Art Of Officiating
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Covering conflict management, the psychology of officiating, best practices and officiating/life balance.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
You Got Next
A
t a time when scrutiny of officials is greater than ever before, the need to get plays right is Job One. Most evaluators won’t...
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...
Battle Through a Tough Start
Anyone who has officiated any sport at any level has had games in which things didn’t go as planned. What if the unexpected trip-up...
Traveling Etiquette 101
There are practices that should always be followed when traveling with officiating partners to make sure everyone gets to the game on-time, and gets along with...
Crew Harmony Leads to Better Games & More Fun
When any game assignment arrives, all sorts of questions usually race through an official’s mind. Who’s playing and where is it being played are immediate, but don't really...
Unexpected Challenges in Officiating
As I headed down the long, nondescript, stale-smelling concrete tunnel toward the soccer stadium field from the officials’ locker room, looking forward to being...
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...
Be Prepared When You Travel to Assignments
Whether this is your first year or 10th year as an official, there is great anticipation while you await your schedule. You can’t wait...
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...
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...
Rehearse Fundamental Judgments
Officials can develop healthy habits that have nothing to do with streamlining their diet or counting calories. Many sports have repeated practices or habits...
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,...
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...
What’s Acceptable Contact Between Officials & Participants?
The issue of the propriety of any two human beings touching one another runs the gamut of the human condition; from liberal to conservative, man to woman, western to eastern....
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...
Can Our Intuition Deceive Us?
By Rick Gaydos
A couple of years ago I was watching a local TV talk show. A panelist recommended a book that wasn’t typically sports-related but...
Lessons Beyond the Games
It’s Worth the Wait
“I’ve officiated football and volleyball since 1978 and worked the volleyball state finals in 1994, even though my self-evaluation had me...
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....
The Big Difference Between ‘Hearing’ and ‘Listening’
There are essentially five reasons why people listen: to gain information, to empathize, to anticipate responding, to make judgments and to enjoy the reception...