Retired NBA referee, and current ESPN officiating analyst, Steve Javie was thrust into the role of crew chief early in his NBA career when the league moved from two officials to three after his second season. “Just by numbers alone, I was pushed up into a position of leadership not knowing what to do,” Javie said. “We didn’t have courses or classes in the NBA about how to be a crew chief. Has anybody, whether it be hockey, football, basketball or baseball, in their association ever had somebody sit down and say, ‘Here’s the course on being a crew chief’? No, we don’t have that. Somehow that’s missing.”

Missing until now.

Javie and current NBA Vice President of Referee Development and Training Monty McCutchen gave “the course” on how to be a crew chief during a workshop at a recent NASO Sports Officiating Summit. They took attendees through real-life situations and discussed the qualities that make a crew chief a true leader on and off the floor. Crew chief is more than just a title and it goes beyond any playing arena.

“We tend to think our senses let things in, that our eyes see things and our ears hear things, but the reality is that our five senses keep most everything out,” McCutchen said. “They’re filters to keep things out so that we can make sense of the world and have clarity to what we see. You can’t hear a dog whistle, you can’t hear the air conditioning, because our brain and our ears and eyes are doing that job of filtering for us.

“One of the big pitfalls to becoming a crew chief for the first time is thinking that you have to see everything, and of course when you try to see everything in a game you see nothing. You see the back ends of every play, you don’t see any play with any clarity or totality and you fall into a pit of catching the ends of things. When we do that, we’re not good officials and, more importantly, we’re not good leaders.”

What does it really mean to be a crew chief?

It Means … You Can Admit Mistakes

Any time you make a mistake during a game, it requires true humility to admit your error.

“I did some things early in my days as crew chief,” Javie said. “I learned from my mistakes. Hopefully that made me a better crew chief as I went along. A lot of times — the people at the NBA level or the NFL level, or NHL or MLB — all you see is the good they do. Let me tell you something. I made so many darned mistakes. If I didn’t learn from them, shame on me. I was fortunate to have a father who had 30 years in the NFL.”

Javie shared a story of the night when he was working a game with Joe Crawford in Detroit. After the game, “(NBA supervisor of officials) Darell Garretson came in the locker room and he had the tape,” Javie said. “He said, ‘We’re going to go back to the hotel and watch the tape.’ Oh my gosh. All I’m thinking on the ride back is that we’re going to put the tape in and it’s going to be ‘beat on Steve’ the whole time. And rightfully so, because I was horrible that night.

“I realized what a crew chief Joe Crawford was. He took everything off me and put it on him. He put the tape in, he ran the tape machine, and all he did was look at his mistakes and how he could’ve gotten better. Joe Crawford showed me what a good crew chief does, which is to take care of your partners.”

It Means … You Trust Your Partners

No matter what your role on any given night is, it’s important to trust the men and/or women that you are working with. Lack of trust puts a real damper on the crew.

Javie told of a game early in his career when he was designated as crew chief. Bill Spooner and Don Vaden were newer to the league and they were working together that night.

“A situation happened where I felt that a player threw a ball at my partner, Bill Spooner. Unfortunately, Billy caught the ball,” Javie said. “It was thrown hard, but being a young guy and not experienced enough, I sat there and said to myself, ‘He can’t do that; it’s got to be a technical foul.’ I think looking back maybe (the player) should’ve gotten a technical foul, but not from me because I’m down at the other end of the court.

“I elect not just to (give a technical), but I ejected the player from the game. I didn’t trust my partners. What kind of crew chief is that? My lesson that I learned that night, and there’s plenty of other lessons that I learned as a young crew chief, was that one of the biggest things you have to do as the crew chief is trust your partners and allow them to work and allow them to handle situations.”

Trusting your partners enables them to work with the confidence that you have their back if they need it, but you also know that they can take care of their own business when necessary.

It Means … You’re a Facilitator

The ability to facilitate discussion and draw things from others’ experiences will not only take you far in officiating but in your daily lives as well.

McCutchen shared the importance of being able to be a solid facilitator and manage the different personalities that may be on your crew on a given night.

“I think that being crew chief for me has evolved into a philosophy that you’re there to facilitate,” McCutchen said. “That starts at the assignment level. For us, there are hotels involved, there are rental cars, there’s what time are we getting in, are we going to have dinner the night before. … Instead of dictating those things, you open it up to a democratic process. ‘Where would everyone like to stay?’ instead of, ‘Hey, we’re staying here in Portland.’”

Sometimes conflicting personalities will need to gel for the sake of the officiating team. The crew chief needs to facilitate that. “There are times unfortunately, that crews maybe don’t get along, personality-wise,” Javie said. “But you’ve got to come together when the time is right.”

Being a crew chief is all about creating a sense that, “We’re in this together.” A strong leader will help build a sense of community.

“If you can start to create an environment in which everyone is empowered to be part of the team, that teamwork carries over,” McCutchen said. “We’re the third team on the floor. That teamwork carries over into performance, in which people aren’t fighting over who gets to go to the table, it flows the way the mechanics dictate it should flow, plays coming toward people, take the play. No one is feeling like they’re left out of the mix in those kinds of situations.”

It Means … You Take Care of Partners

While trust was already addressed, part of building on that trust is taking care of your partners whether it be on a big call or something as small as letting them throw the jump ball to get them in the game right away.

“I got my first crew chief lesson — I probably didn’t recognize it at the time — in my very first NBA game. I worked with Bennett Salvatore in Minnesota,” McCutchen said. “It was a Dallas Mavericks game and he found out through the day that I was from Dallas, and without any conversation about it at all, right before tipoff, he put the ball in my gut and said, ‘This won’t happen often, but go throw the jump ball. It will probably mean something to your dad back in Dallas to see you throw the jump ball.’

