he/she is doing!!

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I Meant for You to Call it on Them!

Coaches like to "work" the Refs......or so they think!

A Coach "encouraged" me to "watch the Hand Checking" as I moved down the sideline in front of their Team Bench.

"OK, Coach, I will!" I replied.

Shortly after that I called a Hand Checking Foul on one of his players.

After I reported the Foul to the Score Keeper the Coach stood with his hands out to his side & asked, "What was that for?"

"You asked me to watch the Hand Checking, didn't you Coach?"

"YES!! But I wanted you to call it on THEM, NOT us!!" he blurted out in a more truthful expression than most coaches will admit to!

"Coach, I'm just trying to Call it Both Ways. That's what you want, right? Is there anything else you'd like me to watch for?" I said.

"No, you're calling enough for now...."

And that was the last Refereeing advice that Coach offered me for that game!

"Obey the referee rule" by David Fulmer via Flickr

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