Art Of Officiating
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Covering conflict management, the psychology of officiating, best practices and officiating/life balance.
What to Do When Fans Cross the Line
What’s the protocol when a fan throws something on the court or field? How do you react on a personal level, and what should...
What the Best Instructors Do Right
Whether we've been officiating for some time, figure ourselves to be seasoned vets or we simply have three more games under our belts than...
Can Our Intuition Deceive Us?
By Rick Gaydos
A couple of years ago I was watching a local TV talk show. A panelist recommended a book that wasn’t typically sports-related but...
Be a Rock, Not a Robot
When people say, “There’s no need to get emotional,” that’s probably more true for officials than for the average person. Put a regular guy...
The Big Difference Between ‘Hearing’ and ‘Listening’
There are essentially five reasons why people listen: to gain information, to empathize, to anticipate responding, to make judgments and to enjoy the reception...
Rehearse Fundamental Judgments
Officials can develop healthy habits when they rehearse fundamental judgments. Many sports have repeated practices or habits that you can rehearse in preparation for...
4 Tips for Talking to Coaches
Talking to coaches is not an exact science; they are as different as anyone else you would encounter in another forum. What works with...
When a No-Call is the Best Call
The absence of an official’s whistle has its own characteristic sound — that of continued action. That silence is thought to bring an official further along the line...
Work Through the Noise
Suppose you ask most veteran sports officials privately. In that case, they will tell you the quality of officiating has never been better than...
Postgame Discussions The Right Way
It was a tough game and not much went as planned. Now it’s time to break down where it all went wrong. It‘s a stressful situation and...
How to Be Consistently Right
Should being consistent be a goal for all officials? The answer is no. Being consistently right is what our goal should be. We always hear from coaches that...
Your Inner Voice Is Part of Your Officiating Crew
Everyone, including officials, must employ self-talk at some point. Is your self-talk positive or negative? Does it enhance or hinder your performance? Does it...
How Officials Can Control Emotions in High-Pressure Moments
Officials often tell me, “I have difficulty managing emotions during high-pressure moments.” I’ll then ask the official to give me some examples of situations...
The Limits of Tolerance
Sports officials encounter differing degrees of behavior while on the job. A zero-tolerance policy is unrealistic, but there are limits to what we should...
How Video Has Changed Officiating
One of my favorite books is Instant Replay. The author, Jerry Kramer, was a guard for the Green Bay Packers and is now in...
Anti-Social
Social media and sports officials are increasingly colliding, creating new risks that officials at every level must understand and manage carefully. As officials, social...
9 Ways to Reach Your Dream Assignment
There’s a common human urge to improve. It runs through our work lives, the activities we undertake for enjoyment and our officiating endeavors. That urge manifests itself in sports...
The Art of Listening to Coaches
Successful officials are approachable and are good listeners. They recognize they have two ears and one mouth and they use them in that proportion....
Appreciating Every Game
It's easy to get caught up in chasing the next assignment, the next postseason opportunity, the next rung on the ladder. But every now...
Give Yourself Some Grace
Think about how many times in your career you received real-time praise from a fan, a coach or a player. Compare that with the number of times you...
What the Best Officials Keep Doing
You received the plum assignment, playoff game or bowl game you’ve always wanted. If your group has a scoring system, perhaps you graded out first at your position. You're...
8 Steps to Better Communication
When it comes to the necessities needed in becoming a successful sports official, the art of conversation might not seem to be high on...
Maintain the Rhythm of the Game
A game is a kind of dance, with its own unique rhythm. Not completely, but they have similar elements. One team is on offense...
Breaking Up With A Partner Is Hard to Do
Cutting off an association with a crewmate or partner may be the most difficult thing an official ever has to do. Even though diplomatic...