Art Of Officiating

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Covering conflict management, the psychology of officiating, best practices and officiating/life balance.

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...

When Mascots Get Out of Hand

Referees and umpires around professional, college and even high school sports unfortunately must face the challenges of how to deal with mascots who either affect play on the field...

Effective Relationships With Coaches

I was working a boys’ basketball game a few years back and the home team was getting shelled. They couldn’t shoot, pass, handle the...

7 Ways to Hone Your Edge in the Offseason

For many, the offseason is welcomed in the same way a teacher welcomes summer break — with open arms. You ’ve worked hard but now it’s time for...

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...

Expect Little and You Won’t Be Disappointed

The spectrum of accommodation made for officials is vast. If you've been continually disappointed perhaps, unfortunately, your expectations were a bit high. What do...

Eight Ways To Never Get Another Game

The pages of Referee often feature the do’s for landing the next big game and breaking into the next level. But equally important to...

Creating Your Officiating Legacy

The average American can expect to live about 79 years. That’s roughly 28,835 days to leave your mark on the people you know and the places you go....

What Supervisors Teach can be What Gets Called

In the local football chapter where I started officiating years ago, it has been the practice to have separate weekly training sessions for first-year officials. The feeling is...