[refnrev]

Did my one very young grade school game of the season this week. I always do one every year for a school that gave me a lot of games when I was just getting started years ago. Had a partner I'd never seen before. I didn't know it could get this bad. I knew I might be in trouble when I saw the white shoes. Turns out that they were the highlight of the night. When the game was finished I shook his hand and said, "Enjoyed it," then went out to my truck and sat there for a moment in disbelief. Every time I looked up all night long -- live ball or dead -- I never knew where he was going. All mechanics were wrong. Goofy calls. Out of position all night. I even granted a time out, went to the center line to report it to the table and while I was waiting for the teams to get to their respective bench areas the guy walks in from the other side of the court, steps in front of me, and reports the TO. I never knew what was going to happen next. I started to try to offer some pointers at the half but I realized this guy was as "happy as a clam" the way he was doing it. Made me appreciate the people who work hard on doing a good job. Also, without trying to sound cocky and arrogant I realized just how much I have learned from good officials over the years and how hard I work at officiating a good game and being professional every time I step on the floor.