“Right then you felt like you had been included into the fraternity, and that you had been accepted by your partners on some level. That crew chief moment stuck with me. Who do I want to be in this profession?”

There will be times when you recognize that a partner is struggling on a particular night.

“You may be five minutes into the game and you look over and there’s somebody there that’s just going through the motions. You may have to go over and say, ‘Look, get in the game, get your head out of your (butt) and get said. “Something happened at work, something happened at home, and it’s on your mind and you’re not fully engaged in what you’re doing. You have to be able to get the rest of the crew in. You also have to be willing to accept that same criticism from someone else if you’re not in the game, because it happens to all of us.”

Javie added, “It’s really no different than life, too. If you’re a manager, you want to make the people around you better. When you’re a crew chief, guess what? Your job is to make those two guys the best they can be that night.”

It Means … You’re Competent

Having a working knowledge of the game is key for all officials. As a crew chief, you are looked to when questions arise about difficult scenarios or situations. You need to know what you’re doing.

“Obviously you have to be able to have the rules knowledge,” a Summit attendee noted. “You have to know what your job is. You also have to know what everybody else’s job is, and help them through that, not with criticism but with a little bit of motivation.

“You have to be an initiator. You have to have the initiative to go out there and do that. When push comes to shove and somebody has to make a decision and all eyes look at you if you are the crew chief. Everybody’s looking at you to make the decision and say, ‘OK, let’s move on.’”

Competency requires preparation. That preparation comes through practice in handling various types of scenarios.

It Means … You Earn Respect

“You have to be respected,” McCutchen noted. “You don’t demand respect, you earn respect. I think that’s important for us to realize. Just because you’re the crew chief or the head person on your crew doesn’t necessarily give you the right to be that respected individual. You have to earn it. Once you show that, you’ll have it for a long period of time until you give somebody reason not to give it to you anymore.”

There is no magic formula for getting other officials to respect you. You’ll earn respect by the way you conduct yourself over time. Be consistent in your approach to the game and your approach to individuals.

After Javie and McCutchen discussed what it means to be a crew chief, they broke the officials out into three smaller groups to cover the topic in more depth.

What Traits Should You Have?

Great crew chiefs have a variety of important traits and skills. Here are some examples that a group of officials at the Summit suggested are important.

• Preparedness. You’re ready for anything because of your experience and planning for different scenarios.
• Adaptability. If something out of the ordinary occurs prior to or during a game, you’re able to adjust and help your partners adjust.
• Respectfulness. You show respect to your peers, coaches and players.
• Competency. You know what you’re doing on the field or court. You bring a high-level knowledge of the rules and mechanics to the game.
• Confidence/poise. You act like you know what you’re doing. In tough situations, you don’t get rattled.
• Humbleness. You understand you didn’t get to where you are alone.
• Compassion. You care about your fellow officials and their trials during and away from the game.
• Sense of humor. Officiating is fun. You know how to laugh at yourself and enjoy the avocation or profession.
• Facilitator. No matter who is on your crew, you can bring the officiating team together for a common goal.
• Motivator. Sometimes officials need extra motivation, especially when they’re facing a bad match-up. You provide the spark when it’s needed.
• Initiator. You approach a struggling crewmate who needs assistance. By giving encouragement, you can turn things around.
• Mentor/teacher. You take the time to educate your partners before, during and after the game.
• Big-picture thinker. When things aren’t working, you can step back at halftime or between innings and provide a different game plan.
• Calming influence. Some people crack when a fight breaks out. You’re able to provide a steady approach.
• Decision maker/problem solver. You are ready with answers when questions are asked. You are the go-to person for issues that arise.

How Do You Improve?

Some officials have the traits and skills to make them a great crew chief from the start. Others acquire those attributes over time. Either way, you can always improve as a leader. Some ideas of how to do that include:

Be willing to help when needed.

It’s impossible for crew chiefs to always know exactly what to do when other officials need guidance, but you get better at it when you are available and willing to help. Stick around for a postgame conference. Be available via phone when questions come your way.

Become a good listener/ communicator.

You can’t help if you don’t listen to the problem. That means listening without interrupting. Even if you think you’ve heard enough to solve the problem, listen more. Your partners will gain respect for you if they are able to share their whole story. Listening takes patience, especially when it comes to longwinded partners.

Show respect for the primaries of your partners.

In other words, learn to count on your partners. It’s pretty hard for your partners to trust you if you continue to make calls in their area. Even if you’re more experienced, let your partners do their jobs.

Be aware of your surroundings/ situation.

A great way to improve your knowledge is by doing your homework. Rules and mechanics study is a given. You should also be aware of player/team tendencies, so you can inform your partners and have a productive pregame meeting.

Gain confidence through experience.

Confidence in leadership comes with practice. You’re going to make mistakes when serving as a crew chief, but that’s OK. You’ll handle it correctly the next time. You’ll also learn what to do and not do from crew chiefs you have been under in the past.

Work with mentees.

Volunteer to serve as a mentor as soon as your association allows it. Attending the extra games with your mentee and guiding him or her during and away from the game will assist you in your role as a crew chief.

Have a love for the game.

Never forget why you started officiating in the first place or why your fellow officials are giving of their time to the industry. A love for the game and avocation are almost always a part of the reasoning. Enjoy your role as a leader and pass that joy on to those working with you.

How Do You Set Yourself Apart?

Dare to be different. In order to set yourself apart as a crew chief off the field or court, you should remember the following tips.

Don’t act like a big shot; be one.

Act like a big shot and your peers will start to resent you. Be one in a humble manner and your peers will learn to respect you. The key is realizing that it’s not all about you. Don’t bring up a big game you were involved in. Wait for someone to ask you about it. And then, before long, shift the conversation back to your fellow officials.

Facilitate, communicate with and assist the group.

