I've been sort of assuming that as my skill as a ref improved, I'd be getting better and better partners. I hadn't noticed until quite recently that some of my earliest partners were actually very good refs, who had been paired with... me. Hmm.

So now I'm getting more variety, and realizing that having a lousy partner could be a good thing. I'm also realizing that I don't handle it very well. I don't mean how I talk to him, or try to get him to change. I mean how do I still be good ref, when he's so... lame.

I don't feel right about "just call your game." It just doesn't work. And mick's mantra of "get in, get done, get out" sounds terrific, but what does it mean? Specifically?

For instance, if he's calling no travels in his area, and so one coach is getting basically screwed, do I pass on the nasty ones at my end too? Trade more, so I can call it at both ends? Or what?

I T'd a coach tonight, basically because he had lost it completely, and frankly, I would have too, if I were him. It wasn't just my partner who did a lousy job, it was both of us. But what should I have said earlier on, knowing that it wasn't going to get any better, that might have calmed him down a little?

I don't think his team would have won if we'd called it differently. But I can sure see why he might think so.

All advice appreciated.

It takes the fun out of it!
 

having called a game tonight with two very good officials it made me realize how much fun it is to call with good partners.

We were in three man and had a blast even though the games were not that close.

But I agree when calling with a bad partner, it is not any fun.

There's no such thing as one good and one bad official.

Its always going to be "the officals" were horrible. (package deal)

But, I don't worry about trying to make up the difference. You might have to do a little more explaining on why some calls were made especially if you have to try and explain why your partner did or did NOT call something etc.,

Just do your best and be glad when its over.

It sound simple, but its very hard at the time, and you're glad when its over.

Thanks
David

I resemble that game. I remember once making 5 calls in a row against one team and the next opportunity for a foul against the opponent was called a jumpball by my partner. The coach came unglued. I gave him a T for his language and then let him vent for 2 minutes. We shot the shots and the game continued. Bad games happen. All you can do is put it in the past. If it is your partner's night to have a bad night, then talk to him and go on.

I'm where we get to pick our partners and get our own games. I only work with good officials cause the games I get I'm asked to provide 2 officials. When another official calls me, it's because he wants to work with me.

I've had four games this season -- all varsity boys. I've enjoyed being on the court for all four even though the games were all pretty lopsided. Last night was a blowout, but my partner and I found a reason to laugh on the court near the end of the game (mad scramble in the backcourt where I ended up with a 10-second violation -- you had to be there). I could've gone two more quarters, easily. The coaches were great, though -- the losing coach almost fielded a live ball that was thrown in the backcourt and was heading out of bounds and even though he was losing he joked that I'd probably called a backcourt violation on him.

Now, the flipside. My partner and I braved the elements last night and drove 1:30 into a place where my cell phone actually said "Dream on" when I tried to place a call :) . We arrived an hour before the varsity game and walked in the gym to watch some of the JV game. On the way up we were joking about JV officials at some of the smaller schools and the uniforms they wear -- Byron collars, windpants, white shoes (local small-town officials who don't belong to an association because, well, it's not required here). Well, one of the officials had all three last night -- windpants, white shoes, and a collared shirt. The other one was in black jeans. We got through a minute of it before we couldn't watch anymore. Of course the laughing at the irony of our discussion wasn't helping either.

Slipping down into another state tonight for my first 3-whistle game of the season.

Rich

I'm in my first year of HS officiating, but I had a somewhat similar situation this year. It occurred when I was the R in a 2 whistle game, working with another 1st year HS official. Unfortunately, our association can't always pair new officials with veterans, so a slightly higher rated rookie (test score, clinic attendance) will get the R.

Girls JV game, plenty of sloppy play. My partner is "letting them play" and we are not calling the obvious, or staying true to advantage / disadvantage. By halftime, coaches and fans are getting hot, and letting us know about it.

What do you do?

