Art Of Officiating
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Covering conflict management, the psychology of officiating, best practices and officiating/life balance.
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...
Deconstruct the Conflict
No two ways about it, the nature of competitive sports is one of conflict. Conflict between two opponents sets the stage for points, goals, baskets or runs scored....
Sell the Tough Call
What do a ninth-inning call at home plate, a crucial roughing penalty late in the fourth quarter or a block/charge call all have in...
Eight Ways To Avoid Negative Attention
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...
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...
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...
Right Way to Turn Back a Game
In most aspects of life, there is a right way and a wrong way. Such is the case when you turn back a game. Knowing the difference...
Automatic Eject Button
Skim the rulebook for any high school or college sport under the section of automatic ejections and the word “flagrant” is likely to appear.
For...
20 Inspiring Books For Sports Officials
If you had inside access to the bookshelves of college and professional officials and officiating leaders, what books would you find? Sure, rulebooks are...
Don’t Try To Win The Argument
As an official, when you are involved in a conflict, your goal is to resolve it. You have to fight the tendency to want to win the...
Defeat Negative Attitudes. Enjoy Your Games.
Situational negativity occurs when a specific recent incident causes one official to adopt a negative attitude toward another official. Imagine a football crew in...
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...
Ed Hochuli On Balance
It takes extraordinary strength to take charge of a Super Bowl – strength of will, of desire and of conviction. Ed Hochuli has done...
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...
Don’t Go Looking for Fouls
The trouble with learning to officiate is that almost the entire focus is on recognizing fouls and calling them. Therefore, beginners not only concentrate...
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...
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...
Have No Officiating Regrets
Sometimes you can do everything in your power to get a call right and still blow it. That’s a tough regret to live with,...
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...
When Your Partner’s Out of It Mentally
You show up at the game site. You’re pumped. You meet your partner. Something’s wrong. He or she is distracted, upset, not engaged. You can see right away...
5 Post-game Discussion Strategies
It’s been a long day. There was the travel to the event, the pregame meeting, a long grueling contest, some testy coaches, an opinionated...
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...
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...
Sometimes There Is No Right or Wrong Call
If you put 30 sports officials in a room, regardless of the sport, and watch a tight play on video, what happens during the...