Dealing with Refs

One of the most important issues teams have to deal with during games is also one that is completely out of a coaches control.  The issue that I speak about is the officiating of a given game.  As a coach you need to have a few guidelines that you follow when it comes to game officials.  This list is compiled with the idea that refs are humans and will make mistakes like we all do.  As coaches we need to teach our players that part of the game experience is dealing with and respecting the calls officials make.  No matter how bad a call may be and no matter how crucial a point in the game that call may have been made you need to teach your kids to rise above calls that may justly or unjustly go against them.  What this means is do not let calls by officials ruin the focus the team needs to bring the game home.

Guidelines for players towards officials:

  • Don't let a call that may go against you affect your focus.

  • Don't waste your energy arguing calls with the officials.

  • Never be disrespectful to officials.  They are not the enemy and a 50-50 call may go your way if you are respectful.

  • Always shake the officials hands at the end of the game.


Guidelines for coaches towards officials:

  • Don't let a call that may go against you affect your focus.  It seems like in today's game there are many officials who get defensive when questioned and will take their remarks to a personal level.  It is up to you as a coach not to let their comments ruin your focus.  Remember that your main priority is your team not the refs.  The next time a ref tells you something like "Learn the rules before you talk," don't take it personally but rather keep your focus.  Their in the wrong business if they can't take criticism.

  • The head coach should be the only one on the bench that will question a officials call.  When questioning a call never be disrespectful but rather make a calm inquiry as to what he saw and why he made the call he made.

  • Make an effort to talk to the refs before the game.  Some simple small talk may break the ice and help you with any 50-50 calls.

  • Never be disrespectful to officials. They are not the enemy and a 50-50 call may go your way if you are respectful.

  • Always shake the officials hands at the end of the game.


Over my 30 years of coaching the one thing I have learned is that most referees have the best interest of the game at heart.  They really try their best to be impartial and call the game fair.  There are times where a ref will miss a call.  That is normal, they are human.  What you need to do is coach your kids to understand that officials calls, whether they go for you or against you, are part of the game, so you have to deal with them.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Drill: 5v5v5 Fast Break

Image
This is a nice drill that emphasizes a whole bunch of game like situations.  Here is the list:  Fast Break Secondary Break Offensive sets Transition Defense Transition to standard defense Recognizing and attacking odd man opportunities.
Read more

Burpees (HIIT) Bakers Dozen

 Below is a great burpee workout that you can use to challenge yourself.  This challenge is called the baker's dozen.  Below is the rep range for each set and rest intervals between each set. 13 burpees 1 minute rest 12 burpees 1 minute rest 11 burpees 1 minute rest 10 burpees 1 minute rest  9 burpees 1 minute rest 8 burpees 1 minute rest 7 burpees 1 minute rest 6 burpees 1 minute rest 5 burpees 1 minute rest 4 burpees 1 minute rest  3 burpees 1 minute rest 2 burpees 1 minute rest 1 burpee 1 minute rest During the rest period you should be walking and getting yourself ready for the next set.  Don't sit down. Once completed you will have done a total of  91 burpees in about 20 minutes. It should be noted that the balers dozen method to HIIT training can be used doing different types of exercises including mountain climbers, push ups, pull ups, squats, lunges, 20 yard sprints and others. If you are in outstanding shape then you can decrease your rest periods to 45 seconds, 30 sec
Read more

Layups, Layups, Layups

Image
 When we go to youth games we like watching how the kids warm up.  To us youth basketball is an easy game to coach.  As a youth coach you need to teach your kids how to play good aggressive man to man defense and on the offensive end teach them how to pass and move towards the basket.  In a pass an move offense, layups are so important.  This goes back to our opening statement about watching youth level warm ups.  Most of the teams warming up spend a lot of time shooting shots, but the good ones are always working around the basket.  We've always found it entertaining that youth teams spend so much time working on jumpers and so little time on layups.  In addition, the little time they do spend on layups is spent doing basic layups using the right hand on the right side and the left hand on the left side.  There is so much more to it than this however and kids should be exposed to different types of layups in practice.  No one can predict what kind of layup opportunity will present
Read more