What I did was talk to my partner at half, saying "I think we need to tighten it up a little bit." His reply: "No, everything's fine. These coaches and fans are always whining." Well, second half I was calling damn near everything. I was blowing his whistle as well as mine. I think we got control of the game back, and funny, he didn't mind that I was making calls in his primary. But I felt lousy at the end, because as a team, we were lousy out there.

Matt

As a 2nd year official I generally feel that I should be that new, not so good ref. Fortunately for me I had reffed many games prior to signing on for high-school games.

During my college intrmural days I found that I had to call the whole game. Now that I am working high school games I am working hard to call my Primary and not worry about what my partner calls. I realize that my partner's calls will reflect on me, and the game may be called a little (or a lot) inconsistently, but I also know that I still have lots to learn, and lots of room to improve.

I decided at the start of the year to work hard on staying in my Primary, particularly when the ball was not. It has led to my calling more off-ball fouls, and probably has helped me to be a better individual official. Does it make the games better? I'm not sure.

Last week I worked 2 games with a 15 yr. vet. One was a blow out, one went to overtime and ended up a 1-point game. I thought we did a great job in both and that the game was very consistent. The next 3 games I've worked have all been with people less experienced than me. I know the games did not go as well because my partner and I were not on the same page. Maybe I'm selfish, but I'm just trying to be the best official I can be. I figure if I study and work hard I will move up past the underclass ranks and be paired with better partners. When I get there I want to be used to calling a good game, focusing on my Primary.

Rich,
So I take it you didn't have the King/LaFollette game last night?

Mregor

[Edited by Mregor on Dec 5th, 2003 at 08:29 AM]

Find a compliment anywhere you can
 

I think that this is normally very true. BUT, if your partner is REALLY, REALLY, BAD, sometimes the coaches and the fans will give up totally on him early in the game and direct all their pleading/complaints at you. So even if you are the one taking all the heat, there's a compliment in there somewhere. "Let me try to reason with this guy.
That other guy is totally clueless."

Nope. I know who did, though. I saw the highlights on the news. Great officials. I'm still stunned that in a game of that magnitude they only hire 2 officials around here. I do have a few games in LaFollette's conference later in the season.

I was in a rural school north of Reedsburg.

Tonight I'm in northern Illinois where I do get an extra partner.

Rich

You might not feel good about it, but that's what you have to do. If you can't get your partner to pick it up (and maybe he's just not good enough to pick it up), then you just have to call your game and get through it. Depending on the level of the game, you may be able to extend your coverage a bit. If your partner is not "calling the obvious", you may want to neglect some off-ball coverage in your primary in order to grab the obvious stuff. But other than that, you have to get what's in front of you and, really, what else could you do?

You may have the opportunity to work on your methods for interacting with coaches in a game like that, too. ;)

It means "just call your game".

Sorry you had a tough one, Juulie.

Be polite,
Be dressed,
Be ready to pregame,
Be strong with your calls,
Be crisp with your mechanics,
Don't stretch your floor,
Offer no advice,
Tell the coach you understand,
Keep your head up,
Be unemotional,
Be polite.

I think everyone has experienced this. I am in my 3rd year and have worked with some bad partners. It makes me realize how much fun it is to work with a good partner. I worked with a guy last year in two freshman girls games on consecutive Saturday mornings that were the worst games of my life. Nice guy, experienced varsity softball umpire, the worst basketball official I have ever seen. He liked to do things like, call a foul and not report it; give the ball the the shooter for free throws when players were still moving into the lane, in the wrong spots etc. Actually handed the ball to a player from the wrong team to shoot the opponents free throw at one point. I eventually felt obligated to keep track of what he was doing as well as my own responsibilities. Coaches were *****ing to me about him the entire game but never said much of anything to him. I told a few assignors to never put me with him again. These games in addition to a few others led me to seek out a partner for this season, which is common in this area as you move up. I am probably working over half of my games with him this year. I don't think I have figured out any way to make games with bad partners better. It just makes me appreciate the good partners more.

