Level of Officiating

[iref4him]

Last night I was evaluating two referees officiating a boys varstiy game. One official is young and up coming. The official is a veteran. The game has past the veteran and the young official has gone to camps to improve himself. As the game went on, I noticed the younger official going away from his game and officiate like the veteran. I have seen him 5 times this year. This was his worst game.

Afterwards we talk. He said that he felt so out of sync with the other official that he just lost his focus. I told him that you can't officiate to the level of your partner. If he is doing a bad job, you have to maintain your game or step it up. With the other games, he has worked with much better officials than his partner last night. He officiated better at those other games. He said he had a hard time feeling comfortable with the partner last night.

I told him I understand and I have been there also. He was a coach at one time. I asked him how many times did you tell your players who cannot just play to the level of your competition. You have to play your game, even when the team is weaker than yours. I said the same for officiating. You cannot officiate to the level of your partner. You have to work harder when the partner is pulling his or her weight. YOU have to maintain, stay focused, call your primary, and when necessary step it up to manage the game.

My question is - do you beleive that you sometimes officiate to the level of your partner(s)? What do you when he feel yourself going there?