The following information was presented at IAABO 31’s board meeting on Feb 4, 2018.
Dealing with Coach Conduct
- I have seen a lot of unacceptable coach conduct this season in High School and Suburban games, but I have not seen a lot of officials who deal with that behavior effectively.
- REMEMBER: Coaches may NOT coach while completely out of the coaching box.
- Too often, officials say “As long as he’s not bothering me, I don’t care where the coach is”.
- Coaches may NOT voice disagreement across the court.
- Too often, officials say, “I don’t want to insert myself into the game at that point. He’s just making himself look bad”
- These are not appropriate responses to poor coach behavior. The behavior MUST be addressed.
- How can we EFFECTIVELY address poor coach conduct?
- What’s in your “toolbox”?
- Your voice. You can try to talk to the coach.
- “Coach, I need you to help me out and find your box.”
- “Coach, by rule. . . “
- “Coach, my partner had a great look. He’ll tell you what he saw if you ask.”
- Unofficial warning
- “Coach, I’ve heard enough.”
- “I’ve given my answer, coach. We’re done talking”
- “Coach, your assistant is about to lose your box for you.”
- Official warning
- New this year. USE IT. It’s a great tool. It gets the coach to realize the situation without a T.
- Tell the coach, tell the table, have it recorded in the book.
- Technical foul
- No one enjoys giving technical fouls, but it’s just a call.
- You’re not inserting yourself into the game. You’re simply assessing the penalty that the rules require.
- If you’ve gone through the other tools, no one will be surprised by the T.
- Call it and get away.
- Be professional, not emotional.
- Your voice. You can try to talk to the coach.
- Effective management of coaches is what sets great officials apart from great play-callers. Don’t ignore this part of your game.
End of Game Management
- Last 2 minutes: “Let’s be perfect”. FOCUS
- See the WHOLE play: start, middle, and finish.
- Get a shooter, every time.
- If time-out is called, let’s be sure there’s possession before blowing the whistle.
- Be strong in your primary, including off-ball and rebounding responsibilities.
- Help if needed outside your primary: be LATE, be RIGHT, be NEEDED.
- Game awareness. We must know:
- Bonus situation
- Arrow
- Time-outs remaining
- Move to improve.
- Don’t get stuck in one spot
- Always try to find a position to see “through” the play, regardless of whether you’re Lead, Trail or Center.
- Communicate during time-outs!
- With table:
- double-check time-outs remaining
- team fouls
- running score (check with visitor’s book)
- With partner(s):
- Do we have a problem player?
- Last shot responsibilities
- How is ball being put back in play?
- Do we need to adjust anything at this point?
- Last minute:
- Keep officiating. Don’t put away the whistles.
- Strategic Fouling – POE
- Have a count, in case of timing error.
- NCAA officials: remember timing rules.
- Last shot:
- Primary responsibility is
- Trail official in a 2-whistle game
- Official opposite the table (could be C or T) in a 3-whistle game.
- Let’s ALL have an opinion.
- If it’s so close that we can’t decide, we can consult the timer. If we disagree, the Referee will make the final decision.
- Primary responsibility is
- Whistle or no whistle?
- IAABO does not require a whistle at the end of the period.
- The only time I would recommend a whistle at the end of the period is if the last-second try is very close to the horn and you want to wave it off.
- Any other use of the whistle could cause participants to think you are making a call.
- Post-Game Handshake Reminders
- You are required to observe the teams. You are not required to participate.
- If you have an unsporting technical foul, you are excused from the protocol.