Juulie, the good news is that being where you are at right now is the next step in your progression as an official...as someone who has watched, evaluated, observed you for several years now, I must say I have been waiting for you to get to this point - where you realize that you aren't the rookie anymore and that you can and do have a large role to play in helping the less experienced (or just plain not as good) officials you are working with...I'm glad you are there!

Now the bad news...there really aren't any "stock" answers or case plays to quote that will help you thru this...you have to figure out what works for you...what works for Mick, or Tony, or Chuck, or Jurassic won't necessarily work for you...go back thru your journals and memories to find the times when someone helped you out in a situation like this, and start incorporating those types of things into your games...also, be willing to step out of your comfort zone and tell a partner to "get his a$$ in gear" when you need to - I know that won't be easy for you, but I also know you can do it...good luck, and feel free to e-mail me to discuss it further...

Good advice from the Rock- not only for Rainmaker either!

I feel this is a huge advantage that we have in Wisconsin. I can't imagine going to a game not knowing who your partner is. We also get to travel together which makes the time go by faster when you're on those long road trips to far away places, right Rich.

MJ

And yet there will be people whose jaws will drop when I say I'm working 30+ varsity games with only two different partners this season.

It is an advantage as long as you treat every game as a new day. We have a pregame every night and we arrive early to watch some of the JV game and get in a basketball frame of mind. I also know my partners' idiosyncracies quite well. One of my regular partners MUST have popcorn before a game, for example. But he is also an outstanding official -- and I *know* where he's going to be and I *know* how we work together as a team.

Mechanically, we try to be as by-the-book as possible, too. We switch on every foul, for example. I'm ready to work with any other official (cause I do get called to work with other officials that need a partner) on any given night because we don't alter our mechanics or take anything for granted.

I still wish there would be three in the car instead of two, though. That won't happen anytime soon, I'm afraid.

Rich

Being that rookie...
 

Hi rainmaker! I'm not sure if you saw my thread yet about my first official game, but I can empathize on how you feel, just from the other POV, being that rookie.

My partner (veteran) was great at keeping me in the game. During timeouts/intermissions we'd have a really quick discussion, and I would honestly tell him, "the only things I see in my area is even less than ticky-tacky stuff...if on a scale of 1(ticktack) to 5(flagrant), everything in my area was like 0.2...definitely not worth prolonging a game with those kind of fouls." He then told me, "good, just call 'em like you see 'em" He also askedme questions on how I think the game is going. That helped me out, since nothing was happening in my area, I could have just slept the whole game.

But I think rockyroad summed it up in his advice. So I will just add this lil tid bit. My martial arts teacher taught me a valuable lesson many years ago..."always remember when you were a white belt" and "a school is only as strong as its weakest student." Us rookies do need your help, and since you have reached your new personal level plateau, using the same lessons my master taught me in 'officiating' terms..."always remember your first game" and "an officials' team 'lives or dies' together."

I really appreciate your advice for me everytime I had a question on this forum, hope my advice here helps you! :)

Hey Rich-- How do you get to work games in the Big 8 when you are only a Level-3?

Re: Being that rookie...
 

This is good advice, as has been all this thread. I wish it had been a rookie. But I'm not going to complain on and on about him. I don't want my assignor (who reads this board regularly) to think I'm a whiner.

My main concern is about how I handled it. I guess it's the next thing to work on, although I can see by my sechedule that I won't get an awfully lot of practice, there are a couple here and there this season. I need to find a way to separate myself emotionally, and not get dragged down. I need to make suggestions that might actually help, and skip the stuff that won't. I need to keep PLENTY of eye contact, to see what needs covering (like when I'm working with someone who never watches off-ball.) I can't take calls that are right in front of P unless I really think P got screened out. Practice communicating with the coaches.

