Question Number: 7250

The Technical Area

RE: Select Under 13

Mike Scholz of Whitefish bay, WI asks...

Sideline AR at tournament. Coach is constantly and loudly be-littling his players. "Johnny if you don' start marking your sitting down *&^%^& it" ..What is the best way to get him to stop giving you a headache..I suppose you can ignore it but it isn't the best behavior. I think the boys lose respect fot the game this way.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Step 1: Mike you get the referee's attention and advise him the coach is not behaving in a responsible manner. The referee chooses:..Action 1: and warns the coach, he stops. No headache. ..Action 2: and dismisses the coach. No headache, no coach. ..Action 3: and does nothing. You go home and write a letter to the league board of directors outlining the coach?s behavior and the referee's inability to act. No headache, no coach, referee gets remedial training. ..Action 4: and does nothing and you do nothing further. Headache. (But you knew that)..Step 2: You have a stick in your hand... Give the coach a headache. Definitely not a recommended course of action but it is, nevertheless, highly effective. This action has the added benefit of meeting a bunch of new friends, judges, lawyers, police, probation officers, and the like. ..Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Assumimg the referee has not heard this, he should have gone over what you should do in your pregame. I always tell my ARs at a youth game that if they hear something that needs to be dealt with, they are to get my attention, I'll stop play and deal with it. Cursing your own players is unacceptable behavior by a youth coach and should be dealt with swiftly.