Sport-Specific Articles
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Outside the Lines
Defining the playing area is an important part of the referees’ prematch duties. Identifying obstacles, any changes in court surface or elevation, and establishing...
The Debate: Hammer or Point?
By Mike Droll
Whether it’s at an umpiring clinic, professional umpiring school or just learning from a buddy who is getting you ready for your...
Always Time for Teachable Moments
Whether it is during the prematch conference or a postmatch debrief, a formal evaluation or a self-evaluation, or in a classroom clinic setting, we...
Aim High By Working Lower Levels
Once we obtain an officiating certification, it seems that many of us want to jump in and start working the highest levels of play...
Dead or Live?
Imagine that you’re working the plate in a two-umpire system. There’s a runner on second with one out. The batter hits a towering fly...
Get Down on the Basics
There are details contained in some individual Laws that are also found in other Laws. While it is important to understand each Law by...
Foul Trumps Other Fouls
Several fouls are predicated on the hypothesis that a legal forward pass is or was in progress. As a result, several actions that are...
How Minor League Umpires Are Made
More than just baseballs get thrown at the Minor League Baseball Umpire Academy, nestled in Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Fla. Attendees seeking to...
“Active Inaction” – Say That Again?
The title isn’t a contradiction of terms, at least not if understood correctly. No matter what kind of game you are officiating, there are...
Infield Fly Factors
An infield fly situation includes many variables for umpires to take into consideration. The wind or sun affects the calling of the infield fly....
Big Match Support
Your assigner calls — you got the championship match. Your mentor calls — you just got picked for State Cup. The State Referee Administrator...
Let’s Meet Up
There are times in a game when officials should get together as a crew. There are times when officials shouldn’t get together.
During warmups is...
Batboys
Where are all the batboys? What happened to them? And when did they disappear?
In this context, I’m referring to the little kids (usually but...
Where Was That?
By Jon Bible
Last season, I was watching an MLB game and the plate umpire — I forget who it was — was giving the...
Get A Grip
I
t’s tough to get officials on the same page when determining the three toughest calls in volleyball. There are many strong feelings and opinions...
The Shot
As an exhausted Tom Clark settled back into the aisle seat of his Delta Airlines flight the morning of March 29, 1992, a slight...
Hold It! Who Handles Ballhandling?
A primary responsibility of the first referee is to determine whether a player makes legal contact each time he or she plays the ball....
The Art of Dealing With Coaches
By Jay Miner
I’ve read every umpire manual ever written back to Hank O’Day’s turn of the century (20th) handwritten notes. Manuals are good and...
Under Control
The referees’ game management style is noticed by all participants, as well as the spectators. The way the referees conduct themselves in those first...
Hot Buttons
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and apparently you can’t get umpires — old, new or in between — to clean up...
5 Minutes with Karen Preato
Hometown: Greensboro, N.C.
Experience: Started officiating at the college level in 1998 and entered the D-I ranks in 2003. Currently works in the Atlantic 10, Atlantic...
5 Minutes with J.D. Collins
Hometown: Hartford City, Ind.
Experience: NCAA national coordinator of men’s basketball officiating; former coordinator of officials for the Mid-American Conference and Summit League; former consultant...
Officiating is a Family Affair
Nestled between the San Diego Bay and the scenic splendor of the coastal mountain foothills in Southern California are the sprawling sun-kissed expanses of...
Game-Time Decisions
By Rick Woelfel
Watching an NCAA Division I crew at work is akin to attending an umpiring seminar. I was afforded that opportunity in late...
