“Thoughts on Officiating” Stirring the Pot…!😈 That’s the topic on “Lunch with Coach” on Wednesday 31.January at 12:00 (Central) Here’s something I wrote, quite a few years ago. See my Facebook Page (Ray Ingram) If you’re a Ref, Coach, Player or just a fan and you want to join the discussion… I look forward to hearing from you. Please read it and bring your stories and opinions for discussion. You can also just leave comments. There will be some videos shown and discussed to make some points (from my view) … I’d like to hear yours. 👉Advice to Officials: Call what you see and don‘t hide behind your whistle. What I mean by that is, if you see something that merits calling, then call it. The only thing more discouraging than hearing an official say that he didn‘t see something is listening to him say „Yes, but that‘s not my call. I know all about the area coverages on the court and the various responsibilities of each official, but, the question of jurisdiction should not mean that fouls and violations should be ignored if the call doesn‘t come from the official who is „supposed“ to make the call. When I was being taught how to officiate by Rocky Valvano, he taught me about „the double whistle“. If Ref-A saw something that his partner Ref-B either didn‘t see or saw differently, and Ref-A was absolutely convinced that he had something important, then Ref-A would make two quick signals to tell Ref-B that he was going to take this one. It always worked for me - and it was usually mentioned in our pre-game conferences. When this happens, as long as it‘s not occurring every trip down the floor, neither Ref should feel slighted or disrespected. The goal is to call a good game. When I use the term „hiding behind the whistle“, I am referring to refs calling technical fouls when someone questions a call and does it in a manner that does not show disrespect but is somewhat persistent. I have called techs in situations like that but I have always had a rule about calling a technical foul.

Parents vs Coaches in Youth Sports In a perfect world, it should never come to that. Unfortunately, we all know this is not a perfect world, and things are not always as cut and dry as we would like for them to be. Conflicting Instructions: “Coach vs Parent” “Let’s talk about the first problem: the conflicting directions.” “The coach says, ‘Spread the floor.’ The parent yells, ‘DRIVE IT!’ The coach says, ‘Slow it down.’ The parent yells, ‘SHOOT!’” Meanwhile, Dad is releasing a tirade of expletives on the Refs to let them know what a terrible job they’re doing and, that he could do a better job than they could .. and the entire gym can hear him … including the kid on the floor. “Now let me ask you a question…” “How old is the kid trying to process all that?” “The last time I checked, we don’t teach advanced multitasking under emotional pressure in third grade.” “What happens is simple: Kids doesn’t get better… They get confused.” “And when kids are confused, they stop playing freely. They stop trusting themselves. And eventually… they stop enjoying the game.” That can happen to older players as well when Coaches are not careful…. That’s a topic for another day. “Now let’s talk about the refs.” Let’s discuss the pros and cons of yelling at, and often verbally abusing the Refs. “First … if yelling at refs actually worked… I could understand it, and this portion wouldn’t be necessary, and there would be fewer technical fouls.” “Here’s the part that often gets missed.” “When adults scream at referees, kids don’t hear .. ‘bad call.’ They see examples being set by people in authority… the coach .. the parent .. the people they respect and look up to. They hear and they see .. ‘this is how we handle frustration.’” “They learn that mistakes deserve public humiliation. They learn that authority is something you fight, not something you respect.” “And here’s the quiet truth…” “Kids don’t remember the call. They remember “That’s how they did it and say “So, That’s how I’m going to do it”

Discussions about the pros and cons of "Involvement". The series will continue for a few weeks. I hope you will jump in.

Let’s talk about Parents and Coaches in Youth Sports. There’s a lot to unpack in this one, so it will probably take a few sessions, but it’s worth the time for discussion. Join us on Wednesdays at 12:00pm (Central) You can join live or checkout and comment on the posted sessions! See you then, Coach

Who is the Greatest Player of all time? Stats .. Records .. Awards .. Championships .. they say a lot .. but, is there more?