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1. There are those partner's whom we do not get along with but are good umpires meaning they conduct themselves professionally on the field.
Outside of a few personal friends in the activity, I don't care about any relationship with another umpire, other than professional. If my partner is honest, competent and acts professionally, he could be Peter Osborne and I would be able to work with him.
2. Probably the worse case scenario - We do not get along with a partner who happens to be terrible. In other words not only do we work the game with "Smitty" but we can't stand him either. We find ourselves constantly "backing him up" but when the role is reversed "Smitty" will stab us in the back.
Again, personal like and dislikes are left in the parking lot. When I am assigned to work with a Smitty I take whatever position is his weakest and hustle my butt 110% to cover my responsibilities while trying to see what I can to help him, should he ask. I do not make comments to the coaches or react to his mistakes negatively and I don't ask him for help.
If his performance lands us in a sh#t house, I write it up and suggest to the assignor that he would probably work better with another partner in the future.
3. Probably the hardest to get around - We do not get along with the UIC or Assignor who also happens to be a "top dog" - Do we just suck it up and go with the flow or do we shop around for another association. What if this association is the only game in town.
Why are we having such trouble "getting along?" Even if a so-called top dog is an a$$, there are usually good reasons he is a top dog, and those will be displayed on the field. As long as he performs well and you perform well what's the problem. You don't need to take him home after the game.
If you have allowed a personality problem to become an issue with the assignor, solve it off the field. Talk to him, calmly and reasonably. Then dispell any performance issues he may have on the field. If he remains such an a$$ that he will not properly utilize a talented and qualified umpire in the face of the shortage of competent umpires, don't worry. He won't remain an assignor for long.
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