Working With a Homer
 

Hypothetically speaking. Two questions:
1.What would you do if you're working a game with a partner you don't know well but it becomes very obvious to you from the calls and no calls that you have a real "homer?" What would you do?
2. What if you can tell you have a "homer" but you also are pretty sure that (s)he sincerely doesn't see it? What are your thoughts about these two?

...do as mick suggests....

Get in, Get done, Get out!

If I didn't know the person very well, I would not even consider the possibility that the person was doing it on purpose. In 10+ of officiating, I've never met a fellow official who intentionally made up calls (or ignored calls) in favor of one team. I just don't think it's very likely, so I would not assume it of anyone. I think "a real homer" in your words, is 99.9% a coaches' myth.

If you're seeing the majority of calls going one way, I would take the opportunity at a time-out or halftime to say exactly that. "It seems like all your calls are going against blue tonight. The blue coach is going to pick up on that. Let's keep our eyes peeled and make sure we're not missing anything on white in the second half."

I don't think you can do much else. You certainly can't skew your own calls against the home team to make up for it. Call your best game, try to make your partner aware of it (if you really think it's a problem), and get through it.

I agree with this, visiting teams will remember when a close call goes against them more than if a close call goes for them, simply because it fits the notion of a homer ref.

Although, when I coached a small-school JH, the refs were often teachers from the home school, since it was hard to get a certified ref to drive the distances needed for the JH games. It was almost always a question of poor reffing instead of homerism (is that a word?). I know because I reffed for that school the year before I coached there, and I might have been the world's worst ref ever.:o

I would love to work with Homer. D'OH! :p

:D I have worked with Homer, he's in my association!!!!

I've seen it, twice, by the same offiical in rec league games.

Men's Open league - guy swallows his whistle while B tries to foul and stop the clock. He continues to ignore the foul. Then, during the end of the game and after it, B1 eats his *** up. He does nothing. Neither did I. If he's going to offiicate like that, then I'm not bailing him out.

Next week, we have the same Team B again. B1 comes into the game late, as he arrived late. I'm C, Homer is T tableside. I have B1 down in the baseline corner defending. Homer calls a foul from T. WTF? He reports, we inbound the ball. He does it again. This time, I walk across the floor and tell him if he's going call that ****, he can go over there and inbound it his damnself. At half time, I eat his butt up, telling him he'd never ever pull a stunt like that again. He says, "I'm gonna get him back for the other night."

A year later, Church League Championship game - I saw him intentionally make phantom calls against a team that allowed the opponent to come back from 10 down with less than a minute remaining and win the game.

So I guess he's in that .1%. But don't say it doesn't happen because it does.

If he ever attempts to join our HS association, I'll blackball him in a New York minute.

B1 should have brought a doughnut for T.:D

I don't think I've ever worked with a "homer." There was this one time, however, I believe it was two 7th regional games down in a little, little town. I think that's the closest I've ever came to working with a "homer." Bob, what you say?! :D ;) :) Just playing, of course, hope your family had a great holiday weekend!

To answer the question, I would not assume this person is doing it intentionally. Tell them at half or at some point in the game to try to be consistent. This is the key word. It is not offensive to your partner either to tell them this. Tell them, if it's an offensive foul down here, than it's an offensive foul down there.

In my experience, if my partner appears to be calling the game lopsided, I will try as any good partner should, try to balance out the calls. Sometime this will send a message back to your partner to quit calling it uneven, or they may begin to see the fouls on the other end. More often then not, this has been the response from my partners and this is just what you want.

If these things don't work, then it's out of your control. Don't worry about it unless you truley want to see the other team win.

You have GOT to be kidding. :(

The best thing to do is not to try and balance out the calls. The best thing is to call your game and not worry about your partner until the locker room. Then, if you know he\'s doing it, tell him/her to knock it off.

To any new refs who may read this!
 

Never, never, never, "balance" out your partner\'s calls. I can\'t think of a faster way to end your career. I can\'t think of a more unfair thing to do.

Let me ask you, Old School, do you also try to balance out calls you know you missed?

Not to worry, ScrappyDoo. The Ol\' Feller ain\'t an official; he\'s a troll.

So Old School, when the coach is complaining about the foul count. Do you grant him/her their request by evening up the fouls? What about violations?