Forgetting your coin

[FLAHL]

Will it be a Patriot/Falcon Super Bowl???

No

[FLAHL]

On a somewhat related note, last Friday the team that won the toss elected to defer.  I said to the other captain, you want the ball, right?  He said, "We'll kick."  I said "You want the ball, right?"  He said "We'll kick."  I explained that meant he'd kick to start both halves and he said "We'll receive."  The winning captain heard all of this, and said "He wants to kick, let him."  He then told his coach what happened, and the coach went out of his way to express his displeasure with me.  I told him that I wouldn't let his captain make that mistake either, but that didn't seem to help.

The U and I always ask captains what they'll do if they win the toss before we bring them out.  Maybe we should start asking "What will you do if the other team wins?" as well.

[SouthGARef]

Ask someone on the sideline if you can borrow a quarter. Bummed one off the cheerleading squad last week. We're human, it happens.

[NWA_UMP]

My U does an "equipment" rundown. Starts at the Hat and goes all the way to his shoes...

Hat
Whistle
something to write with
something to write on
Down indicator
Bean Bag
Flag
Belt, buckled
Pants buttoned
Zippers zipped
Shoes tied

At that point I tap the coin in my pocket...every once in a while someone will zip up. It's amazing that grown men can't remember to zip their fly. I guess better in the locker room than on the field!

[Atlanta Blue]

Coin toss in baseball?

A rare event, but it happens.  First you have to make the playoffs.  Then you have to have a game three in a three game series.  That's why no umpire carries a coin!

Did the Confederacy issue coins during the War of Northern Aggression???

Yes and no.  During the war, 3 of the 5 US mints were in the South.  The CSA took them over and kept making US coins, keeping them for their own use.
There were 4 CSA Silver Half Dollars made (yes, 4.  Not 4 types or 4 designs, 4 coins).  Even if I had one, I don't think I would use it for a high school coin toss.  The last one that sold went for $881,000.  There were also 12 CSA one cent coins made by a jeweler in Philadelphia, but they were never delivered to the CSA.  Those are relatively cheap, one selling for $141,000.

Will the Cubbies win 4 in a row?

While I hope so, I'm not counting on it.  There is more of a chance of me lending one of those CSA Half Dollars to this week's white hat for the coin toss.

Will it be a Patriot/Falcon Super Bowl???

If so, Dan Quinn would EASILY be Coach of the Year, given that we won 10 games total in the last two years.

[VALJ]

The U and I always ask captains what they'll do if they win the toss before we bring them out.  Maybe we should start asking "What will you do if the other team wins?" as well.

Before I walk the captains out to the R for the toss, I always ask the captain what he's going to say if they win.  About twice a year, the kid says "we want to kick".  I always remind him, in front of a coach if at all remotely possible, that if he says "kick" they're kicking twice, and that he needs to say "defer".  I can't control what he says when he gets to the center of the field, but the more I can do to get one of the simplest parts of the game done without any stress, the better off the game tends to start.

[Atlanta Blue]

I always remind him, in front of a coach if at all remotely possible, that if he says "kick" they're kicking twice,

Not necessarily.  The other team may be just as dumb and choose which direction they want to kick off the second half. 

The whole, "You kick the first half, I kick the second" is so ingrained, I wouldn't be all that surprised to see it happen.

[Etref]

Actually did a coin toss prior to the game with the coaches

Coach blue. Wins. Says we defer
Coach white says we will defend the north end
Coach blue says.  We will kick


Umpire and I scratched our heads and walked away

[edtude]

Maybe we should start asking "What will you do if the other team wins?" as well.

I always ask that question before bringing out the captains. I am more amazed when they get it right, even high schoolers. What I ask them is "If you lose the toss and your opponent defers what are you going to do?" Then I look at the coach and tell him that we won't let him kick twice.

[ECILLJ]

I said "You want the ball, right?"

Some of our  's ask the captain this same question? IMHO, it is confusing for some captains. Some  keep it simple and easy to understand. After Team A they will ask the Team B captain, "Would you like to receive the ball to begin the game?"

If Team B captain says no, then  may say, "My apologies if I wasn't clear, you have the choice to receive the ball in the first half. Team A won the toss and chose to receive the ball in the 2nd half. Would you like to receive the ball to begin the game?"

IMHO, starting the game with a Captain making a bad decision does not get the game started on a good tone. As a wing, I only have so much rear-end to be on and I prefer to save it for the coach when he has more substantial things to discuss with me.

Will the Cubs win tonight? If not, GO BLACKHAWKS!!!!!

[NorCalMike]

My WH uses a Kennedy Half Dollar for the coin toss. Couple of weeks ago I asked the captains,"Who's on the Kennedy Half Dollar?" I got 8 blank stares. Not one answer. Not one dang answer.

[george7244]

Coin toss in baseball ??? Whatever happened to the ole' bat toss - fists only - need 3 fingers under the knob to count??? Did the Confederacy issue coins during the War of Northern Aggression??? Will the Cubbies win 4 in a row? Will it be a Patriot/Falcon Super Bowl???

......enough questions for now .     With some of the Referees i worked with the bat toss probably would have had disasterious consequences

[bama_stripes]

Like many others here, I ask the HC during our pre-game what he wants to do if they win the toss.
After the toss, I'll ask the winning captain "Do you want to defer or receive (if the coach wants to defer) or receive or defer (if the coach wants to receive)?"

