Coach’s tip: Know, respect referees

FORK UNION, Va.— Fletcher Arritt offers a coaching tip: Always know the first names of your referees.

“What I try to do on officials is talk to them as they’re going down the court,” Arritt says. “‘ Hey, John, I don’t know if I saw that call like you, but I’m going to trust you.’ I never fuss at them. I learned early that the more you complain, the worse it gets.”

Such wisdom is born of 42 years as head coach at Fork Union Military Academy, where he has been assessed two technical fouls in nearly 1,200 games.

“One of them I didn’t deserve,” Arritt says. “I was yelling at our center to get in front of their center, and the referee under the basket thought I was yelling at him. The other one I really deserved. I was trying to get a timeout two or three times and I didn’t get it, so I walked out to the middle of the floor and called it at the foul line.”

Arritt stops to chuckle. He likes telling stories almost as much as coaching.

“So two technicals in 42 years, that’s really true,” he says. “I know how hard it is to referee. I know they’re doing the best they can. I think they deserve respect, and I give them respect.”

That might be why referees give Arritt a little leeway on his habit of wandering on the floor during games.

Today, Arritt coaches his last home game on the court he loves. He doesn’t know how he’ll feel when it’s over. He’s too busy teaching and coaching and telling stories to worry about that. But he does know tonight’s referees.

Lou, Cy and Donnie.