Share ideas that will help to make the lives of your fellow officials easier.

Find ways to empower members … delegate!

While you should volunteer for your share of work, you shouldn’t take over everything. The only way officials will learn how to become crew chiefs is through active participation. Spread the pregame responsibilities. Ask different members of the crew to be responsible for leading the pregame talk.

Allow risk taking.

You learn from your mistakes. Encourage your fellow officials to take officiating risks. If the risk doesn’t work, it’s a great chance to mentor them through the situation.

Establish personal connection.

Get to know your fellow officials away from officiating. Ask about their jobs and families. Show you care enough to want to know.

Put the crew first and yourself last.

In other words, ask your crew for opinions on everything from schedule to postgame restaurant. There are times when you will need to make executive decisions but getting feedback from your fellow officials is important.

Be an example in all interactions (even when you think no one is watching).

You’re a leader, so conduct yourself as a leader in all situations.

Javie recalled when veteran referee Wally Rooney set himself apart.

“Wally really took me aside,” he said. “I had one of those tough weeks and he took me out to dinner in Phoenix. I thought he was going to start talking about how bad I had done this week and that week. He said, ‘We’re not talking about basketball tonight. We’re talking about life and what’s important.’ Remember, this is a sport. We enjoy it. It’s not the end-all. Sometimes you have to get away from it.

“I think also a good crew chief knows that and knows what it takes in the younger guy to get away from it once in a while, to not talk about it, controversial stuff,” Javie said.

At the end of the day, how do you want to be remembered? What do you want people to say when they see your name on their schedule? “Life is all about people to me. It really is,” Javie said. “You will always remember the ones that treat you well.”

The post What it Really Means To Be A Crew Chief appeared first on Referee.com.

Adaptability

 Times have officially changed. Technology has become an important educational tool in all sports at all levels. Whether it’s using an app in your pregame, setting up an online study group or clipping and sharing game video, mentors have the ability to change with the times. They look for ways to incorporate technology and use it to their advantage. As games change, so do rules, mechanics and philosophies that go along with them. Mentors stay on top of those changes (and at times even influence the change). My own mentor always says, “If you aren’t keeping up, you’ll constantly be catching up.”

Approachability

A mentee has to feel comfortable talking to his or her mentor. A mentoring relationship is not just about the business, it’s personal. Mentors build trust early on in order to establish confidence in the relationship. They know that they need to initiate conversation that makes a potential mentee feel comfortable. Sometimes it’s as simple as recognizing and reaching out to officials who have recently been added to a league they work to say, “Congratulations,” or, “I’m here for you!”

Availability

Mentors pick up their phones and return text messages and emails. They may not always have the time to talk the moment they are contacted, but they always make time sooner rather than later. It’s important for those they mentor not to feel like a nuisance. Mentors make the effort to foster the relationship.

Communication

Mentors know how to manage the uncomfortable conversations that will inevitably take place. They may need to tell an official to lose weight or that they messed up a rule. Mentors handle those situations with a tough love approach. They are honest, fair and always keep the best interest of the ones they mentor at the forefront of their interactions with them.

Character

Mentors are good people. They carry themselves in a way that makes others excited to work with them. They tend to be like O negative blood, which works well with everyone. They do not engage in gossip. Mentors have a way of putting the best face on even the toughest situations.

Consistency

The best mentors are “do as I do” kind of people. They practice what they preach and believe in what they are doing. Their actions are a direct reflection of the lessons they teach. If a mentor tells a mentee to update his or her availability daily, the mentor is constantly making sure his or her own is up to date. If a mentor tells the mentee to lose 10 pounds, he or she has worked hard to maintain his or her own physique.

Credibility

Mentors are able to help others achieve their goals because they have experienced successes of their own. They’ve put in the time to master their craft and have somewhat of a resume to show for it. That doesn’t mean that mentors have to be at the end of their careers. However, the more games, tournaments and experiences they have, the more knowledge they have to pass down.

Humility

Former NFL coach Tony Dungy said it so eloquently in his book, The Mentor Leader. Dungy wrote, “If you do it right — if you really mentor others — more often than not, people will notice what a remarkably talented team, staff or child you have rather than what a great coach, employer or parent you are.” Mentors aren’t in it for the glory. They don’t make it about themselves. They find deep satisfaction in helping others succeed.

Positivity

A true mentor makes a positive impact in the lives of those they mentor. They have an uplifting attitude. When mentees are dealing with tough situations, a mentor puts a positive spin on it rather than engage in talk that brings themselves or others down. A mentor’s job is to help develop the next generation — of great officials as well as great mentors, too. Mentors know they may very well end up working a game or two with their mentee. If they have helped their mentee and given them keys for success, they know that their game is going to go a lot more smoothly. Their example keeps the game on a positive trajectory and ultimately creates the mentors of tomorrow. Are you up to the challenge?

The post 9 Characteristics of a Good Mentor appeared first on Referee.com.

“Gentlemen,” the old arbiter replied, “he was out because I said he was out.”

That was the sort of stance officials had to take in those days or they likely wouldn’t have survived in the game. Times have changed.

Oh, sure, there are still times when the iron fist that Klem and his brethren employed with regularity is needed. Depending on the game situation and circumstances, it can benefit an official to take a hard line. More often, though, these days the best officials are less dictators than facilitators. “We want to manage the game” is the phrase of the day.

Does the following description sound like someone you know?

The dictator.

Like any general personality type, nobody will fit the bill perfectly as a dictatorial-type. There may be aspects of a person’s personality that lean toward a dictatorial-type but other aspects do not. With that qualifier in mind, officials who lean toward a dictatorial-type personality most likely possess the following characteristics:

• They control the game to their tempo — they want things to unfold or evolve to their own accord or pace, as opposed to the natural flow of the game that comes from the players.

