T1B

So last night myself and three other officials called a JV game between two small south Texas schools. The schools are right in the middle of the Eagle Ford Shale play and they are having a hell of a time finding coaches and teachers given how much money people can make right now driving a truck, etc. As such the JV coaches were both first year coaches and teachers. In Texas any member of the coaching staff has to be a full time employee of the school district.

Between the four officials we had 60 plus years of experience and three of the four of us are also college officials. The game starts normally and things are fine thru the first quarter. I am working the home team's sideline and when this team falls behind by 14 the coaches start to move right up onto the sideline and in two cases onto the field while a play is in progress. I warned them to get back and stay back.

In the third quarter one of the coaches stepped onto the field and I had to run behind him so I dropped a flag. He didn't like it and had a few choice words. I ignored him which prolly made him more upset. From that point on he challenged us on every single thing and stood a step off of the sideline for the next few plays. I gave him another verbal warning and then had to run around him again and dropped another flag. Now he is super pissed. Coaching his team is forgotten and he just wants to yell at me. Nothing any official hasn't dealt with before.

Then on a punt play his team has a good return and I am coming down the sideline and he is in my way and his feet are in the field of play. I use my arm to move him back and at the end of the play he runs out onto the field and gets in my face. He starts screaming about something. I ignore him and next thing I know he gets so close he knocks my hat off with his. That drew a flag from me and also from two other officials on the field. I step around him and leave my hat on the ground and head into the middle of the field to discuss with the other officials what we all had. I inform them of the sideline interference and the contact. Both of which are 15 yards fouls. Meanwhile the other coach is trying to pull the crazy one off the field. In the process he picks up my hat and tosses it. This draws a flag from the fourth official.

We sort all the fouls out and it totals 60 yards, but it moves his team so close to their own goal line that it ends up being about 40 yards total and is first and 10 since these were dead ball fouls. The white hat and I walk over to dude and the other coach and we inform him that if he so much as steps foot inside the 6 foot officiating area that he will be removed from the game, or that if he raises his voice again he will also be gone. He doesn't so much agree as grunt.

The very next snap he screams at the white hat that he f*^#ing missed a holding call and here comes another flag. We inform the other coach that his partner must leave the field area and that if he refuses the game will be a forefit. After a good amount of threats and yelling dude finally leaves. We finish the game and his team won.

As we are leaving the field we are approached by two men. Turns out one is the principle and one is the Varsity head coach. They asked us to come into one of their offices to discuss what happened. We explain the chapter's policy on that and tell them they need to contact the chapter leadership and that we as the crew on the field needs to write our statement to the chapter and State Association before anything else. The coach and principle understand and agree and we provide them with the names they need to contact along with phone numbers.

Late last night I get a call asking me to return to said school for a meeting with the HC, Principle, and School District President and an attorney. The white hat and I and the chapter president and a member who is an attorney were there for an 8:30 meeting. They asked us to walk them thru exactly what happened, and then they showed us a video that the school had shot. They asked us to walk them thru each thing on that video and thankfully the video shows me waving the coach back a few times, it shows me very gently using my arm to move him back, and it shows him losing his mind while I have my hands behind my back.

After about an hour of this the Varsity HC apologizes to us and asks that we not hold the action of one person against the whole school. We are also informed that the coach in question is suspended with pay pending the school's investigation.

So after all that I am off to my college game later this afternoon and the 23 year old hot head is likely looking for a new job.

Have a great weekend.

Reason #1 why I moved and stayed at the U spot for most of my 40 seasons, not having to put up with asshole coaches on the sideline.
A comment: back in central NY I very seldom would work a JV high school game. They were basically assigned to guys with 2-5 years experience to get them more of it. Being a college official and working JV high school does not compute to me. Not a criticism, a comment.
Also, I believe Texas is one of two states (the other was Mass.) that uses NCAA rules and not National Federation Rules. A question: does NCAA also have sideline warnings?
Here in Florida, FHSAA rules with a heavy hammer. Coaches who get bounced are fined and the school as well. Works quite well in keeping heads cool during the heat of battle the game.

Is that post available in paperback?

LS wrote:an attorney
the video shows me very gently using my arm to move him back

Uh-oh!
How "gentle" was it, really?


:wink:

I didn't read all of Lefty's post, but I always thought it was frankly bullshit that in every sport except football, the refs are empowered to check poor sportsmanship from coaches. In football, they make them take it.

Accurate?

Rack you, lefty. You prolly should have steamrolled that fukk on the return play. Just turn your head towards the play, drop a shoulder and knock him right out of his shoes.

Screw_Michigan wrote:I didn't read all of Lefty's post, but I always thought it was frankly bullshit that in every sport except football, the refs are empowered to check poor sportsmanship from coaches. In football, they make them take it.

Accurate?

Pretty much. Football officials take far more than any other sport that I know of besides maybe tennis. Not sure why that is or how it came to be but we take 10 times what a baseball ump would before tossing a coach.

poptart wrote: Uh-oh!
How "gentle" was it, really?

Seeing as how I got an appology from the HC, Principal, and School District it was very gentle.

smackaholic wrote:Rack you, lefty. You prolly should have steamrolled that fukk on the return play. Just turn your head towards the play, drop a shoulder and knock him right out of his shoes.

Problem is that will get you sued by the school districts workman's comp insurance company. A local crew was sued here about a decade ago for an official who ran into a coach who was on the field. Neither saw the other and both were knocked unconscious. The coach never worked again and died three years later from complications. Bad bad deal all the way around.

Since he is a 1st year coach maybe a suspension will get him calmed down enough to return. Everyone has a bad day now and then. He sounds like an asshole though.

trev wrote:Since he is a 1st year coach maybe a suspension will get him calmed down enough to return. Everyone has a bad day now and then. He sounds like an asshole though.

Bullfucking shit. These garage roid rager coaches are complete dicks, and they do not change. Not a one year suspension. They are nothing more than look at me assholes who were complete failures in any athletic attempt they made. They never change and should be banned from coaching any kind of youth sports.

Pretty sure I will see some of these dudes Wednesday when I go to my grandsons first football game, for 6 year olds, but some dude will be yelling at them.