Art Of Officiating
Home Art Of Officiating
Covering conflict management, the psychology of officiating, best practices and officiating/life balance.
Get To The Point With Game Language
Good officials must know the language of their respective sports and be able to communicate that language in a way that coaches and players...
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...
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,...
9 Ways to Reach Your Dream Assignment
There’s a common human urge to improve. It runs through our work lives, the activities we undertake for enjoyment and our officiating endeavors. That urge manifests itself in sports...
4 Reasons We Fail to Get Help
I stumbled upon a couple of clips of MLB games and got a chuckle out of how the announcers reacted to two situations. It’s...
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...
7 Ways to Avoid Attacks
Unfortunately, in today’s culture, many officials have been followed out to their car by unfriendly people after a game. Others have been threatened during or after a...
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...
Turn The Cast Away?
One of the hazards of being a sports official is that you quickly become an expert consultant to your friends when they have a question about a rule...
Moving Forward After Disappointment
Officiating mimics life. Do it long enough and you’re sure to experience the full gamut of emotions. There are times when you’ll experience incredible...
Postgame Discussions The Right Way
It was a tough game and not much went as planned. Now it’s time to break down where it all went wrong. It‘s a stressful situation and...
Core Values Form Your Foundation
There are as many different values as there are officials. Core values are those attributes we hold dear and they form the foundation on...
Six C’s That Will Get You Straight A’s
Mnemonics are devices intended to assist the memory, as a verse or formula. A popular example, HOMES, is an acronym to help recall the...
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...
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...
End Game
Your job doesn’t end after the game is over. Most of the time, the game ends without serious conflict. However, there are some things...
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...
How to Handle a Downgrade You Disagree With
Sometimes you can just feel a downgrade coming. You’ve just completed your game. You’re headed home for the evening but you can’t seem to get that one...
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...
Let the Whole Play Happen Before You Call It
Sports officials must understand the game they are working or they’re in for a heap of headaches. An official must know the rules to the best of...
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...
Conflict of Interest?
Conflict of interest. Whether it actually exists between an official and coach or administrator or family member or whatever the case, when that phrase...
8 Universal Truths To Elevate Your Game
O
fficiating has been in my blood since I was a scholastic wrestler during the mid-1960s. Throughout the decades, I gradually began to understand the...
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...