• They refuse to treat athletes and coaches with respect — they view themselves as the king of the jungle and they are the boss. It’s that old, “This is my game!” mentality.

• They act like fascists — they believe they are the law and literally act like police officers gone overboard. Basically, their sense of authority crosses into authoritarianism, even totalitarianism.

• They are poor communicators — they refuse to listen to input offered by partners, assistants, linesmen, athletes and coaches.

• They “always” make perfect calls — they believe all of their calls are the right calls. Even when they make mistakes, they refuse to admit to them.

• They enjoy the chorus of boos — they bask in the chorus of boos because that’s when they are receiving as much attention as the athletes.

Reading that list, did you see yourself possessing any of those qualities? Don’t worry too much if you see yourself only periodically in one or two of those categories. After all, there are times when we love it when they boo, and who is a perfect communicator all the time? But if you see a lot of yourself in that list, it might be time to make a minor tune-up on your attitude or make a major overhaul on your officiating attitudes.

The facilitator.

So what is a better way to approach officiating? Currently, the most popular and effective “style” is to employ a facilitator-type personality. That’s embodied by the notion that officials are there to manage the game, as opposed to control the game.

Perhaps the two best words to sum up the qualities of a facilitator-type of official are management and communication. Good officials know how to keep the best interest of the players, coaches and fans in check. They also know how to keep the lines of communication open between themselves and everyone else involved with the game.

The best types of facilitators on the playing field are most likely to possess many of these attributes:

• They are active listeners — not only do they hear what players, coaches and other officials are saying, but they are listening to them, absorbing and understanding the information.

• They ask questions — whenever they are unsure of something, they seek clarification, especially from their partners and crewmates.

• They intervene when necessary — they let players and coaches know what is going to be tolerated and offer fair warnings. They don’t interject themselves unless they have to.

• They treat everyone involved in the game with respect — they realize they have a job to do and that everyone else at the game has a job to do, too. They understand that only with everyone working in unison with professionalism on everyone’s part can the game flow. Of course, they understand they can’t control the professionalism of others, but strive to maintain their own.

• They value constructive criticism — good officials welcome feedback, whether it is positive or negative, so they can improve their game.

• They allow the game to flow — they allow players to create the tempo and flow of the game and only intervene to do their job, rather than create work for themselves where none exists.

• They prefer remaining in the background — the less heard from the officials, the better the game is. At the same time, when the game action dictates they must come to the forefront, they do so without hesitation, professionally putting the game back on course again.

• They get simple enjoyment from the game — much like athletes enjoy playing, coaches coaching and fans watching, facilitator-type officials derive pleasure from their jobs.

Which type are you? The choice is yours.

The post Dictator or Facilitator: What Type of Official are You? appeared first on Referee.com.

There’s a lot of down time in a college football game, particularly at the sport’s highest levels. How should officials utilize that time to maximum advantage?

Retired college football referee Mike Defee was considered one of the premier officials in the sport. He worked in the Big 12 Conference beginning in 2006, first as a back judge and then in 2010, as a referee. His résumé includes an assortment of major bowl games and the 2017 national championship game between Alabama and Clemson.

There is an abundance of down time in games he and his crew work each week, in part because of the demands of television.

Four media timeouts each quarter, lasting approximately three minutes each, plus additional breaks after the first and third quarters (three-and-a-half minutes each), add up to nearly an hour of real time. And that’s not including the 20-minute break at halftime. All of which explains why high-profile FBS games can last close to four hours from opening kickoff to final whistle.

But Defee took pride in staying focused during stoppages. “That’s something I feel really, really strongly about,” he says. “I believe in that old saying that ‘Idle time is the devil’s workshop,’ and so during media timeouts, I always wanted to stay in the moment.”

Stay busy during a timeout

It should be noted that the crew stays busy during a timeout.

While Defee remained at his post behind the offense, there was communication going on between crew members.

“My umpire or I, one of us, would initiate it,” Defee says. “We’d point at the sideline just as a reminder of how many timeouts each team had (remaining).”

Defee notes that his wing officials — the head line judge, the line judge, the field judge and side judge — would station themselves near the team huddles during timeouts to handle any issues that arose. With 30 seconds left until play resumed, the back judge, who was with the timeout coordinator (red hat) on the field for media timeout stoppages, would return to his position. Fifteen seconds later, the wing officials instructed the teams to return to the center of the field so Defee could make the ball ready for play the moment the timeout ended.

“It’s all about trying to be as efficient as we can,” Defee says.

The crew may also utilize a media timeout to consult with each other about what’s happening in the game and what they’re seeing.

“It may take a media timeout before I have an opportunity to talk to my umpire and tell him, ‘I really didn’t get a good look at (a previous play),’” Defee says. “I’ll say, ‘That sweep play six or seven plays ago. Did you get a good look at number 59? The guy went to the ground and I didn’t see how he went to the ground.’

“Those types of things you communicate during timeouts. Otherwise, it’s just simply staying in the moment. I feel like I can concentrate for the better part of two hours until I get to halftime.

“At halftime, I get a little bit of a mini-break there, and then we’re re-engaged for an hour and 45 minutes roughly, whatever the second half runs. I’m a big proponent of staying in the moment during those timeouts.”

Addressing Your Crew

The last game of Gene Steratore’s 15-year NFL career (eight of them as a referee) was Super Bowl LII between the Eagles and Patriots following the 2017 season. Steratore would often utilize media timeouts to address his crew.

“Not always, but a majority of the time, I would hit my blue button (on his crew communication device) and give a brief little pep talk,” he says. “Something motivationally about where we were in the game, how well the flow was going, or just a general overview, for maybe 20 or 30 seconds.”

