Professionalism is essential when communicating with athletes of all ages, as officials are in such close proximity to them. Many players are most comfortable with officials they can talk to, and, within reason, officials should not be opposed to answering simple questions or having a short conversation with a player. It’s arrogant and unnecessary, when a player asks about a call, to snap, “Don’t question my decisions; just play the game unless you want to get tossed.”
___John Magnusson, SEC baseball umpire, agrees that a good official is communicative with players, answering questions when possible. For instance, he says he will often field questions from players regarding the strike zone in a ballgame. On a strike call, he says, “A hitter will ask me, ‘Is that the outside corner?’ and I’ll try to respond, ‘Yes it is,’ or ‘No, there’s still some more corner out there.’ That way the player’s question is answered and he feels that he has a better idea of how I’m calling a ballgame.” Communication like that goes a long way toward establishing the mutual respect that officials are looking for and helps to maintain control during a ballgame. On the other hand, Magnusson maintains, there is a hierarchy, and there are times when questioning is excessive or when certain questions must be answered with, “I’ll be happy to answer that question for your coach.”
___Newman recommends that when dealing with players you should be firm, yet respectful, and never talk down to them or threaten them. “One more word and you’re gone” is a poor way to communicate your frustration to a player. “That’s enough” works much better than ultimatums, warnings or threats. Newman even advocates reinforcing good technique or behavior through verbal communication at appropriate times. For instance, a football official might compliment a lineman on keeping his hands in or using good blocking technique rather than holding during a play.
___Dodge says it’s a good idea to establish a rapport with a couple of players on each team to help you in communicating during a game. For instance, in a college basketball game, there may be a senior with whom you have established a mutual respect. That can be valuable should the need arise to communicate with a younger player who is caught up in the emotion of the ballgame. Communicating through a captain or other calm or familiar player can be an effective way for an official to relate information while maintaining control.

Dodge calls interaction with partners, “An official’s most important opportunity to communicate.” He says not everyone appreciates how important it is that all officials be on the same page during a game. Communicating with your partners leads to a comfort level that is essential for you to be at your best. In attempting to officiate the perfect game — or “paint the Picasso,” as Dodge terms it — everyone must be sure what their contribution is to the finished product. Different amounts of communication will be necessary, depending on a number of factors — including the familiarity and experience levels of all officials — and it is difficult to know exactly how much communication is necessary with partners for each game. However, as a rule of thumb, too much is better than too little.
___It is no secret that most communication with partners is facilitated long before the contest begins. An effective pregame conference is the most essential ingredient in ensuring that officials are familiar with their specific duties for the pending game. Magnusson allots 20 to 30 minutes for an effective pregame with his partners, citing not only mechanics and responsibility-related issues, but also situations unique to the particular contest.
___Baharmast likens the cooperation of partners during a contest to the relationship between the pilot and co-pilot of an aircraft. “If the pilot falls asleep at the controls, and the plane goes into a dive, the co-pilot must step in and pull up on the yoke to right the ship,” he says. That kind of smooth interaction between partners starts in the locker room with the pregame, and continues on the field or court through eye contact, verbal communication, instincts and signals. For example, simply making eye contact with your partner can communicate volumes: Two officials can avoid covering the same spot, one official can subtly warn a partner to be cognizant of something specific about to happen, or eye contact can communicate reassurance to a partner that you’ve got his back in case he needs it.
___Differences of opinion among officials do occur during ballgames; however, it is essential that they not be evident during a contest. It is when a call is blown that it is most important for an official’s partners to provide support. A simple “Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered,” or “Forget it and get the next one,” can be the difference between an official recovering from a mistake to finish the “Picasso,” or shutting down for the remainder of the contest, creating a disaster for all officials involved. Your mouth — or any negative gesture, such as hunched shoulders or rolling your eyes — will hurt you if you disagree with your partner’s call in front of the players, coaches or spectators.The best advice for an official who is considering dealing directly with a school regarding a game incident is don’t! That is your supervisor’s or assignor’s job. As Baharmast notes, there is a hierarchy involved in officiating any sport, at any level. When dealing with schools, leagues or other entities, an official must observe the ladder of communication or risk compromising the administrative process. The “buffer” between official and participant is precisely why we have schedulers and supervisors. It is their job to effectively arbitrate when game circumstances call for such intervention. To skirt that process is to eliminate your supervisor from the chain, thus jeopardizing the effective communication that is essential between official and assignor. As an official, if there is an incident during a game and you feel that a school or league representative must be contacted, let your supervisor handle the communication.
___However, it is permissible for an official to contact school representatives regarding administrative details, such as scheduling or logistical concerns. Newman advises that schools appreciate the efforts of officials in ensuring that all pregame details are in order, setting the stage for a successful contest. He often sends a postcard to the host school for a pending assignment, introducing himself and the other officials on his crew. He lets the school know when his crew will arrive and indicates enthusiasm regarding the assignment. Additionally, he communicates any crew changes or other pertinent information as the need arises. That extra effort goes a long way toward establishing a good relationship between the official and the school and may alleviate the need for other communication later.

