Well it finally happened....

[Bearfanmike20]

He reminded me of a child... who was being forced to do something he didn't want to do. Dont get me wrong.. he knew how to call the game. You can tell he knew the rules. The calls he did make were not wrong.. but he wouldn't signal anything. Wouldnt put his hand up to stop the clock. Nothing. The most lazy display of reffing I have ever seen.

[rainmaker]

Originally Posted by Bearfanmike20

He reminded me of a child... who was being forced to do something he didn't want to do. Dont get me wrong.. he knew how to call the game. You can tell he knew the rules. The calls he did make were not wrong.. but he wouldn't signal anything. Wouldnt put his hand up to stop the clock. Nothing. The most lazy display of reffing I have ever seen.

These kinds of folks are frustrating, but be thankful that he knew the rules and made good calls. I'll put up with a lot if the partner is at least not selling out The Game.

We had a guy around here who was like that, a darn good ref, but mechanics like no one you've ever seen. If the game got boring, he'd just leave the floor to go out to the concession stand and get a snack. Literally. But when he decided to get serious and be a real ref, move up, make it a career, he started getting college games his second year, and was a credit to everyone. I hated working with him at first, but after I realized that he at least knew the rules and the A/D stuff, I learned to adjust, and really enjoyed him. It was fun to tell "Jeff" stories. Unfortunately, he had a heart attack and died in his second year of "real" ball. No one was glad to have him gone, because we all liked him.

[grunewar]

First game I ever had (non-rec) - small, private school, GJV. Had "one of them". Guess he was warned by the Assignor it's my first game, so he's watching me closely and giving me pointers....and I'm watching him.

He proceeds to tell me all the things I need to work on (and he was right). I proceeded to look at him - overwight, facial hair, belted pants, running backwards or turning and jogging and not watching the floor, leaning on the wall at the end of the gym, poor hand and arm signals, joking with coaches, etc. Heck he told me NOT to call alot as we need to "get in and get out." Certainly dissappointing for a first timer.

But hey, I even learned something from that ref! And, as GEN Colin Powell once said, "Even Saddam Hussein has value, he can always be used as a poor example."