View Single Post
  #5 (permalink)  
Old Mon Dec 11, 2000, 09:57am
Todd VandenAkker Todd VandenAkker is offline
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 378
I agree that you should talk to the partner, but approach is very important. Think about it: A 3-year official trying to tell a "veteran" official to call his own area? If I'm working with a relative rookie, and he starts telling me what to do because he "knows" he's right about something, I'm gonna smile and then tell him he may not know as much as he thinks. In your situation, Joe, you may be absolutely accurate in your description, but better to approach your partner more subtly and ASK about those couple of situations, explaining that they were in your area of responsibility, you had a good look at them, and they really appeared to be legal. If the veteran insists he was right in calling the violations, then ask him to help you learn by experience by letting you "live or die" with your own calls. Plus, if he is watching your area (i.e., watching the ball everywhere), how are you as a crew going to cover the off-ball action adequately.

My point is that you can choose to approach the situation firmly by telling him to "butt out," but you are more likely to get him "working" with you and have a better second half if you approach him with a degree of respect. Nothing begets defensiveness faster than telling someone flat out how to do his job, and that's not going to make for a smoother game. Swallow some pride or ego by being more subtle in trying to address the problem, and take some personal satisfaction in how you handled the situation. Who knows, maybe you'll learn something new. At the least, you'll learn how to work with someone more effectively that you'd rather not work with at all if you had a choice.
Reply With Quote