Steratore, who also worked NCAA men’s Division I basketball before retiring at the end of the 2018 season, would also utilize breaks in the game to talk to coaches if it was necessary. He stresses the importance of keeping the lines of communication open.

“Before the game, part of my conversation with the coaches was, ‘I want you to know that we can communicate this entire day,’” Steratore says. “‘I may not be able to get to you immediately (based on the game situation) but I will get to you as quickly as I can.’ That was my way of letting them know if there was a play in a series (that the coach had a question about) and then a punt occurred, that I would immediately go there.

“That might pop up, not even once a game. Every other game, you might have that talk.”

College basketball timeout protocols vary according to the level of play and the agreement between a media partner and the conference involved.

For D-I men’s games, the most common scenario calls for media timeouts on the first dead ball following the 16-, 12-, eight- and four-minute marks of each half, which generally last either 60 or 75 seconds, depending on the host institution/conference involved or the electronic media agreement. In addition, each team receives one 60-second timeout and three 30-second timeouts per game; only two of the latter carry over to the second half.

J.D. Collins, the NCAA’s national coordinator for D-I men’s basketball officiating, says the protocol for officials during a 30-second timeout is straightforward.

“They go to their spots,” he says. “They should mentally rest just for a few seconds and then begin to roll into the next series of plays.”

A full timeout is almost always a media timeout at the D-I level. Those stoppages can be prolonged, particularly during the NCAA tournament, and sometimes redundant; if there is a lengthy period without a whistle, consecutive media timeouts can occur with only a few seconds of elapsed game time in between.

Whatever the situation or scenario, Collins says officials should remain mentally engaged.

“Meaning, reviewing plays in the last four-minute segment in their brain,” he says. “‘I want to look at the play at 12:52’ and register that play and then reset, and begin to think about, ‘What’s all going on in the game right now?’ Doing a quick mental assessment; ‘Are we too physical? Are we calling it too tight?’ All those kinds of things.”

Timeouts also offer an opportunity for members of the crew to communicate with each other, if necessary. Collins says such conversations can be useful early in a game; the crew might be concerned it’s calling the game too closely or too loosely, and that the game is developing a good flow.

“Whatever the discussion needs to be, sometimes it’s necessary,” he says. “Sometimes in the middle of the game it’s not necessary, (the officials) have a good flow going to the game.”

Collins says crew conferences are particularly useful toward the end of a game. “Most of the time at the end of a game they need to get together to discuss all of the possible scenarios,” he says.

“What are the possibilities? ‘(Is the offensive team) going to drive the ball inside? Are they going to shoot a three? Do we need to look at the feet? Who’s got the shot?’

“Go through the possible scenarios that could exist and make reminders to one another so that it puts the thought in (the crew’s) heads, ‘We have to be prepared for X.’”

“We may go to the monitor to see if a shot was a two or a three-pointer,” says Infini Robinson, who works an assortment of D-I women’s basketball games on the West Coast. She points out there are often administrative issues to be dealt with during extended timeouts.

“We handle any administrative issues at the table, involving the scorer or the table crew.”

Robinson also makes sure she’s available to coaches who may have a question or concern. “They may have a question about where the ball will be inbounded,” she says, “or plays. Or questions about a specific rule.

Huddle as necessary

“As a crew we’ll also huddle to make sure we’re adhering to the points of emphasis. We also talk about our consistency as a crew and mental preparation or real-time game situations. ”Robinson notes that officials do all this in order to enhance their level of concentration, individually, over the course of a 40-minute game.

Dr. Margaret “Maggie” Tieman, a sports psychologist, officiates D-I women’s basketball games in various conferences in the Northeast, including the Atlantic 10, and has coached field hockey, basketball and softball at the high school level.

She stresses the importance of maintaining a consistent routine during media stoppages.

“Just like we have a preshot routine in golf or any pregame routine in any kind of sport that we do, I have a routine that I do during media timeouts,” she says, “knowing that they’re going to be anywhere from two to three minutes long.

“The first piece is purely mechanics and positioning. The next course of action is ball position and clock. Making sure that you know where the ball is going to be put in play whether it was an AP (alternating possession) throw-in or just a regular out-of-bounds play and then memorizing the clock (the last two digits on the game clock and shot clock). So, if something happens to the clock, we can put the correct time back up without having to go to a monitor. It’s always quite embarrassing when the kids come out of a timeout and they ask whose ball it is and we don’t know whose ball it is.

“The second item I think about is crew communication because sometimes we meet together as a crew, sometimes you just go to your spot, whether it’s a 30-second or 60-second timeout.

“You say the same things to yourself regardless of whether it’s together in a crew huddle or I’m standing on a block. The items I go through are the same, no matter what.”

The post Break Time Doesn’t Mean Time Off for Officials appeared first on Referee.com.

Think like a team at all times. An official may not agree with his or her partner’s call or the way that he or she handled a situation, but that’s not a license to hang him or her, either. Don’t make excuses for yourself or your partner(s), either. If it’s worth talking about, it’s best to sort it out in the locker room after the game, not in front of coaches, athletic directors, evaluators, etc.

Remember that good assigners are looking for much more than people who understand rules and mechanics. They are looking for team players. Officiating is an avocation for the majority involved. Take pride in what you do and share good thoughts with other officials.

When a fellow official does something wonderful, tell others about it. Recognize someone’s first game, first playoff assignment, first college game, etc. It doesn’t have to be a formal recognition, but a simple mention at the postgame watering hole goes a long way.

Put yourself in a position to ensure other officials’ successes. Give back to officiating and be positive about it. Share in those successes and you in turn will feel better about officiating. After all, it is an avocation and you can make a difference by being a team player.

The post Be a Team Player appeared first on Referee.com.

