Some advice for Stan Heath . . .

[g.lynn]

My wife got her first teaching gig in the post Title-IX era (late 70's early 80's) and was required to coach HS girls basketball.  After her first few games she complained to me she was being discriminated against: i.e. a woman coach versus men referees and men coaching girls BB.  I told her she needed to show more emotion towards the referees from the bench during the game because it influences calls.  "How" she asked?  I told her she would figure it out and it does help in winning close games when the teams are equal or you're the visiting team.

During her next game, and my wife being five to six months pregnant with our first child, stood up and started to walk out onto the court as the referee was signaling to the scorers table the uniform number of the player he had just called a foul on.  My wife grabs her stomach and grimaced as to be in pain.  The ref walked over and grabs her by her left arm and asked "are you all right?"  I later asked my wife what she whispered in the ref's ear and she said it was something to the effect "That was the worst m#)&@* f)*@^# call I've ever seen.  You two dumb fu$(@&# shouldn't b*&%^$ ^%$#)(*&&&%^$."

The ref backed away from my wife, got red faced and started to call a technical foul but realized he would have been crucified for calling a technical on a pregnant woman.  The other ref came running over and asked what the problem was.  The red faced ref whispered in his ear what my wife had said.

Game over.  Close calls started going to my wife's team.  Walking calls on the other team etc., and the other coach got a couple of technicals for stomping his feet among other things.

My wife later said "thank you" but BB was not her sport.  She only coached BB one more year after her "scene".

The moral of the story, since I don't think Heath can become pregnant, is for him to show more emotion from the bench.  When complaining to one ref, DO NOT STAND WITH HANDS-ON-HIPS IN A MILD MANNERED POSITION.  The other refs won't know if you are complaining about the call or asking where the three of them ate dinner.  You should have figured it out by now, that it does help in winning close games, especially on the road.