Art Of Officiating
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Covering conflict management, the psychology of officiating, best practices and officiating/life balance.
Does Appearance Still Matter If You Get the Calls Right?
Beards and tattoos have become much more prevalent and accepted in today’s society than in years past. You see them on everyone from CEOs...
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...
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...
Restart Readiness
At a time when scrutiny of officials is greater than ever before, the need to get plays right is Job One. Most evaluators won’t...
Lightning Protocol Advances with Technology
In the not-so-distant past, the protocol for handling lightning was straightforward for officials working outdoor sporting events at the amateur levels. If lightning was...
How To Move on From a Mistake
OK, you blew a call. What are you going to do now?
1. Mope.
2. Think about it for a while.
3. Forget about it and move...
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...
Get Great Series: Better by Tomorrow
If someone told you a way to get better by tomorrow, would you do it no matter what it was? How about if it...
Enhance Your Skills Fast With Repetition and Practice
Practice is synonymous with athletes, but practice can be as helpful to officials as it is to those playing the games. Whether it’s actually...
Strategies to Stay Above the Fray
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the officiating industry has taken a heavy blow. All officials in some shape or form were impacted and continue to...
Body Language Speaks Volumes
When people hear the word “communication,” they think of how one person speaks to another. A sometimes overlooked yet critically important method is body language. In many ways, an official’s...
Are You Good or Great?
W
hat attributes separate good officials from average officials? That question has been posed often over the years. While there doesn’t seem to be a...
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...
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 Right Way to Share and Accept Criticism
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hich of the following is defined as “the art, skill or profession of making discriminating judgments”?
a. Sports officiating.
b. Studying texts for the purpose of...
6 Ways to Beat the Winter Blahs
Depending on the part of the country in which you live, winter can be a cold, bleak and depressing time of year. If you don’t officiate a winter...
Leave Your Bad Day at Home
Television newsman Neil Cavuto says, “There’s nothing wrong or evil about having a bad day. There’s everything wrong with making others have to have...
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...
Fight Negative Comments with Finesse
Sometimes people will make negative comments knowing you’re an official. So how should you react? Here’s a vote for speaking up on behalf of...
No Crime to Ask For Help – If You’re Smart About it
Every official has faced it: a close call, rising tension, and everyone on the sideline looking to see if you’ll turn to your partner...
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...
Your Officiating Style Should Embrace Personal Growth
It's been one of those games. Every stop in play, someone from each team is complaining, and that doesn’t even include the coaches, who...
Are You Addicted to Officiating?
Officiating sports for the vast majority of us is an avocation, a hobby, a distraction, a chance to exercise and to help. Officiating can...
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...