Effective communication doesn’t begin and end on the playing field. Other masters must be served. Your mouth can bury you professionally if you’re not careful what you say to your supervisors and assignors. Think of supervisors and assignors similarly to how you think of your boss at your regular job. You wouldn’t pepper your boss with several phone calls a day asking for the same thing over and over, would you? Then by no means should you pester your assignor looking for more games. The last thing your assignors and supervisors want to hear is, “I’m available to work and I haven’t heard back from you yet; I’ll call you again tomorrow.”
___Depending on what league or level of play you’re working, the level of contact you have with your assignors or supervisors will vary. ___Sometimes you must complete a game report after every contest. Other times, the only contact you have with your supervisors is in obtaining assignments, with little to no contact initiated by the game official. Despite that variation, due to procedure and protocol, there are some things that apply universally to interaction between game officials and their supervisors.
___Most officials agree that, no matter what your typical procedure for game reporting, if there is a major incident during your game, you must contact your assignor with all requisite information as soon as possible after the game. Assignors of officials become frustrated when the first notification of a problem during a game is received from someone other than their game official(s), and they definitely don’t enjoy being put on the defensive by a non-official who has more information than the assignor.
___It’s not a good idea to wait for your assignor to call you to find out what happened at one of your games. You must communicate effectively and quickly with your supervisor. Baharmast advises that you record the nature and details of a game incident in writing immediately following the contest, then contact your supervisor as soon as possible regarding the incident. By immediately putting the incident in writing, you minimize the chance that you will leave out essential information when you are able to talk to your assignor.
___Magnusson stresses that it is imperative that the official in question be the first person an assignor hears from regarding a game incident. That way, when calls come from others involved in the contest, your supervisor will be prepared to ask pertinent questions and challenge information that is contradictory to details contained in the official’s report. It can be interesting to note how different two accounts of the same incident can be. Sometimes the account of a game incident from a coach is so different from that of the game official or site supervisor, you wouldn’t think that they were talking about the same game. In order to prevent confusion, be sure the first voice that your supervisor hears is yours.
___Dodge notes an interesting trend with regard to the relationship between official and assignor. He says that this relationship has grown “less casual and more businesslike” in nature. The growing demands today on officials and on their supervisors have necessitated an increased awareness of time. That necessary respect for time has made conference calls, faxed game reports and voice-mail recounts of incidents a reality. As such, officials must make a stronger effort to ensure that their supervisors are informed. The advice for officials hasn’t changed, but the methods for communication may vary depending on the schedules of supervisors.
___Your mouth will almost certainly get you into trouble, no matter how good you are in other aspects of officiating, if you don’t speak professionally and with respect. Both Newman and Dodge note that, as they grew into their officiating careers, the one ingredient that stood out in those officials considered the best was their ability to communicate effectively. It was their confidence in relating rulings and opinions and their people skills that set them apart from other officials.
___Officiating is a “people” profession, and it is essential that all officials understand that the ability to deal effectively with people is as important as rules knowledge, mechanics or any other aspect of officiating. Many assignors would rather employ an officiating novice who has excellent communication skills and train that person in officiating than hire a humorless control freak who happens to be a technically skilled official.
___No matter how many times your mouth wants to scream out “Sit down and shut up!” your brain should step up and replace it with “I’m listening.”

(William R. Smith is the rules and officials training chair for the Southern California Municipal Athletic Federation. He’s from Hesperia, Calif., and has officiated softball, baseball, basketball and football for 17 years.)