Awful Partner

[Andy]

I don't see anywhere in the OP where it said either of these guys were first-years. Big difference between rookies and just plain weak partners.

I have been the assignor and worked more games than I can remember with weak partners. As the assignor, I would more often than not bite the bullet and work with the "warm bodies". Some of these guys thought they were competent officials and did not want to hear anything about how to work the game. Some were older guys that were of the "I've been doing it this way for 30 years and I'm not changing now!" camp.

My way of handling it was to do my job, call my area, and not try to compensate for my partner. If I needed to deal with a coach, I did, but I'm not taking care of something my partner should handle.

I don't think there is any right or best way to handle this situation, just do what you can.