Sport-Specific Articles
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8 Ways to Avoid Perception Issues
It’s always useful to review a few perception issues that can get umpires off on the wrong foot at the start of a contest or create negative feelings...
Calm on Broken Plays
Coaches, players and fans are allowed to panic when a play goes awry. Officials, on the other hand, must react to broken plays as if they're routine...
Four Tips for One-Umpire Mechanics
It’s not news that budgets for athletic programs, especially in recreation and intramural leagues, have had to be tightened. Often the first items trimmed...
Scrimmages: Opportunity or Danger?
By John Kiernan
Frequently I am asked to officiate scrimmages. There are great opportunities for an official during those matches. However, there are also pitfalls...
Put It Between the Fingers
It has been said for years that the easiest, most efficient method for holding an assistant referee flag is to let it hang down...
Prep for Bang-Bang Plays
Crashes should not catch basketball officials by surprise. That’s a mantra from Jon Levinson, NCAA women’s basketball secretary-rules editor, and assigner for the Patriot...
Step On the Field and Handle Your Business Like a Boss
A
fellow brother in blue, who passed away much too soon, had a mantra he used both in life and on the field. That mantra...
Situational Awareness Suits Volleyball Officials
Have you ever looked back on a tough situation in a match, one that maybe you wish you had handled better, and said to...
High Time to Talk Timing
U
mpires always stress the importance of good timing behind the plate (and on the bases, but that’s a topic for another day). But to...
Make New Officials Comfortable Before the Match Begins
Any number of factors can affect how effectively a referee team works together, especially if one or both assistant referees are comparatively inexperienced. The center referee’s awareness of possible weaknesses...
8 Points for Pre-Pitch Planning
With each batter and before every pitch, umpires must do some pre-pitch planning. Where do I go on a hit to the outfield? A hit to...
Don’t Waste a Chance for Self-Evaluation
Over the years, I’ve spoken to many officials approaching the end of their careers. They speak of being less keyed-up before games, grumpier during...
Use Player Reactions to Decide Fairness
Gil Weber, USSF National Emeritus referee and contributing author to several USSF publications, described the referee’s task: “Refereeing is all about fairness. It’s balancing...
No-Huddle? No Hurry
The key word for officials is accommodation. You can’t deter a team from setting its own pace in a game. Teams have a right...
How to Have a Playoff Mentality On and Off the Field
For those lucky enough to be chosen for postseason assignments, it’s a reward for a job well done during the season. But there can be pitfalls. Most umpires do...
4 Marginal Call Landmines
There you are, just cruising along in a basketball game. Everything is going smoothly, and then all of a sudden — bang! All hell breaks loose. What happened?...
Know When to Use the ‘Sell’
As novice or veteran umpires, we all look forward to the exciting catch, tag or play at the plate that has us standing in...
Still Work to Be Done When There’s a Break in Play
The referees accept the coach’s or captain’s request for timeout and blow the whistle, starting the timeout procedure. Both teams usually move to the benches for a quick...
Tips for When You Struggle on the Bases
What do you do when you’re struggling on the bases? We’re all going to have bang-bang plays where we do everything right but freeze-frame...
Ball-Watching Afflicts Veterans and Newer Officials Alike
Two huge mistakes that officials can make are ball-watching and officiating air. The former means watching the runner to the exclusion of what’s happening around him. The latter means focusing...
Watch The Hands, Please
"Ariddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.”
While Winston Churchill certainly wasn’t describing the actions in a softball game when he made this famous...
The Foundation of a Two-Person Crew
Interested in working a fast paced game where things are happening quickly, requiring you to stay completely focused? Then let’s partner together as a two-person crew for a...
Shorten Your Learning Curve
As a young or newer referee works to master the art of officiating, she or he soon finds out that, while the rules are...
Eight Habits to Improve Your Play Positioning
Does your association have “good umpires”? Certainly it does. But are there a few umpires acknowledged to be better than the rest of the...
