Art Of Officiating
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Covering conflict management, the psychology of officiating, best practices and officiating/life balance.
‘Big Time’ Attitude is for Small People
Virtually every local association or chapter has at least one official who has “made it big,” the member who has worked a state championship...
Take the ‘I’ Out of ‘Quit’
It’s not always easy to be an official. That’s not anything you don’t already know. Sports officials are the targets of media, fans and...
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...
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,...
Oklahoma Referee Tackles Bad Behavior Using Social Media
Veteran soccer official Brian Barlow of Broken Arrow, Okla., believes a little public shaming is not necessarily a bad thing.
Especially if it results in...
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...
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...
6 Qualities That Get You Respect
In a business environment, you know the people you don’t like to work with. You know the laggards, the braggers and the ones who shove daggers in your...
How to Handle Difficult Situations in These Contentious Times
It takes brains, wit and a cool head to handle difficult situations and navigate the various on- and off-court/field minefields officials have to deal...
Showing Emotion Isn’t a Bad Thing
Judgment is an old concept in terms of human history, and as time goes on, humans are constantly trying to regulate judgment and eliminate emotion, to the...
Get Rid of Anger And Improve Your Game
Perturbed. Agitated. Ticked off. Peeved. Whatever label you give it, we all know it. Whether the cause is a know-nothing loudmouth in the stands,...
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...
4 Elements of Decisiveness
In the business world, money can be made or lost based, in
large measure, on the decisiveness of the executives. In battle, the
decisiveness of the...
16 Unwritten Rules Of Officiating
1. When you “think” you saw something, YOU DIDN’T.
There are times you will be focused on action in your coverage area but something on...
Don’t Lose Your Passion
Think about the last 10 officials with whom you’ve worked. How many of them brought passion to their game? What was your initial reaction...
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 children...
Forget Perfection, Here’s 5 Ways To Be Great
Perfect games are for athletes and they are rare. A bowler or pitcher may achieve perfection once in a while. But beyond that, athletes, like officials, aren’t flawless...
Don’t Let Self-Criticism Detract From Your Successes
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...
Who Gets The Longer Leash?
As officials, we unfortunately know that emotions run high in sports and every official must understand how to react appropriately when someone at the game...
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 the...
Your Calls Linger After You
You may think the impact of your officiating is confinded to the time the clock is running and ends at the buzzer, but your...
When to Retire
Are you thinking about retiring soon, or do you think that decision is years from now?
In talking to people about retiring from any job,...
Learn Lessons From Sports You Don’t Work
“What’s My Line?” was a popular TV game show 45 years ago. Larry Blyden was the host and the premise was that four celebrities had to guess...
Eliminate Your Own Distractions
There are many things that might disrupt an official’s concentration during a game. They might be internal or external and could happen during play...
