My Tribute to OJ: If I was a Coach

I have been asked this question a lot, and since I am currently a coach of 2nd and 3rd grade boys, this post has been long in the makings as a set of general observations.

I had a ton of feedback regarding a post about the different types of coaches, and how to diagnose and deal with them. The same goes for officials:

The Egomaniac. He's there for himself. It's all about him. Anything for flash and/or attention, he'll do it. Gotta make a bunch of travel calls to let people know he's there. Many of these guys have menial jobs, so they get drunk with the power of being a basketball official. Nevermind that coaches are putting in hundreds of hours teaching, coaching, scouting, planning, and recruiting--this guy is why the games are played. As a coach, this is the guy you don;t really want, because you cannot predict what he is gong to do, and you are going to go along for the ride, because he knows everything and he is in charge. The advice: Being critical will not result in him listening, and will result in him badmouthing you in the locker room and with other officials, which isn't gong to help you. If the Egomaniac gets a rule wrong or is unprofessional, you should take that up with the assignor, because you deserve better. Otherwise, not a whole lot you can do to help yourself.

FIGJAM. This stands for F&*k I'm Good, Just Ask Me. This guy is a variation of the egomaniac, and could be both. Typically, the Egomaniac is someone who likes flaunting his power; FIGJAM is BIG Trouble for you as a coach, for the kids, and for the game, because he is kind of oblivious. FIGJAM is the guy rated 25 that should be rated 3. They are 100% convinced that every call the make or don't make is correct. They have a good reason for everything. They are even perfect on film, because you don't really see the angle from the camera. They cause serious problems when their judgment is not as good as they think, and they get defensive when questioned. Like the Egomaniac, you have to just stay out of the way unless they miss a rule or act unprofessionally.

The D Student. They simply don't know the rules or the correct floor positioning to know when they have the best, or at times any, look at the play. They give 1 and 1's on offensive fouls. They screw up shot clock situations. They call goaltending and BI from under the basket. They call across the lane all the time. They call above the foul line form underneath. The older ones don't have the rotate. These guys are fair game. If they don't know a rule, ask one of their partners to clarify the ruling or fix it. If they are calling out of their area, ask one of their partners if he had a better look. A good official or crew chief (Egomaniacs/FIGJAMs included), do not want to look bad by missing rules or having someone making mistakes out of their area. Remember, ask questions, don't rail. The D Student doesn't know any better. They are a class A ball player, the non-scholarship kid, the uneducated laborer.

The Lazy Guy. There is no excuse for being physically lazy. The T should be at 28 feet and not cheating on rebounds. The C should be around the free throw line. Guys should be hustling to see plays on lines. They should NOT be tethered to the half-court line as the trail. They should be hustling across when they flex, if they have to. Laziness should be addressed. Hard for those officials, or their partners, to make excuses for it. Some of the older guys just cannot physically do it anymore at the levels they are assigned. That's an unfortunate fact of life. Those are the guys that should have film sent into the assignor.

The Brown Nose. Outside of rare places that model themselves after North Korea, coaches and schools have some power over officials. The higher the level, the more input they will have. Some officials will want to be your buddy, because they mistakenly believe that you will help their career because they kiss your ass, especially the younger ones trying to move up the food chain. Feed these guys. Prey on them. They deserve it. Leverage their insecurity, and lobby the heck out of them. Make them believe that you will help them out, that you are their buddy. It will help you. But beware, if they do rise in the food chain, these are the types of guys who are pretty duplicitous--so you need to watch for when these guys morph into Egomaniacs or FIGJAM's. I've seen that a lot over the years.

The Homer. Some guys are homers, period. They can be homers because they are an alum. Some guys get nervous in front of big and noisy home crowds. They may be friends with the home coach or a player's parent. I have even seen where officials have nephews playing in a loser-out playoff game, and still worked it. Either way, it is a bad deal, and there is nothing you can do about it, unless the official has a conflict of interest. You need to deal with conflicts of interest through the assignor or conference--you and the integrity of the game deserve to have no conflicts of interest, but in other cases, you just have to deal with it. Pointing out homer calls will do nothing for you, will irritate the Homer, and nothing will really change. In a lot of aspects, officials can benefit from being a Homer. That's makes me sick, but it is a fact.

The Absent Referee. "we're gonna let 'em play." He doesn't care what the State or assignor wants called, he just wants to be Clint Eastwood and not call anything. "NCAA wants less physical play? Assignor wants a whistle on hard contact? Thy shouldn't tell me how to make calls." In his opinion, good players can play through things. Besides, the less the whistle is blown, the quicker the game gets over, and then he can go drink beer and drive home drunk. He'll tell you he did not see anything, but in reality he just doesn't want to call anything. Some guys do this because they know their judgment is not good, and if not much is going on, thy can float invisibly through a game without screwing up. Kind of a variation on, "Better a man be a fool than open his mouth and remove all doubt." No-calls go away from your criticism faster than objectionable calls--but incorrect no-calls hurt you just as much as incorrect whistles. Encourage them to blow the whistle, but you would also be served to adjust your team's aggressiveness, because when the Absent Referee shows up, the rule book doesn't really apply too much.

