Seeing Is Believing
No matter what umpiring mechanics are being used in a particular game — whether it’s a single umpire working a youth baseball game or...
Zeroed In
One of the biggest challenges in officiating is how to be completely locked in mentally for the entire game. It is of upmost importance...
Slot Machine
The most important job in a game, and often the most difficult, is calling an accurate strike zone. In order to be accurate, you...
Leap Into the New Year
At its recent annual council meeting in Oklahoma City, USA Softball voted to adopt several new rule changes for the 2022 season. The most...
No Happy Accidents
Last summer, I was working the bases as part of a two-person crew when it became apparent the defensive team was thinking about making...
All Eyes Are On You
There are close plays all over a baseball field and in every game. Half-steppers at first base. Fingertips on stolen base attempts. Pitches at...
Travel vs. Fumble — Which is It?
There are times when a player who has control of the ball unintentionally drops it from his or her hands — a fumble —...
Tips to Help Sideline Officials Look Sharp
When I was a deep official, I would catch flak from my linesman and line judge crewmates. They told me they do most of...
Career Suicide Can Be a Killer
Officiating is unlike many endeavors in that hard work, diligent study and the right temperament are not guarantees to success.
Conversely, there are several...
Get in the Groove with Your Partner
There is nothing like throwing a perfect game as a pitcher or calling the perfect game as a referee. Just like in baseball and...
5 Bad Habits of Football Officials
By Jon Bible
My eyebrows raised a bit when it was suggested I write a column on bad habits because it implied I had messed...
Chasing Higher-Level Games
When I was eight years old, my cousin and I always looked forward to the circus coming to town. The troupe would have a...
Coordination, Communication Key to Measurements
One of the oldest sports clichés is that football is “a game of inches.” When a measurement is involved, it might be a fraction...
Be Careful Using Other Sports to Explain Softball Rules
No-calls are common to officiating in all sports. Sometimes it’s advantageous to use examples from other sports to explain softball rules and plays. Unfortunately,...
Touchline Tackle
There is a lot happening in this play requiring the referee and near assistant referee to work together. The location on the field near...
Catcher You Later
By Jon Bible
A long-standing topic of debate in baseball circles is how we should relate to catchers. There are several schools of thought.
I’ve heard...
Onfield Meetings – Short, Simple & Complete
Much has been written and said about the importance of perception in officiating. Image is everything, as the saying goes and that is true not only of...
Set the Table
For years, we’ve never really acknowledged the importance of the scorer as an integral part of a volleyball officiating crew. It seems there has...
How to Keep Your Head From Spinning
The athletic spin move is often one that players, coaches and fans love to see during a game and also one that makes officials...
Before The Flag
No one likes to see a lot of flags thrown. They interrupt the flow of the game and can seem to make it drag...
Before, During or After the Play When to Throw the Flag Determined by Foul...
All team A players are set before a snap. Then two backs go in motion. Both are still moving just before it appears the...
Gripes Coming From Winning Team?
If you were officiating a soccer match and the score got to 6-0, you might expect a little dissent, right? But would you expect it from the winning...
5 Tips for the Tag Play at the Plate
Atag play at the plate is among the most exciting plays in softball. The decision the umpire renders on a close play at home...
Ballhandling Makes Your Crew Look Sharp
It was the championship game for the local semi-pro league with a crew of six officials. A pass was intercepted and the down ended...