I was early in my tenure as a high school basketball official, eager to prove myself to my local association as being worthy of elevation to “certified” status for the next year. That would mean eligibility to work varsity games and to be considered for postseason assignments. I had great relationships with our association board members — who would be the ones voting to approve or reject my advancement during the offseason — and knew one would be in attendance during a particular JV boys’ game.

My partner on our two-person game was a transfer official who had moved into our association from a nearby unit and to put it frankly, we had a tough night. In his own zest to prove himself, he essentially commandeered our performance on the floor, overruling me on a couple of calls and reaching outside his primary area to make some others. I admittedly became frustrated and took a backseat, unwilling to stand my ground for the betterment of the game. I still called my game and felt I performed as well as could be expected given the circumstances, but I did nothing to take charge of the situation.

Perhaps only one of the few hundred fans in attendance took heed of what was happening. That one, however, happened to be our local assigner. And he was not happy. Following the game, he read my partner the riot act and stressed that if he wanted to be a trusted member of our association, he needed to get on board with how we did things and not over-officiate.

I felt a moment of vindication, but it was brief. Because the assigner next turned his critical eye toward me.

“If you want to advance, you need to step up and prove to me that you can be a lead official,” he said. “I don’t need officials who are going to shirk back and not take responsibility. When a game turns to (expletive), or you know something is wrong, I need to know that you are someone who can step up and lead.”

I still clearly picture the scene now, several years later, because of the impact it made on my officiating philosophy. I officiate three sports (baseball, basketball and football), which means I am on the field or court for hundreds of games every year. Odds are not every one of them is going to be a perfectly harmonious situation for me and my officiating partners. There are going to be issues that arise. And when that happens, I now recognize the importance of someone on the crew being willing to step forward and say, this is how we are going to handle this. It doesn’t mean being a control freak.

It doesn’t mean being one of those “my way or the highway” types. It doesn’t mean belittling your crewmates or making them feel inferior in any way. It means being willing to say, I know this rule, 100 percent, and this is how we need to administer it. It means being able to say, philosophically, this is the right way to handle this situation, so this is what we are going to do. It means stepping up and being the example and saying, “This is how we need to take care of this. Follow my lead.”

It doesn’t matter if you are the U2 on a three-person basketball crew, the line judge on a five-person football crew, or the base umpire on a two-person baseball game. If you have the ability and the knowledge to be a lead, then be it. Be willing to step up and be a crew saver. Because those are the officials who will always be in demand.

The post Don’t Be Afraid to Take the Lead appeared first on Referee.com.

In order to be a helpful mentor, there are some “must dos.” Here are five of them.

1. Consider personalities.

Before offering your mentorship, make sure you will mesh. If you were a hothead when you started, you can address those experiences. If you were shy and unsure, you might have more in common with a new official with that same temperament.

2. Don’t misrepresent yourself.

Remember that even though you are more experienced, you aren’t necessarily an expert. Don’t be afraid to admit you’ve made mistakes. Use them as teaching points. And while your career may have had plenty of highlights, babbling on about them isn’t mentoring; it’s bragging.

3. Don’t hold back.

If you withhold information thinking that passing on the tricks of the trade will result in the mentee getting more or better games than you, you shouldn’t be a mentor.

4. Make time.

Unless you’re willing to put in the necessary time and energy, there will be problems. Some mentors find it’s helpful to work a game with the newer official. If you can multi-task without compromising your own officiating, taking the newer official onfield with you is a great way to mentor.

5. Be available.

Set up regular meeting times and discuss ways to improve. Set dates to attend games the newer official works and set aside time for a comprehensive postgame discussion. In-person meetings are preferable but not required. Let the newer official know that you’d welcome a phone call or email with any questions or concerns.

The post Five Quick Mentoring Tips appeared first on Referee.com.

Our egos (substantial they may be) often don’t match up with our innate abilities to convey information, although we enjoy the opportunity to do so. Many of us practically force our stories and instructions on our fellow officials, knowing in our hearts they need our hard-earned knowledge lest they fall off the officiating radar forever.

Ever been to an officiating camp? Watch the campers. Despite the fact each of them paid great amounts of money to be exposed to select instructors and famed assigners, they will spend hours in the corner instructing each other. Don’t kid yourself — everyone fancies himself or herself an able teacher. The sheer amount of misinformation spilled into waiting brain cells daily throughout the year is amazing.

Make certain the soil is fertile and ready to germinate the seeds of information. It doesn’t matter how awful the official is, or how badly he or she needs to learn. If the official has a closed mind, nothing you say will sway him or her.

Start by asking, “So, what level do you want to end up as an official?” If the official wishes to move up, you will next say, “I can help you get there. Here are a couple of tips that helped me.”

Information must come from a level of power. Represent the information or yourself as having some credibility that makes it important to the other person. If you’re the assigner or paid to evaluate, well, there you go. Otherwise, saying, “I just learned this at camp” adds cache to your tidbit, enough to make the listener more impressed and more than yearning to listen.

Every official has an ego, and the higher the level, the larger the ego. Sugarcoat the information, remembering you are there to help with improvement, not to condemn (unless you are there to fire the official, in which case, have a heart and leave the notes at home).

That doesn’t mean for you to just start with something positive, so you can move on to the negative. It means trying to meld every comment with a stir-fry of boost. “I wish every official in my association had your mechanics. If you could mix those mechanics with the ability to hold your whistle another second to see the play, you’d be unstoppable.”

As a younger official, you still have insights to share, even with the best. Ask the veteran, “Hey, I saw something in your game out there; can we talk about it? I want to know if I’m right.”

Officials often tend to become spillways of information, using any opportunity to give you tons of information at once.

There’s just so much any one brain can handle, and the younger the official, the less the official can introduce into his or her gray matter. Identify the issue at hand and break down the lesson to help with improvement. You can briefly mention the goal, but give the information to get there in increments, doable peaks for the official to climb.

