Dear out-of-area wrestling coach ...

Swung by a dual tournament after a Christmas party this afternoon to snap a few pics.
I found one of my three area schools wrestling an out-of-area school, plunked myself down and started taking pics.
As soon as the flash went off on the first one, the out-of-area coach jumps out of his chair, yelling at me that I can't use a flash and I was blinding his kid.
I politely (it was difficult, I'll admit) informed him Ohio High School Athletic Association rules allow me to use a camera-mounted flash for sports other than volleyball (which I think is stupid, but that's for another thread), gymnastics and diving.
Not happy with the response, he continues questioning my use of the flash, at one point stepping in front of my camera, forcing me to lean to one side to look around him -- all while the match is going on.
He finally sits, his kid loses, the next weight class begins and I take more pics. As soon as the first period of the second weight class ends, said coach's wrestler starts yelling about the flash distracting him.
The official later came over to me and said he couldn't understand why the coach was so upset about the whole thing.

 

Also screams and yells and cries about using Flash

 

Doesn't see the problem:

 

Dammit, fossy, you're costing that kid a scholarship!

 

Wants to take out this coach:
<img src="http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/images/3223b.jpg">

 

Holy crap, that was awesome.

 

Have you met a wrestling coach? They get ticked if one tiny thing is out of sorts.

 

As a photographer, I see where trying to capture an action shot indoors with less than ideal lighting to be a problem.
If the coach and wrestler think the flash of one photographer at an early-season tournament is too much of a distraction, they must have never been to the state tournament.

 

We used to have more complaints from the volleyball officials. Not coaches, not players, but officials. I was pretty good friends with one of our prep players and asked her once if she ever saw the flash when we were shooting games. She said she never saw it.

 

Volleyball is one of the few sports where the OHSAA will not allow camera-mounted flash photography. My shop can't afford a camera that can take good action shots without a flash, even with pushing the ISO, so we run very few volleyball pics.