Pregame: Ditto?

[bainsey]

Friday night: JVG.
Saturday morning: MS pair, same partner, we split R/U duties.
Also same partner as freshmen pair last weekend. We've had 4-5 games together this year, about a dozen total.

What's left to say in pre-game?

[just another ref]

If you are familiar with the teams you have that night you can discuss areas which may require special attention.

[JRutledge]

I would still reiterate what is important and the basics. Then talk about the teams or situations you could have done better or that maybe you missed in the previous games. I doubt you had perfect games so you can think of something you could have done better.

Peace

[Moosie74]

I've worked with the same partner 5 games this season, we just go over anything we've seen while working together, what we want to work on in this game and if we have any information about the teams.

[stiffler3492]

Where you're going for cold ones afterwards (maybe not after the morning games, but hey it's five o clock somewhere, right?)

But yeah, as others have said, any information about the teams, any issues that have come up in the past, maybe a strange play that happened to you, (not necessarily while working with that partner).

I always used to ask that question about strange plays, and 9 times out of 10 it sparked a response and a good discussion.

[jTheUmp]

Discuss any strange plays/situations from previous games (especially ones you worked with different partners). If you don't have any, maybe use a situation or two from threads on this message board (I've done that several times in the past).

Anything from your last game(s) with that partner that you guys did poorly (or well).

[26 Year Gap]

What you should do in case the timer blows the horn during a FT attempt.

[Freddy]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I would still reiterate what is important and the basics. Then talk about the teams or situations you could have done better or that maybe you missed in the previous games. I doubt you had perfect games so you can think of something you could have done better.

Peace

+1
Our regular crew's pregame in late February is the same as it was in late November. Reiterating all the items on our pregame list gives us the opportunity to confirm that we are giving due attention to the "routine" things we otherwise might take for granted and get lazy about. Plus, we sometimes have a fill-in third official, and the routine of a complete, consistent pregame agenda helps get all of us on the same wavelength for that game.
I've been the fill-in on crews before, where the other two just say, "We don't need to do a pregame anymore...we work together all the time." That doesn't do much for the third guy. Plus, those are the crews whose casualness about pregame shows when they get out of the floor. Habits set in which didn't have a chance to get curbed due to same guys working together all the time without opportunity for self-checking.
For two-person crews, it's the same.

[Sharpshooternes]

Originally Posted by Freddy

+1
Our regular crew's pregame in late February is the same as it was in late November. Reiterating all the items on our pregame list gives us the opportunity to confirm that we are giving due attention to the "routine" things we otherwise might take for granted and get lazy about. Plus, we sometimes have a fill-in third official, and the routine of a complete, consistent pregame agenda helps get all of us on the same wavelength for that game.
I've been the fill-in on crews before, where the other two just say, "We don't need to do a pregame anymore...we work together all the time." That doesn't do much for the third guy. Plus, those are the crews whose casualness about pregame shows when they get out of the floor. Habits set in which didn't have a chance to get curbed due to same guys working together all the time without opportunity for self-checking.
For two-person crews, it's the same.

How long do you spend actually on pregame stuff? I have found 15 minutes is maybe, just barely enough time, especially with new partners.

[Freddy]

Originally Posted by Sharpshooternes

How long do you spend actually on pregame stuff? I have found 15 minutes is maybe, just barely enough time, especially with new partners.

15-20 minutes
Maybe more if with a partner new to the crew
Fortunate here because any new partner would already be quite familiar with the items to be covered--we aren't starting from "square one" on every little thing
Not every agenda item on the pregame necessitates discussion, only a reminder and confirmation from all on the crew
If we, due to familiarity with each other, give it the "short shrift", that gives a bad example to the JV officials sitting in

[twocentsworth]

Originally Posted by bainsey

Friday night: JVG.
Saturday morning: MS pair, same partner, we split R/U duties.
Also same partner as freshmen pair last weekend. We've had 4-5 games together this year, about a dozen total.

What's left to say in pre-game?

I think of it this way.....when I fly, I definitely want my pilots to follow the pre-flight checklist. I don't want them saying: "u know what - we've flown together before. Screw it. Lets just go..."

[HawkeyeCubP]

What JRut said re: anything from previous games that you would've liked to have handled better or could be discussed; what JtheU said about strange or interesting scenarios either of you have had/seen in other games; and what strange/difficult/interesting other things that either of you have heard about this year in other people's games that could be learning opportunities.

[Forksref]

In all of our sports we ask: "What is the worst thing that could happen on this play?" Discuss and be ready for all possibilities.

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Originally Posted by bainsey

Friday night: JVG.
Saturday morning: MS pair, same partner, we split R/U duties.
Also same partner as freshmen pair last weekend. We've had 4-5 games together this year, about a dozen total.

What's left to say in pre-game?

Many of the veterans here are famiiar with one of our posters here: Daryl H. Long (aka "The Preacher"). Daryl and I have officiated together (everything from boys and girls' Jr.H.S. to H.S. Varsity, men's and women's college, AAU and YBOA Boy's and Girls' Nationals, and Special Olympics) for over 20 years; we also taught the beginning officiating class for WCOBA during the time and he was a long time evaluator of women's officials in the MAC. We still have pre-games on our drives to games.

For many years we officiated in the Starter's Girls' Summer Classic in Hartford, CT (which is a 13 to 14 hour drive from Toledo). Daryl will tell you that we even have pregames for this tournament: As soon as we leave for Hartford, he asks me a rules question and by the time I finish answering his question we have arrived at our hotel in Hartford, .

MTD, Sr.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by twocentsworth

I think of it this way.....when I fly, I definitely want my pilots to follow the pre-flight checklist. I don't want them saying: "u know what - we've flown together before. Screw it. Lets just go..."

I was about to post this exact same analogy.

Pilots go through a pre-flight checklist, regardless of how long they have flown, or whether they are flying with the same crew as they did the last 12 flights or it if is a new crew.

Checklists are powerful and help us to get in the right mindset — to remind us of those things that we already know, and to reiterate those things in our minds. You know, so that we can attempt to prevent travesties and fiascos.

If you are interested in how the dedication to checklists for pilots arose, or the real reason that David Lee Roth used to demand a bowl of M&M's with all the brown ones removed (hint: it wasn't because he was a primadonna), take a look at The Checklist Manifesto.