“Hey, remember, it takes about five years to be a really great official, and you’re on your way for sure. But first you’ve gotta have that loud whistle and loud voice. Add that to a sharp signal and you’re set for the first year! Let’s hear your best whistle.”
It works for high-level officials as well with the luxury of being even more technical based on their experience.

“Don’t you think?” is a great line. Unless you’re the camp counselor or evaluator, show that you’re working with your fellow official to get him or her to improve. Ask follow-up questions and meet at the plane of discovery together. “Doesn’t that feel much better?” “See how holding the whistle allowed you to pass on that play?” “Man, you’re getting better at seeing the whole play when you referee the defender.”

Know Your Audience

Teachers in a classroom have to work generically in large groups, but can really shape their message when they get the individual student alone. That’s when instructors can use all their knowledge about the student to dig into their bag of teaching tricks.

Some people aren’t the keenest of learners. Some are visual learners, some must actually perform the task to get it, and some … well, some folks just have passed the point of learning altogether. That doesn’t mean you can’t offer them some hope.

There’s a special time, an eerie quiet that happens when you are speaking and everyone in the place is hanging on every word. It tells you that your tone has been perfect, your message taken, your advice crucial. Your goal is to get to that point in the locker room or in the corner of that court or field each time. It tells you perfectly how well you’re doing as an evaluator, that you have measured your advice and your students well, their eyes clear and solidly watching yours.

It tells you that you are right where you belong, and so are they. Most importantly, it tells you they will enact what you’re saying as soon as possible, and truly will take the next great step forward as officials.

That’s the ultimate praise for you as a mentor: to see the seeds you’ve planted grow and carry the stripes to the sky (or to the championship). Your role in their growth might be forgotten, but you’ll know what you did and why — enough to feed your ego for years to come.

The post How to Pass on Your Wisdom appeared first on Referee.com.

MLB and NCAA football in particular have devised rules designed to speed up the games. It remains to be seen if those rules will work in the long run or if they need tweaking to be truly effective.

Games generally start to drag because of one of two reasons: either the teams aren’t up to the desired pace or the officials allow it to happen. In the first case — OK, if a quarterback is three-for-63 throwing out of the shotgun, there’s little you can do to make time move faster. But there’s a lot you can do to shorten the length of time between plays — some within the rules and some out of sympathy for your fellow man. When, instead, the officials start letting it drag, sometimes it’s poor mechanics or conditioning. More often, though, it’s weak game management and not recognizing or not responding to slow play that’s deliberate. Games go bad the longer you allow the players to stand around and think about things like why they hate life. So, if players or coaches are deliberately letting the air out of the tires, put a stop to it.

Volleyball is meant to be played briskly. When the coach suddenly can’t keep the rotation straight in her head after she’s used up her timeouts, someone pays. When somebody’s serving, five seconds means five seconds and everyone expects you to do something about the goldbrickers. It’s no oxymoron to say that the best way to speed a game up is to slow down at the right time: You stop the game for a moment, make a point of telling the captain or coach what has to change so that all creation knows, and then you plan to act on your promise. It’s that simple.

In many sports we associate long games with brilliant strategy. A four-and-a-half-hour Yankees-Red Sox game is now “epic baseball” when it used to be “paint drying.” Hey, the Giants once beat the Phillies, 6-1, in 51 minutes. It was getting dark and everyone had a train to catch. Where there’s a will there’s a way. It’s up to officials, more often than they now do, to provide that will sometimes.

Discern motives when it comes to slowing down games

It’s the officials’ job not so much to read the minds of players and coaches but to discern their motives when it comes to slowing down a game. You can tell when two teams just aren’t up to it and nothing but CPR will help. The rest of the time, you have to use the rules to your advantage to keep things moving. Let’s look at some strategies that work:

Get the support people involved. Don’t let the outfielders chase foul balls. Don’t let your back judge fish every incomplete pass out of the steeplechase pit. If they give you four balls to use, get the ball chasers, the substitutes or energetic team moms — whatever the rules allow — involved in getting a fresh ball in play while the old one is safely removed in record time.

Use the timing rules to your advantage. Keep the timeouts, intermissions and the time you spend between plays to an enforceable minimum. You probably won’t get any holiday cards if the sound of the second warning in basketball is your cue to put the ball on the floor the first time you get a chance. But you can make it abundantly clear that you’re willing to start doing it by using your voice and physically intervening in huddles, right from the start. Most coaches aren’t stupid; they often act that way when it suits them. They usually respect fair warning, especially when they later see that both they and the other team are suffering equally.

If the ball’s been spotted in football, start the play clock. If everyone’s in a lane space, bounce the ball to the shooter. Don’t meditate. Put the pressure on the people causing the problem. Make them play to your pace, but make sure your crew’s mechanics are up to the line you draw in the sand.

If you aren’t sure, they’re probably delaying. That probably sounds heretical to a lot of us. Since we’re usually honest people ourselves, it sticks in our craw to think about suggesting players or coaches aren’t. But we’re not talking about cheating here; we’re talking about the tactical bending of rules: Most of us would call it “creative” to try a hidden ball play in baseball, right? Why, then, is it suddenly “coincidence” that the pitcher’s shoe keeps coming undone once he’s up over 80 pitches and has the bases loaded? You’ve got to get psychology working for you in such cases and bend the rules back on your terms. Be a little cynical and ask what you would do if you were looking for an edge in the situation before you. Then go with it. You won’t always be right but the coaches will eventually figure out that you’re acting on behalf of the game. They’ll huff and they’ll puff, but they’ll seldom blow your house down. Take a stand.

