Coaches fit for a 'T'
Sometimes refs have no choice
By Matt Thompson
News-Sun Sports Writer
The transformation usually begins about the
time of the first traveling
call.
Until that point, Kenton Ridge Coach
Jeff Hobbs looks like a perfectly
normal person. He jokes with the referees and people he sees in the
stands. He
appears dapper and professional in a sports jacket and tie. He smiles
and
laughs while speaking with assistants. He looks like the kind of guy
you'd
like to see your sister bring home.
But then, when the referee blows the
whistle and moves his hands in a
tight circle, something triggers a change.
Hobbs' face bunches up in an expression
of disbelief. His skin begins to
turn a bright red, the veins standing up like a relief map across his
forehead. His jacket disappears into a forgotten wad of fabric bunched
up on
the back of his chair, his tie pulled slightly askew. He grimaces and
screams
in a rage of pure frustration.
Bill Bixby into the Hulk it might not
be ... but it's close.
``I don't know,'' Hobbs says, safely
away from the court. ``I guess some
of the people I served under were that way. Larry Hunter got after
the refs
and Dan Hipsher was the same way.
``I guess I learned it honest.''
It's true _ like the former Wittenberg
coaches he learned under, Hobbs
is nothing unusual. And while he might be one of the more demonstrative
high
school coaches in the area, the war between head basketball coach and
referee
is a contest joined nightly in various levels of direct conflict. It's
a
struggle for power that often plays a major role in the outcome of
the game.
Whether you're a hothead hoping to intimidate
a ref into giving you a
favorable call late in the game or a cool, quiet type hoping your objections
_
being less frequent _ will carry more weight, working the ref is like
playing
politics.
Even when you're not doing it, you're
doing it.
Different approaches
Few in the area can tell you as much
about getting in trouble with the
officials as South's Larry Ham. For a while, after all, it was his
forte.
``When I first got started, years ago,
I mean, it was my signature
thing,'' Ham said.
Like the time he chased the officials
into their dressing room after
what he considered a non-call contributed to a loss at Beavercreek.
Sheriff's
deputies were called to escort Ham away.
``I got a nice letter from the Ohio
High School Athletic Association on
that one,'' Ham said, chuckling.
Or the time _ again at Beavercreek _
when he took the trouble to
criticize the officiating in the local newspaper. It got back to the
folks in
Columbus, and ``I got a nice letter ... and a phone call ... again.''
These days, Ham says he's much less
trouble to referees, and when he
voices his opinion, it's usually something he feels passionately about.
A lot of other veteran coaches share
Ham's new-found approach.
``My whole philosophy has changed over
the last few years,''
Southeastern's Jim Justice said. ``I'm a lot more quiet than I used
to be.
Referees talk, and if you get a reputation, they'll just turn you off.
``If you make a good point, make your
case in a civil tone, you're more
apt to be able to work the referee. If you're just stomping around
like an
idiot, they'll maybe tune you out.''
And to hear Dave Nash _ a longtime referee
who is a rules interpreter
for the Southwestern Ohio Officials Association _ tell it, Justice
is right.
``It's like the kid who cried wolf,''
Nash said. ``Some (coaches), when
they yell, you should listen to them. Others are just yelling.''
North's Eddie Ford, for example, doesn't
yell much. When he does make a
point, he's fairly low-key about it. And that's just how he wants it
to be.
``I try to treat (the refs) as professionals
and hope they treat me the
same way,'' Ford said. ``I have a job to do and they have a job to
do.''
Ford says young coaches sometimes believe
they have to be fiery in order
to be effective, though in Ford's opinion, that's not the case.
``I've learned over the years you've
got to be yourself,'' he said. ``If
you're not a Bobby Knight, don't be a Bobby Knight. If you're a Dean
Smith, be
a Dean Smith.''
That's not to say there's not a time
to be a Bobby Knight should the
circumstances call for it.
Taking the `T'
There are times, officials will tell
you, that they do indeed blow a
call. And Nash says young refs are told to be ready for a certain level
of
abuse as a result.
``Sometimes you have to just suck it
up and take it because you blew the
call,'' Nash said. ``That's the hard thing.''
That said, there are also lines that
shouldn't be crossed, and even the
most even-tempered referee can be pushed only so far.
``We tell them to give the coach a rope;
what he does with it is up to
him,'' Nash said. ``If he puts it around his neck and keeps going,
he'll hang
himself.''
The ``hanging'' in most cases is a technical
foul, which gives the
opposing team two free throws (by their best shooter) and possession
of the
ball. That can provide up to a five-point swing _ and an accompanying
swing in
momentum.
The trick is to register your complaint
firmly enough while not pushing
the ref over the edge.
``Some of these guys, once you get some
experience, you know when you've
pushed the wrong button,'' Hobbs said. ``You know when it's time to
quit.
``Maybe that's the measure of a good
coach, knowing where that line's at
and not crossing it.''
Sometimes, however, a technical is more
than just punishment. Sometimes
coaches draw them on purpose, using them as a motivational tool when
the team
is flat.
``My first year I got a technical at
Tecumseh because I felt like my
team needed a lift,'' Hobbs said. ``I just complained, complained and
complained until they lit me up. And the kids responded to it.''
As often as not, however, these things
backfire.
``I used to do that all the time,''
Ham said. ``It used to work. Now,
though, the kids just look at you like `Are you stupid or something?'
''
Model of consistency
Really though, all the coaches want
_ or so they say _ is consistency.
``I usually harp on the consistency,''
Ford said. ``I usually tell them
if that's the call they're going to make, I hope they're consistent
both ways
for four quarters.''
``You just gotta stay after 'em and
stay after 'em and hope things even
out,'' Hobbs added. ``Whether it's consistently good or consistently
bad,
that's all you're after.''
During South's recent trip to Beavercreek
(a 55-54 Beaver victory), Ham
says he protested some lopsided foul calls with a silent point to the
scoreboard during a timeout _ ``Five (fouls) to us, one to them.''
It worked, too.
``He just kinda smiled as if `OK, coach,
we gotcha.' ''
So maybe there is something to this
cooperation stuff, after all.
Hobbs, believe it or not, gets along
quite well with the officials _
exchanging jokes before and sometimes even during games.
``I mean to be light-hearted with them,''
Hobbs said. ``A lot of these
guys, once they get to know me, they know I get after 'em, but at the
same
time, if I could laugh with them, maybe they won't think I'm such a
bad guy.''
At least until the next traveling call.
Published: 01/10/97