Grownup pre-game
 

I'm at the stage in my career where I'm usually the senior official on any game I do, and I often get partnered with somebody much less experienced. So my pre-game tends to be geared towards making sure we're on the same page about very basic mechanics. Nothing condescending, but stuff that 1st and second year officials are still working to master. And it seems to be working pretty well.

However, later this weekend I'll be working with a 20 year vet. And that has me thinking...

What do the real vets talk about in their pre-games, especially if they (you) are working with somebody you've not worked with before?

Team & team tendencies. What each coach is like. What each team is like: strengths, weaknesses. Any PIAs to worry about? How's the table here?

Weird plays we've had. Lessons learned.

You work that other level? Go over the rules differences. Mechanics differences.

How will we referee the post? Handchecks? What calls I want you to take in my area. What I don't want you to take in my area. How we handle kicked calls. How we handle blarge.

Consistency. What we want to call right away. What we might want to let go.

Is there a good diner in the area for post game? If not, see you down the road.

Let's get 'em pard.

What's a PIA?

Congrats on post 7,000, BTW.

I think he means "Pain in the " and you can figure out the rest. I don't know specifically who he's referring to.

7000...geeze, not sure it's something to be congratulated about

PIA = pain in the @ss.

Around here that's PITA.

Not to be confused with PETA.

This is a good list. I would add, "How do we handle situations where the play originates in my PCA and contact occurs in your PCA?" Drive starts outside the 3-point line in front of the Trail and then the contact occurs on the block in front of the Lead. Lots of different ways of handling it. I don't care how you handle it, as long as you all agree ahead of time.

People Eating Tasty Animals

yummmmmmm!

Yes, I absolutely agree !

If God didn't intend us to eat animals, why did He make them out of meat? :D

Or to be confused with <b>PETOL</b>.

http://petol.cjb.net/

I joined that organization out of sympathy for Chuck Elias and RockyRoad.

pregame
 

In Georgia, we do what has become known as "partnership" games. Members of two or three different officials associations from a general area are paired together to work certain games. These are primarilly invitational tournaments and a few key regular season games. They are usually assigned for evaluation purposes.

I agree with some of the features of other posts. We should discuss unusual plays and "lessons learned" from incidents we've had in the past.

I disagree with discussing how the coaches will act or react. I think that sets up the crew for preconceived notions about what may or may not occur in that particular game. I prefer staying focussed on how we will officiate.

Here in Ohio, we passed a constitutional amendment that bans these: games must be between one man and one woman.

Sounds like a quota to me. :)