Referee Magazine – June 2022 Preview
Features
He Rings True. A job well done — not accolades — is what drives NCAA umpire Perry Costello.
An Open Letter to...
Hair Adornment Use Clarified; Shot Clock Guidelines Adjusted in Basketball Rules
The allowance of hair adornments made of hard material and shot clock guideline adjustments have been made in high school basketball.
Umpire Mike Maconi doubles as Phillies’ official scorer
“People aren’t understanding that. Umpires don’t care who wins or loses. The guys just want to make a few extra bucks and they...
‘Make the call’: Florida schools in need of referees
The referee shortage has led the Central Florida Officials Association to ask local school districts to reschedule football games.
WATCH: Youth sports officials fleeing as parents threaten to derail kids’ sports
Sports psychologist Rick Wolff and retired NFL player Scott Wells joined 'One Nation with Brian Kilmeade' to discuss officials fleeing youth sports.
Amid increasing abuse, officials flee youth sports
When one looks at the ugly bruise encircling Kristi Moore’s left eye, it’s not surprising so many refs and umps are hanging up...
IHSAA vote paves way for boys volleyball, girls wrestling to become official in Indiana
The Indiana High School Athletic Association voted to add boys volleyball and girls wrestling as emerging sports.
Watch The Hands, Please
"Ariddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.”
While Winston Churchill certainly wasn’t describing the actions in a softball game when he made this...
How To Handle An Instantly Irritated Coach
The legendary Ed Hightower was “on loan” to the Western Athletic Conference many years ago handling the referee duties during a Fresno State game. About 30 seconds into...
Dehydration Affects Officials as much as Players
Dehydration is a dangerous side effect of officiating in hot conditions. Dehydration not only dramatically affects performance, but can lead to heat stroke,...
The Foundation of a Two-Person Crew
Interested in working a fast paced game where things are happening quickly, requiring you to stay completely focused? Then let’s partner together as a two-person crew for...
Take Association Action on Social Media Policies
Associations need to have social media policies in place in their bylaws. Like all things in the bylaws, associations need to enforce them. ...
Act Like the Role Model You Are
One night I drove to a rink in Amherst, N.Y., to watch the Empire State Games, an Olympic-style event for amateur high school athletes. The hockey game...
Shorten Your Learning Curve
As a young or newer referee works to master the art of officiating, she or he soon finds out that, while the rules...
Eight Habits to Improve Your Play Positioning
Does your association have “good umpires”? Certainly it does. But are there a few umpires acknowledged to be better than the rest of...
How to Read a Game
Once a referee reaches the point where he/she knows the Laws of the Game well and has learned effective mechanics, what comes next to improve his/her game...
Comments Don’t Reflect Reality
The times have changed in sports and officials know it all too well. In the past the things people said to us while...
Judgment Necessary at Line of Scrimmage
Judgments are a large part of football officiating. All rules require some degree of judgment. Perhaps the simplest application is determining whether a team has too many players...
5 Tips to Mentor the Next Generation
There may be no more important role for current officials than to be mentors. If the next generation of officials is to become...
When Two Umpires Converge on the Same Base
Many of us who have been umpiring for a number of years have seen the situation in which one umpire is dutifully making...
6 Assigner Do’s and Don’ts
Assigners need to maintain a professional approach when it comes to assigning games. Perception can be reality for some members. Longtime assigners will...
‘Feel It’ at First Base
While extra education at camp is invaluable for umpires who are dedicated to working on their craft and/or looking to advance to a...
Tactical Restart Response
Restart management is difficult enough without considering the various ways that defenders could seek to play psychological tricks on both their opponents and the referee. Given that defenders...
Can new Volleyball Western Consortium make officiating better?
Can officiating become more universal in NCAA women’s volleyball? Perhaps with the Women’s Volleyball Western Consortium (W5).