If the choice is "defer", I then tell the other captain "OK, you'll receive this half" and ask the deferring captain which way he wants to kick.

The only time I have a problem is when the winning captain tells me "We want to be facing the scoreboard in the 4th quarter."      

[OkieZebra]

My backup 'coin' is something I picked up in soccer, where keeping track of a coin over multiple games can be a little tougher for the center ref, who does more moving than a white hat.

Instead of fingers behind the back, I write down either a 1 or 2 on the game card and circle it, then ask the captains if it's a one or a two. Then nobody argues about "maybe he changed it".

I lost my Eisenhower last week on a JV game. Now I'm using a regular quarter, and I hate it.

[GAHSUMPIRE]

During the pre-game conference with the coach I always ask him what he wants to do if he wins or loses the toss. Receive or Defer? which end do you want to defend? And Do your captains know that? (The coach ALWAYS yes or they will).

When the coin is tossed, rather than asking if they want to receive, defer or defend, I ask them "You want to (insert coach's choice here), correct?" While I know that these players are in the later part of their high school education, and SHOULD know enough to make the right call, why play the "gotcha" game?

Unless the coach has specifically told me, after clarification that he wants to kick to start both halves, each team will start a half with the ball.

[J12]

I think part of the problem with the kids not understanding how this works goes back to the commentators on TV. In cases where the team winning the coin toss does something other than receive, the TV commentators rarely explain it correctly. If a team defers, the TV announcers often say "they elected to kick so they can get the ball the second half." If a team elects to defend a particular goal, they'll often say "they elected to kick so they could get the wind." It's really not surprising if high school kids just repeat that.

[Etref]

Like many others here, I ask the HC during our pre-game what he wants to do if they win the toss.
After the toss, I'll ask the winning captain "Do you want to defer or receive (if the coach wants to defer) or receive or defer (if the coach wants to receive)?"

If the choice is "defer", I then tell the other captain "OK, you'll receive this half" and ask the deferring captain which way he wants to kick.

The only time I have a problem is when the winning captain tells me "We want to be facing the scoreboard in the 4th quarter."      

Had a coach tell me one time
I just want to have the wind in the 4th quarter
Told him option what his options could be but with the caveat that if the wind changed, all bets were off!

[VALJ]

Will it be a Patriot/Falcon Super Bowl???

Ralph was just a year early.

[Ralph Damren]

Ralph was just a year early.

I believe I also posted to Atlanta Blue (has anyone heard from him?) that the Cubbies would win the World Series. Two predictions that came true ! My next prediction....

 Tom Brady will retire from NFL in 3 years.

 President Trump will not run for reelection.

 Tom Brady, after winning his 8th Super Bowl, will enter the GOP primary.

 Brady will win the GOP primary and choose basketball's LaBron James as his VP (couldn't choose Coach B as they are residents of the same state).

 Brady will become or 46th president and Giselle (Mrs. Brady) will exceed Mrs. Trump as "Cutest First Lady since Jackie K.""

...oh,yes.. the Red Sox will win the 2017 World Series....

   Those are my picks....I welcome yours

[ncwingman]

Tom Brady will retire from NFL in tree years.

He'll make like a Ryan and Leaf?

[Ralph Damren]

He'll make like a Ryan and Leaf?

I now know the value of just posting the number (3) than to spell it !

[Curious]

In baseball playoffs in Georgia, each round is 2 out of 3.  The host team is the home team for game one, the travelling team is the "home" team for game 2.  If there is a game 3, there is a coin toss.

Last year, we had a series go three games.  Not one umpire had a coin.  Not one coach on either team had a coin (we're in baseball pants, why would we have a coin?).  Finally, the AD of the host school saw what was going on and walked out on the field with a quarter in his hand.  But he told the umpires, "I'm subtracting that quarter from your game fee."

AB, welcome back!!!! We've missed your insight....hope all is well.

As for this topic, I always have a coin; but I have adopted the practice of asking each coach his preference  including the direction he would want to kick - and, if one chooses to receive and the other chooses to defer, there is no reason to flip the coin! Of course, if both choose the same option. we flip.

We still bring the captains to the center of the field and give them their "moment", give them our "sportsmanship/mutual respect speech", and signal to the press box.

One time last year, in a game involving two really good teams and coaches, we went through our pre-game meeting with coaches, got their choices (home chose to defer and visitors chose to receive), did the captains' meeting, and had a great, back and forth first half. As we walked off the field for half-time, the home coach came up to me and inquired why we didn't actually didn't have a coin flip. I explained why a flip wasn't necessary and a "blank" stare came across is face - followed by the "light bulb" - after which I asked him if that's all he wanted to talk about.  His answer was priceless: "Yeah, that was it - I guess we have a heck of a game on our hands!"[/color]

[ljudge]

When I was an R my Umpire used to carry a coin too.  One thing I saw and was as near perfect substitute as a coin.  Flip the game card.  Whatever works!

[Rulesman]

Uh, Curious, note the date of AB's post you quoted today: October 21, 2015. Unfortunately, AB has not been on this site for over 90 days and seems to have dropped out of sight. Like everyone else, we hope he is OK and maybe has moved on to other things.

[Curious]

Uh, Curious, note the date of AB's post you quoted today: October 21, 2015. Unfortunately, AB has not been on this site for over 90 days and seems to have dropped out of sight. Like everyone else, we hope he is OK and maybe has moved on to other things.

WOW, thanks Rulesman... I did not notice the date of the post (strange).