Art Of Officiating
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Covering conflict management, the psychology of officiating, best practices and officiating/life balance.
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 heading...
Always Time for Teachable Moments
Whether it is during the prematch conference or a postmatch debrief, a formal evaluation or a self-evaluation, or in a classroom clinic setting, we...
Confidence Through Strong Body Language
The score is tied in the championship basketball game with less than a minute remaining. The fans in the packed arena are on their...
6 Things You Never Say to a Coach
You will say all kinds of things when you’re having a conversation, conference, discussion, talk, debate or heated exchange with a coach. But are there some comments that should...
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...
Reduce Officiating Stress and Improve Performance
Officials are quitting at record rates and many veteran officials have testified sportsmanship has become much worse over the years. Others want to stay...
Use Team Captains as Assets
Being captain on a team is a pretty big deal. It means the player has earned the trust and respect of his or her coach or teammates. It’s...
Why R You Officiating?
Officiating is an avocation, and no two people come to it the same way or for the same reasons. I knew that whatever I...
Tips For Working In Cold Weather
Much has changed since Dec. 31, 1967. When the crew scheduled to work the NFL championship game awoke in Green Bay, Wis., that morning,...
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? Do...
Study The Game To Improve As An Official
One of the greatest things you can do to help improve your officiating is to gain a better understanding of the game itself, whatever...
Seven Kinds of Hustle
Hustle is defined in different ways by different sports officials, but many will point out that the physical — get from here to there as fast as possible...
Saving One Official at a Time
I met with a friend last year who I heard had gotten out of officiating after only a few years. I thought perhaps his departure...
Turn The Cast Away?
One of the hazards of being a sports official is that you quickly become an expert consultant to your friends when they have a question about a rule...
4 Habits of Successful Officials
If you took a poll of coaches and players and asked them to name the skills and habits that are important for a game...
The Evolution of Explanations
Sports officials and microphones have a long history. In fact, one of the earliest instances involved Major League Baseball in 1929.
On Aug. 25 of...
Balancing Officiating with Family
My wife asked me, “Where are you headed tonight?”
My kids asked me, “Are you coming to watch my game?”
My response to my wife and...
Make an Officiating Comeback
A few seasons ago, I felt like I was on the “up and up.” I felt personal improvement in my play calling, physique and...
Ultimate Guide to Networking at Camps & Clinics
When a sports official goes to camp, it’s about whistles and rule books rather than swimming and s’mores. Referees and umpires choose to invest the time and money in camp...
Welcome to the Show
All officials have their first game at one time or another. We have heard stories of the officiating greats and how they got their...
Keep Communication Lines Open with Players
While officials have a fair amount of contact with coaches during a game, they are most often communicating with players. Here are some suggestions...
7 Steps To Better Conversations
Dealing with adversarial relationships can be tough. These seven tips to better conversations will make your difficult job a bit easier.
1. Pause before responding
Let the other person get...
How To Get A Postseason Assignment and Make The Most Of It
How do you get a postseason assignment? What skills are important when doing those big games? How do you stay at the top when...
Why Coaches Yell
Referees frequently talk about how much coaches yell at them. We’d all like to have them yell less. Yelling at referees rarely improves performance. In fact,...
