Here’s Your Sign
During its annual June meeting, held virtually for the second consecutive year due to the ongoing COIVD-19 pandemic, the NFHS Baseball Rules Committee voted...
Adjustments for Better Look at the Plate
Any fast-pitch softball umpire is familiar with the slot position when working a game as the plate umpire: assuming a heel-toe stance behind the catcher, aligned slightly inside the...
Free-Throw Mechanics Deserve Pregame Attention
W
hen thinking about the mechanics you use as a basketball official, where do you put the bulk of your study and practice? Proper location...
Did You Hear What I Didn’t Say?
As most volleyball officials would agree, non-verbal communication encompasses approximately 80-90 percent of our communication with coaches, players, partners and fans. There are so...
Cue on Defender to Officiate 3-Pointers
With the game transitioning more and more to outside jump shots and three-point attempts, officials need to focus on three separate but similar areas:
Monitoring defensive players as they...
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...
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...
Don’t Compound Missed Calls
We have all made mistakes, there are plenty of reasons why, but officials can't compound missed calls with phantom calls.
It can happen with ballhandling....
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....
Handling Interference by Spectators, Coaches and Umpires
Interference in a baseball game does not happen very often and some umpires are ill prepared to deal with it. Getting the uncommon plays...
Listen to Everything You Hear
When was the last time you heard someone say, “Consider the source”? That saying has been around for as long as one can remember, but what is the...
Softball Crew Chief Responsibilities and How to Prepare
If you are reading this and you are not a crew chief but have that as one of your goals, congratulations. You are taking...
Hip, Hip No Way: Yankees vs. Dodgers 1978 World Series
Reggie Jackson earned the nickname Mr. October because of his bat. But a baserunning play swung the 1978 World Series in favor of Jackson’s...
Second Nature
The first thing most of us do in the morning is look at our alarm clock, watch or phone. When we look at our...
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...
Tips for Handling Baseball Time Limits
While there are some pace-of-play initiatives introducing a clock to the game of baseball, the traditional game doesn’t worry about a clock the same...
The Game Of The Century – Notre Dame vs. Michigan State 1966
In a game that featured number one against number two — Notre Dame vs. Michigan State — college football fans were highly anticipating which...
Permission to Leave the Field
One might think that leaving the field is such a simple, straightforward and obvious act as to not need anything further said about it....
Obstruction Deduction
Umpires are tasked with making thousands of split-second decisions over the course of their careers. Some of those calls are obvious, while others aren’t...
Hey Ref! Doncha Know The Rules?
I
t’s a question all officials hear at some point in their careers. Unfortunately, fans yelling it from the stands are usually unaware the game...
Tactical Restart Response
Restart management is difficult enough without considering the various ways that defenders could seek to play psychological tricks on both their opponents and the referee. Given that defenders are...
Advanced Softball Mechanics
Today’s players are quicker, faster, stronger, smarter, more athletic and better coached. Ask yourself: are our mechanics keeping pace with the rapid development of...
Tips for Working With Catchers
One of the attributes of a successful plate umpire is the ability to work with catchers. The catcher is a major factor in a...
They’re Counting on It
One of the most important jobs for softball umpires is game management. And one of the most overlooked aspects of game management is giving...
