Handling 2 instances of Rules error by partner

[Dad]

Originally Posted by Gutierrez7

Thank you for sharing, these situations are frustrating. If I may, lets start at the beginning; No one cares about you, but the other official(s) on the court. No matter what, you are a TEAM, however difficult that may be.

Pregame meetings are critical. Find a way to get “something” discussed, even if you have to be a few minutes late to the court. I understand he was late; depending on where he/she joins you; on court, ask coaches to please give you a few minutes; in the locker room, apologies to coaches for tardiness, “we needed to handle some items before the game”.

During the game, discuss situations close enough to each other that no one else can discern what you are saying. Give NO Non-verbal’s indicating your reactions. Act completely professional! Only come together when you have 110% knowledge or need 110% knowledge. Don’t guess! It only makes it worse. Share that knowledge with the ruling official (do not demand) and let them make the decision to accept your knowledge and change the call or not. Then simply move on. Your partner will have to answer to the coaches on their calls. (If a coach approaches you, refer to my earlier post on “What to say to coaches”). Ironically, this is a part of my Pregame meeting.

When you both get back in the locker room, ask to review the situations. Ask, not demand, your partner to explain what they saw. Afterwards, you can suggest what you saw and if you cannot quote the rule, offer to research it in the rulebook and get back to him. No one likes a know-it-all. Be humble.

If all else fails, offer your partner your whistle and suggest you would be happy to watch the game from the stands. (My idea of humor; kind of)

Hopefully this helps.

Way different philosophies. I got out on the court thinking everyone loves me because I make their game better.

Never be late to a game.

Asking is often insulting. I also wouldn't call anything critical. I want my partners to know I trust them and will always have their back. Doing all this goofy stuff tells them the opposite. You can't deal with new officials like you do your favorite officials to work with or vets. Give me your worst officials that you think should quit and I'll make them look good on the court. On top of that I'll make them believe they are good. It's extremely difficult to do either of these if my partner(s) don't think I have faith in them.

Have fun, blow you're whistle, and just watch the two players closest to you. I'll deal with everything else.