Infield Fly Factors
An infield fly situation includes many variables for umpires to take into consideration. The wind or sun affects the calling of the infield...
Strategic Planning For Your Officiating Career
Do you sometimes feel that your officiating career has grown stagnant, that your future seems unclear and that you’re not sure where you’re...
Listen Up to Go Up
“Keep your mouth shut and listen.”
Although it sounds harsh, it might be one of the most important pieces of advice an aspiring umpire...
Big Match Support
Your assigner calls — you got the championship match. Your mentor calls — you just got picked for State Cup. The State Referee...
Tort Liability for Game Officials
Protecting the safety of players is a substantial responsibility of officials. We are charged with enforcing the rules and many of those rules...
Referee Magazine – June 2017 Preview
Referee Magazine - June 2017 Highlights
Features
Call Big. Is there really such a thing as a big call anymore? Find out.
One Strike and...
Let’s Meet Up
There are times in a game when officials should get together as a crew. There are times when officials shouldn’t get together.
During warmups...
2017 Major League Soccer Roster
Below are the 2017 MLS officials, along with their home state or province, and their first year in that position in the league:
Referees
Fotis...
Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy
It is frequently stated that the body is like a racecar — give it the correct fuel, including quality carbohydrates, proteins, healthy fats...
No Tunnel Vision With Wide-Angle View
What problem is most common among second referees? Some might say coaches chewing them out about questionable decisions or missed calls by the...
Mayhem in Cleveland: Browns vs. Jaguars Dec. 16, 2001
It started out as a feel-good day that would eventually take a serious turn for the worse. There was no way of telling...
Where Was That?
By Jon Bible
Last season, I was watching an MLB game and the plate umpire — I forget who it was — was giving...
Marc Of Distinction
He used to sit anonymously in the Silverado High School bleachers in Las Vegas during the mid-2000s, a bookish, kind man who could...
Get A Grip
I
t’s tough to get officials on the same page when determining the three toughest calls in volleyball. There are many strong feelings and...
Referee Magazine – May 2017 Preview
Referee Magazine - May 2017 Highlights
Features
Marc of Distinction. Meet Marc Ratner — the respect he has earned for his work in boxing and...
The Association Isn’t Backing You
One problem that officials can face is being unable to find dependable support, which is needed for a wide variety of reasons. For...
You’re Not Advancing
A frustrating and isolating problem in officiating is when you’re not advancing. You’ve put the time in, gone to camps, helped your local association, worked all...
Lack of Family Support
Most officials at some point in the journey have to deal with family related issues, being away from home at key stages of the lives of their...
Kicking the Call
We’ve all kicked a call. If you say you haven’t, you’re a liar or delusional. When it happens, it’s one of those situations in which you’re all...
How and When Do You Interact With Players?
Questions officials face in contests include: How and when do you interact with players? Do you nip brewing bad behavior in the bud?...
Hold It! Who Handles Ballhandling?
A primary responsibility of the first referee is to determine whether a player makes legal contact each time he or she plays the...
The Art of Dealing With Coaches
By Jay Miner
I’ve read every umpire manual ever written back to Hank O’Day’s turn of the century (20th) handwritten notes. Manuals are good...
