Game Log 11/25/06: The wonders of the warning

Two games today with a partner I really enjoy working with. He was doing 7 games that day, because he's young and borderline insane. Just two for me. Both were blowout 9th-grade games.

The first game was interesting insofar as the refs and players agreed to modify a tournament rule. White took a quick 20-point lead on Red, and the tournament rule was that White had to take off the press. But Red's coach wanted White to continue pressing--he wanted them to work on getting the ball up the court. So we set aside the rule. It didn't much matter...Red figured out the press and wound up losing by 9. They weren't down for long. I guess there was no harm in what we did.

The second game...well, my partner gave me a head's up before we got going. "Watch out. Loud coaches." I didn't even know what team he was referring to, but it took about two minutes of play to figure out it was the White coach. "Call the block," he said. There was something about his tone I didn't like. I responded: "Not that one, coach. Not much contact there." He then said: "And that wasn't a travel, either." He referred to a call two trips down the floor earlier. Again, his tone was pretty damn mean, and that, combined with partner's warning, convinced me it was time to nip this sucker in the bud. I showed him my palm. "Coach, I'm already done with you," is what I said. A

It worked. He channeled his buttheadism into a more socially respectable way. He didn't like a call I had on his big girl on a rebound. She gave the kid in front of her a two-handed push in the back--bent the kid over at the waist. Too obvious to miss. As I ran up the court, the coach had his hands out and palms up--the sign for "What?" I said: "Do you have a question?" He said "What was the call?" I told him. The girl, of course, denied it when he pulled her (I think it was her third foul). He then took her out to me at halftime and said: "I want you to tell her what the call was. She says she had her hands out." I said what it was again. It's clear he didn't want to do this for the benefit of his player--it was his way of registering disagreement. But I can live with it that way.

Perhaps I could have waited a little to warn the guy, but I think my decision turned out to be the best for the game. Easily. My partner said the assistant coach on that team was a complete turd after a recent championship game, saying this to him: "That kid took 11 seconds to shoot her free throw. You blew that call, and you KNOW it!" Whatever. Get a life. Glad I shut that bench down, and if I see them again, I'll give it a fresh start. Perhaps he'll remember to approach me differently, but I doubt it.

THINGS I DID WELL: Coach management
THINGS TO WORK ON: My call selection may have been a hair inconsistent...let a few things go and called a few that I could have let go. I could be a little more consistent.
NEXT UP: Nothing's actually on the schedule right now, but I'll likely have something pop up on Tuesday, and defnitely on Friday.