Art Of Officiating
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Covering conflict management, the psychology of officiating, best practices and officiating/life balance.
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...
Consistent Mechanics Make for Consistent Calls
Over the years we've all seen and worked with officials who seem to think that mechanics manuals are like buffet lines — chock full...
When to Retire
Are you thinking about retiring soon, or do you think that decision is years from now?
In talking to people about retiring from any job,...
Someone is Always Watching
When you sign up to be an official, you should understand there is a higher standard of behavior for your actions on the field...
Impartiality in Addressing Coaches
I'm always ill at ease when an official with whom I’m working is on a first-name basis with a coach. Earlier this baseball season,...
Put a Bad Game in the Rearview Mirror
Every official has had a bad game he or she would rather forget. Whether it was a kicked call, problems with a partner or...
Manage High Stress Situations So You Don’t Choke or Panic
Why do some officials perform poorly when under pressure? Ruling out poor positioning, misapplication or misunderstanding of the rules, inexperience and absentmindedness, one must turn to psychological explanations for official underperformance....
What Supervisors Teach can be What Gets Called
In the local football chapter where I started officiating years ago, it has been the practice to have separate weekly training sessions for first-year officials. The feeling is...
Creating Your Officiating Legacy
The average American can expect to live about 79 years. That’s roughly 28,835 days to leave your mark on the people you know and the places you go....
Get Great Series: Better By Next Month
If someone told you a they had a way to get better by next month, would you do it no matter what it was?...
Get Great Series: Better by Next Week
If someone told you a they had a way to get better by next week, would you do it no matter what it was?...
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...
Get More Postseason Games
“Why didn’t I get any playoff games?” Across the officiating world, that is probably the most frequently asked question by established and even some new officials. Postseason games are...
Think Outside the Box
By Jeffrey Stern
Officials who work a single sport sometimes have a tendency to be a little myopic. If football is their game, they follow...
Officiating’s ‘Workplace Guide’
Although officiating is an avocation for most of us, it is one that must be treated as a business. Officiating should be fun, 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...
Week In The Life of An SEC Football Official
SEC FOOTBALL OFFICIATING WEEKLY PROCESS
SATURDAY
From the SEC Football Command Center, monitor games as well as internet and social media and note issues for...
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...
Learn Lessons From Sports You Don’t Work
“What’s My Line?” was a popular TV game show 45 years ago. Larry Blyden was the host and the premise was that four celebrities had to guess...
Media Relations
Ask pro or major college officials if they have a nightmare media relations scenario, and they’re likely to reply, “Yes. Having one of my...
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...
Tips on Handling Blowouts
Sometimes games are less than games; they are a mish-mash of horrendous play
and lopsided scores. Officials can either contribute to the mayhem or else...
Big Game, Big Stage
Most of us lead a simple life. We’ll never have to go through the drudgery of another game at Soldier Field or Madison Square...
Time to Drop a Sport?
If you are a multi-sport official who favors one sport over another, you may be considering dropping your least-favorite sport. Before taking that step,...