We have the same system in that we're assigned as R or Umpire but that's really not hard and fast as a rule. I really didn't like it last year as a rookie to be assigned the U and then my partner swapped me to R, I didn't do much to develop a pregame with my partner until I worked with a college official and she helped me out a lot.

I made a good pre-game with my partner one of my personal growth goals this year.

I can do a baseball/softball pre-game in my sleep, this is a lot harder.

+1 - enjoyed how you stated that. This gets things off to a good start.

Yes.

"What are one (or two or three) incorrect things you observe other officials do that you hope I don't do on this game tonight?"

Then I give my top one or two or three. One might even be something I've seen the other guy do which isn't good, but since it's spoken without any one in particular noted, it's not apparent as a personal criticism. And real change has occurred with that official.

That initial "venting", when of a constructive nature, has been welcomed by all I've done it with over the past three or so years. It's helped purge our area of several chronic problems as valid "pet peeves" become expressed in pregame meetings and done so in a way that are not direct criticisms of others specifically but general observations about things seen deserving improvement.

With about six of us in out area doing this with our various partners, we've pretty much done away with the illegitimate "on the floor!" act of shooting foul calls and improved off-ball surveillance appreciably, to cite only two things.

May not work in all areas, but it seems to have worked well here.

Hey...that is a great idea. I think I may steal it.

PreGame Methodology - Prose vs. Cons
 

One problem with printed pregame outlines is the sheer bulk of stuff included in them. Our state's suggested pregame, for instance, would take about four hours to consider with any seriousness.
I'm more in Rut's camp on this one (cf. his response above), more of a "shoot from the hip" approach based on the experience of the partner(s) assigned with me.
A group of us tried come up with a streamlined pregame this year, with only moderate success.
What is common here with printed pregames, especially with partners I and others have never worked with before, is to email the pregame as an attachment for him/her or them to consider three or four days in advance. That way the discussion in the locker room can cover the significant highlights based on individual previous consideration. I've had partners show up the night of the game with the items they wanted to be sure to cover highlighted in yellow, in fact. This works with some.

I worked with vbzebra tonight. We started things off discussing an issue he brought up here in the forum. :cool:

Right. Last year, I developed a laminated card for JV girls and middle school. In those games, I never found the need to discuss items above the rim. I'll probably fine-tune it some more as a I go. I can think of a few things I learned at camp in June that will come in handy.