The Good Official. This guy is consistent with everything he does, but most importantly, he is genuinely approachable and listens to you and your players. He is there for the integrity of the game, and to compete for you, the other coach, and the players. You want to tell this guy specific things. "Hey, they are setting a bad screen on the baseline and allowing #32 to get an open shot because of it. Can you watch for that?" "(Name), are you guys being consistent as a crew with that last call (non-call)?" Tell your 1 or 2 good players to do the same. The Good Official will give you a good answer back, but will also be responsive and perhaps helpful if something is not right. His biggest fear is to go home feeling like the crew was not good and it affected the game. Understand that and use that if you can.

Lots of officials can and do exhibit characteristics of more than one of these categories. Here are a few more things that I would never, ever do as a coach:

1. Get personal. On or off the court. Ever. If you think an official is screwing you, send a tape into the supervisor and let him deal with it. This is a business; personal comments are unprofessional. If an official was unprofessional to me, I would not accept him at my games again, if at all possible.

2. "That's not your call." One of the worst things to say. You can question the judgment: "What did you just call?" "Did you really have an angle to see that?" "Did you have the best look at that?" "I think that's going to look bad on film." But every official has a whistle and the right to blow it. Questioning whose call it is, 98% of the time, is a bad move. The only time I'd ever do that would be quietly to a Good Official, to prod him into talking to the offender about it.

3. Ever be critical of an official working for free, like at a scrimmage. Nothing better than taking up a Saturday or weeknight away from your family, and get yelled at during a scrimmage for calls. 2-4 hours in a car and at least 60 floor minutes of free basketball, and some coaches want to bitch?

4. Carry grudges from game to game. Once calls are made, you need to let it go. Unless an official is lazy or unprofessional, which can be documented on a tape or with witness statements sent to the assignor, every day should be a new day. Yes, some officials carry grudges against coaches, which is EXACTLY why I would never do so as a coach. The coaches that do this are mentally weak, and in my opinion do not set a good example of leadership for their kids. There were coaches I did no care for (very few, but a small handful), but when I called their games, I went out of my way not to exacerbate the situation. It's business. It's competitive. Everyone gets it. Don't carry grudges.

Things I would do as a coach:

1. Communicate specifically with the assignor. If you don't like something, and i is wrong on tape, send it in. Coaches that do this are successful in knowing that officials are being held accountable, and the good officials know that they have to perform as well as they can for those coaches. Tape never lies, unless you are from Connell or are a mouthpiece talking out of school.

2. If you think an official has personal problem with you, and you are going to have him on your games anyway, find a way to squash the issue. Sometimes life is not fair, and your players should come before your pride. Many times, these officials will implode at some point on film anyway.

3. Challenge officials with questions. Be social, but challenge them. Ask specific questions. That will let the officials know that you expect them to be competing along with you and the players to be at their best. Good officials love this. The best coaches and aggressive without crossing the line. Push hard with facts and questions.

4. Maintain dialogue with the best official(s). The R is not necessarily the best official. Coaches and smart--they know who to go to to be listened to. There may be 2 or 3 Good Officials on your game. Maintain dialogue with them. It wont hurt, and may help you make adjustments.

5. Be loud towards the players; be conversational with officials. "Don't yell at me, I'm right here and listening to you," was a common line from me. Beckon the official over if you have a question. Loud questions/comments directed towards officials will piss off a lot of them, especially FIGJAM. Conversely, Egomaniac likes the attention, and may try to keep you screaming, because it gives him more spotlight. Be effective and don't feed the trolls--all officials over and be quieter when being critical.

6. Make sure officials are taken care of before and after the game. Have someone greet them. Have water for them. Have someone shepherd them at halftime. Have a shower available for them after the game. Small things mean a lot. Ray Lewis: "Greatness is a lot of small things done well." I stopped working at schools because of some of these things. I will always remember other schools that treated us like gold.

7. Stay away from absolutes. If an official blatantly misses one of makes a huge mistake, he knows it. Make your point, but make sure he has an out, to preserve his dignity. This is especially important in dealing with Egomaniacs. Also, as many times as I was 100% on a call, only to see something totally or vastly different when I saw the film, I know that very little is 100%. There are always angles, perceptions, and interpretations amongst each coach, the players, the fans, and even the officials' partners. Stay away from absolutes on judgment calls as much as possible. Rules are one thing, but judgment is always less than 100% and can be very subjective. Remember that...restraint regarding judgment can pay dividends, because the film won't lie. That's why NCAA D-1 uses replay, and we all know that happens a lot.

I know some coaches read this. E-mail me if you have any further questions. Most coaches do OK, but I think many could benefit from changing their tactics with officials, just like officials need to understand how to best deal with coaches. Like it or not, most of us are all in this together for the same reason: the love for the game of basketball. We need to recognize and respect that whenever possible.