How do tell your partner???
 

Without making for an uncomfortable situation how do you tell or ask your partner why he keeps blowing deep in your zone??? Example...I am the laed ..he is at halfcourt, calls a travel RIGHT in front of me..I had it and was gonna blow, but before I get a chance, he is already on it...Clearly WAY out of his zone...Don't want to be an a**hole about it, he has more experience than me, but I know where to be and where not to be..

I would say, hey partner, your long distance calling card is now revoked. Or you could just ask him if you missed something that he saw. It really depends on the relationship you have with that person.

Did you pregame coverage areas? I'd talk to them about having a patient whistle. If it's a vet, I'd ask, "What did you have on that play that caused you to come over in my area?" If it continues after you talk about it, then I'd be a little more blunt about telling them to stay in their area, then try not to work with them again.

How about: "Hey partner, I have a pretty slow whistle...you seem to have a quick one. I'll try to speed mine up if you'll try to be a little more patient when calling things in my area, ok?"

If they still don't get it, say something blunt at the next time-out...like "Look, let me call things in my area, ok? If I miss something that is blood and guts on the floor, fine - but there had better be blood and guts."

If they still don't get it, then finish the game and get out of there...

I have asked a partner like that, "don't you trust me?" He says "what?" I say, "don't you trust me?" He says, "what do you mean?" I say, "well, you keep calling things in my primary coverage area so you must not trust me as an official."

He apologized and didn't do it anymore.

Like others have said, if the subtle remarks don't work then you can go to something more direct.

When I had just started officiating, I was watching two guys work the varsity game. The trail made a few calls in the lead's area during the second quarter. I had already asked if I could join their pregame, halftime and postgame sessions to listen, ask questions and learn.

At half, the lead walked into the locker room they were using, grabbed a dry board marker and drew a quick diagram with the coverage areas then sat down without saying a word about it to his partner. During the second half, his partner stayed out of his area. :)

That is too funny! I would have loved to have seen that.

When I first started out, I worked a couple little kid games with the same partner. In the middle of the first game, he came to me and said "Stop blowing my lines". I was so new, i didn't even know what he meant. But that's all he said. So in the middle of the second game, he came to me and said, "You're still blowing my lines." Again, that was all. Since I was so much less experienced than him, I wish he'd been a little more constructive instead of just being "blunt".

But if the person is more experienced than you, I like the "trust" approach. "Do you think you can't trust me?" Seems to get the point across without being a total jerk about it.

During an off-season tournament I had a partner who called everything. After a clear foul along the baseline less than 2 meters, i.e. 6 ft, from me (I was lead, on the left to the basket), he whistled and turned around to report the foul. Still with my fist up I said loudly: "Will you leave something also to me?" and reported the foul.

Our colleagues were already laughing very visibly. Well, maybe that's not good mechanics in a regular game.;)

I trust my partners, and to me that means that I trust them to come get plays when they see something blatant or a guideline play that I miss that will uphold our consistency of guideline rules and consistency within the game itself. I don't fully believe that concept to mean "trust me to call in my area". I dont know who it was talking about the walk right in front of you at lead, but you said you were going to blow it as well he was just quicker. So be it. It sounds like you both saw the same thing. overall the crew got the play right. Almost all the guys that I work with at the levels I work, know that I for one throw my ego out the door when I come to work. If you blow in my area just be sure. If i think he got the play wrong in my area then I will ask him what he saw, and then that I don't think that he got the play right, but that its ok, cause i rarely like to leave the conversation on a sour note. That has the possibility of ruining crew dynamics.

Probably everybody agrees with that, but that's not what we're talking about in the original situation. You shouldn't be calling your partner's area just because he has a slightly slower whistle. That's dumb. Why have 2 people out there, then? Just let the one guy have the whole floor.

This how I would approach it. I had it happen to me, I was fairly new, but I knew my coverage. I asked him nicely," PArtner did I miss something that you are calling in my area?" Please trust me! Let me call my area. He did the rest of the two games we had..

Well I was referring to 3-man as that is all I work. You're right though someone shouldn't blow because of a quicker whistle.

When folks start calling the entire floor I have seen guys let them have the entire floor until they get the point!
I like the board marking and I like the "trust" thing subtle is better and causes less crew problems.

If your partners are watching in your area of responsibility to come get those plays, then who's covering their area? Wait, I get it. That must be you.

Heckuva system you're using......:)