My advice...

If you get a chance, (TO, QTR, 1/2 etc,) talk about things you are missing, or doing...

Work your butt off, make great calls, and work the best game you can... If your partner is weak, everyone will know it... Dont slide back to their level. Give 110%. Coaches will know when you hustle and you are officiating right...If they dont make the OMG call, you may have to step up and make it. If it is travels or those kinds of things, call your own game.

I had a game a couple of years ago with a partner who was from out of town ( just moved to the area) My pre-game was miserable because he did not do anything the way we do it in our association and wanted to argue about it( nor was it any way close that anyone had ever done it with the camps I had been too)

A college guy (working a later game) came in and asked why we had so many double whistles....My partner was calling out of his area, something fierce--- Coaches know this and everybody else does to...The college guys opinion carried some weight and we only had two the second half...Glad he came in, if I had mentioned my partner would not have listened... I would have continued calling my game, and he would be the one looking foolish...

If they have stock in ATT let them make the calls, you do what you need to do... You are only one person. Of course the coach will complain to you because she knows it is hopless to even talk to your partner...

Have fun... I just wanna ref!

I'm a new official in our chapter, not new to basketball though, and I worked with a girl one week and this was her first game E-V-E-R. Her mentor was also there and she was nervous as all get out. I stood behind her 100% even when i questioned a call, because I still stayed in my primary. I kept plenty of eye contact with her and gave her a little wink or thumbs up when she was looking at me. WE got thorugh the game. We worked together a few weeks later and she had made a VAST improvement. I was totally shocked. I told her in pregame I had had a rough day... me and my gf had a big fight and stuff and it was really kinna funny that when i kicked a call she was winking and giving me the thumbs up LOL. But yeah. I just try to encourage. We pregrammed that if a wierd play happened that we'd point to our heads very discretly and as in "rembeer that play" and during the next t/o or quarter or half time we'd talk about it and figure it out so that if we see it again to know what to do. Thats just some of the things I do. If the fouls are lopsided I'll meet em at half court at half or to real quick and say - ok - fouls are lopsided lets talk about htat and we try to figure it out.... One partner (1st year) said ima call everything i see on red... he did... they're were only 2 fouls in the first 3 min. That showed me right there that some times with lopsisded counts or violations that some teams just do it more than others.

Rich: I'm wondering why your state doesn't require certified (trained) officials for subvarsity. Is your geographical area too large to expect new candidates to attend a clinic and meetings? Who will be the next generation of varsity officials? Have you ever considered inviting these "local, small-town officials" to attend the referee classes and become certified? They are doing the most difficult task; refereeing without any formal training. It's hard enough WITH training. And, why would they have a proper uniform? Since they aren't in an association they probably don't even know about Honigs or similar vendors, or what is acceptable attire today.

Part of being a good official is helping to recruit and develop new people. All veteran varsity and college officials were once brand new, and most will admit they were pretty bad those first few years. I have umpired baseball for 9 years and reffed basketball for 7years. I guess that puts me in the advanced rookie/pre-veteran category. In any case, I hope I never appear pompous and consider myself above the newer guys coming up.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by

[B]nine01c.
Rich did not say that. Did he?
Maybe you should reread, ... or I should.
mick

Mick: I took the comment about these officials not being required to be in an association to mean that they are not certified. Perhaps I am wrong about that. Maybe they ARE certified (trained) but do not belong to an association. Then I wonder who certified them, and why they aren't in proper uniform, etc. How do they get continuing education(rules/mechanics changes)?

nine01c,
In Michigan, for example, there is no training or rules meetings required to work the state tournament.
Being an approved assiociation member is not required at this time.
Just pay your registration. Fill out a take home test and blow the whistle.
Fact.
mick

In Louisiana, anyone can work subvarsity games. The coach can call his brother to do his home games, ask for volunteers from the stands, whatever. (these are extreme, hypothetical examples)