Should I have been the hard-***?

[Corndog89]

As everyone has, I've had partners in rec leagues (i.e., any league or game that is not a school game...I've never worked AAU games) who were incompentent, unprofessional, or just simply a$$holes who I hated working with. My approach has always been to give it my best effort despite a lousy partner, get through the game, and get out. I make little-to-no-effort to talk with such a partner about anything and usually avoid them during any breaks. Like Rut said, it's a rec league and there are things about my game I can always work on regardless of my partner.

If I know and trust my assignor (and I have all but two), I'll ask them not to assign me with the guy in the future if at all possible. I've made such a request on a few occasions. But otherwise, I avoid getting into the assignor's business. When it comes down to it, I'm just an independent contractor working with an association of fellow officials to facilitate scheduling and opportunities to officiate and advance. In rec leagues, as in school games, I always give my best effort, work to improve some aspect of my game, and hopefully have some fun in the process. However, in rec games I'm not responsible for my partner (another independent contractor) and his peformance, unless he's creating an unsafe situation for the players...then I would take actions to protect the players and protect my own butt as well (fortunately that situation has never happened to me). Now in my 6th year of officiating, I look at rec leagues in large part as the price you have to pay to demonstrate loyalty to an assignor and get a good school schedule.

So, if my rec partner wants to be a d***, let him be a d***...I don't care.