Random partners

[Adam]

Originally Posted by pfan1981

It's hard to describe in words, but he would let the ball fall out of his hands and usually the player had to go out of position to get it. It appeared to everyone to be extremely lazy and like he didn't want to even be there.

As far as the lead going down to the paint, he walked his way down there. Some plays he never got to the baseline. Again, laziness and didn't want to be there.

I'm looking to move up the ranks, do some varsity this year, state tourny by the time I turn 40, college ball (someday), etc. I understand it's summer ball, but as officials, don't we always want to put our best foot forward?

pfan

What BNR said, plus this:

If your partner is being lazy, don't fall into the trap. You don't have to rotate and switch like you do during the season, but you can make changes without appearing lazy. It's not that hard, frankly.

I'm not saying your partner appeared lazy, I'm just acknowledging it's possible. Of course, it's also possible you expect too much. Now, to quote some random dude I read on Facebook:

"I've found that when I get partners who are less than enthusiastic, it's a good chance for me to work on being the best partner I can be in adverse conditions; to lead by example.

Also, as long as the summer leagues are paying half (or less) than the schools pay during the season, you're going to increase the number of officials who a) are just less professional in general, or b) don't give the same effort as they do in February."

Whether you think it should be that way is irrelevant, it just is.