Art Of Officiating

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

Art Of Officiating

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

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...

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...

The Right Way to Share and Accept Criticism

W 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...

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...

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...

Increase Concentration in One-Sided Games

One-sided games are no fun for anyone, except for the team that wins, of course. Generally speaking, the losing team and the officials just...

Your Calls Linger After You

You may think the impact of your officiating is confinded to the time the clock is running and ends at the buzzer, but your...

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...

Stay Focused until Game Conclusion

At any sporting event, you’re likely to hear someone holler, “Keep your head in the game!” That heckler might not be referring to the...

Elements that Determine a Successful Crew

In the sports world, a team’s success is determined by wins and losses and, to a major extent, by the number of championships it...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Self-Evaluation is Critical

Having both the ability and willingness to self-evaluate is critical to becoming a better referee. Whether you do youth, school or amateur games, you must...

How to NOT Argue

It takes a minimum of two people to have an argument. If one person chooses not to participate, that leaves the second party blustering...

What It Takes To Get What You Want

S ome years ago, Brian Tracy, one of the world’s leading experts in personal development, said, “Success is goals and all else is commentary.” Imagine the...

Everybody Wants a Problem Solver

One type of person all businesses want is a problem solver. The same can be said for any type of athletic event. They want...

48 Timeless Tips

The following "Timeless Tips" were originally targeted at first-year officials, but we believe all officials can benefit from these nuggets of wisdom. Enjoy. You learn...

Does the Stop Signal Work Anymore?

Check out this portion of a discussion thread from a basketball referee online chat circa 2007: “Anybody ever notice how a lot of the talk...

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...

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...

Know The Game Temperature

On a hot August afternoon in 1984, NL rivals San Diego and Atlanta faced off in an important late-season contest. The trouble began when Braves pitcher Pascual Perez hit...

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