If you believe your only job is to sneak in, call plays and sneak out unnoticed, you probably won’t get far as an official. And if your solution to every issue would make a despot proud of you, you’re headed for the same reef. Make sure the teams understand that you have a comfortable grip on the game and are willing to do what you have to maintain it. The best way to keep order is to keep the coaches coaching, the players playing and the fans … fanning. Use your ingenuity to keep the game moving at a fair pace and you’ll find other problems you used to have going away.

The post Picking Up the Pace of Games appeared first on Referee.com.

Just as the athletes must work as a team to win, the officiating crew must exhibit teamwork in order to execute at the highest level. But being assigned to a crew does not ensure teamwork. So how well do our crews perform?

Grade your team on these 9 items and see how you fare.

1. Is everyone on the crew there for the same reason? Common mission and values drive team success. The pressure to “move up” or earn postseason assignments is a powerful one. The desire to make more money doing other sports can be a draw as well. Is there enough focus by individual crew-members on the game at hand?

2. Does the crew take personal responsibility for game preparation? Is the crew ready? Many associations require weekly caseplay reviews and regular study. But even when that’s not the case, it’s the individual’s responsibility to maintain a solid understanding of the fouls, penalties, rules, and specifics of the position. Does the crew arrive at the pregame prepared? Do the members hold one another accountable?

3. What is the nature of the pregame meeting? Is it business or bickering? Overly convivial? Are the pregame meetings coordinated and geared to discussing points events? Does the atmosphere encourage questions and learning? Or are they sessions mired in complaints about game fees, the quality of the competing teams or the assignments of other officials?

4. How does the crew view the crew chief or lead official? The head of the crew wields significant influence not only on the field or court but off. During a game does he or she create an environment of, “Let’s just get the call right,” or one of, “Don’t embarrass me”? Are crewmembers more concerned with the lead official’s influence on subsequent playoff assignments?

5. How is conflict handled? Officials are notoriously confident — they have to be in order to make split-second decisions. In pressure-filled situations that confidence can manifest itself in the form of closed minds and an unwillingness to discuss other viewpoints. Is your crew able to constructively and quickly handle conflict among crewmembers?

6. Does the crew focus only on the negative? Clearly missed calls draw the most attention and they need to be addressed at the appropriate time. However, positive feedback validates good performance and builds a constructive and upbeat atmosphere.

7. Are crewmembers empowered? Empowerment is a word often overused and seldom understood. Empowered team members enjoy an environment of trust that fuels assured decision-making. They are vested in the success of the crew.

8. Are the roles of each crewmember clear? That is usually a case of mechanics, but it’s one worth revisiting on a regular basis. Who has the ball? Who has the action around the play? Those processes often change as crews grow and offseason rules are enactedDoes the crew communicate? Every sport requires communication among crew-members. That isn’t limited to the pregame meeting. Rather, adopt sound in-game mechanics that allow effective communication among crew members before and after the play.

9. Does the crew follow through? Teamwork among officiating crews need not end when time expires, or the final out is recorded. Effective teams use postgame discussions to reinforce positive aspects of their performance and identify areas that need attention. The officiating crew may not be the team the crowd pays to see, but they need to function as a team is just as important. Use the above questions as a guideline to see where your crew stands.

The post 9 Points To Grade Your Officiating Crew appeared first on Referee.com.

Was it a player? No, it was a referee. I watched him work that game nearly flawlessly. Every call seemed to be perfect, and he acted so confidently even when surrounded by players during controversy. I asked myself how I could do the same thing. Since that day, I looked to him as a role model.

Everybody is a role model. Did you ever stop to think about that? All of us are, to one degree or another, influencing the behavior of others through our actions. It doesn’t matter whether you’re at home, at work or officiating a Little League baseball game on Sunday morning.

I like the saying: “What you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you’re saying.” That is true in all areas of life, but it is especially true as a game manager in officiating. We tend to be evaluated on our calls and judgment rather than on what we say — especially in this age of technology and the ease to record games on smartphones, tablets and other devices.

Players, coaches and fans will respect an official who acts like a role model, regardless of their calls. Other officials will not only respect the official, but look up to him or her. Imagine that: being a person that others admire and see as a good role model.

You can become such a person by following these four principles:

Act with a healthy attitude

Our actions can impact the actions of others. Our game environment can only produce a corresponding effect, and the cause of that effect is our attitude. We get what we expect. Many officials say, “If only coaches would respect me, I would respect them in return.” They’re like the person sitting in front of the cold stove waiting for the heat, as Earl Nightingale used to point out. Don’t ask for the heat. Put the fuel in first, then you can expect heat. Similarly, you must carry a good attitude before you can expect the same in return.

Act with integrity

The role model in officiating is a person with integrity; that official is true to himself or herself. An official with integrity is one of the mentally strongest people. With integrity, it is extremely hard for somebody else to question his or her judgment. It becomes easier for others to communicate with the official without having to scream at him or her. Other officials treat the official with integrity as a role model — a leader who carries the crew over the obstacles of each game. And for younger, aspiring officials, that official is somebody who inspires them to become better as both officials and people.

Act with character

Character is what one does when nobody’s watching. Why is it important for us to always be on our best behavior? Well, how many times have you officiated a game with nobody present? While we may not be watched at all times during a game, we certainly should act like we are, especially when it really counts.

For example, it is important for a referee in a hockey game to hustle to the goalline when play breaks into the end zone. If he doesn’t, the referee risks missing a close play at the goal, and perhaps misses the puck crossing the goalline. Now, nobody is actually watching the referee skate to the goalline, but once he or she is there, all eyes turn to the official when he or she must make that decision of “goal” or “no goal.” Could we become better role models by simply acting out of “character”? Of course.

Act as an ambassador

An official is an ambassador of the game. An ambassador is defined as a person who acts as a representative or promoter of a specified activity, and an official does exactly that in every single game. We are representatives of the sport we work, the league we work under, and the association we choose to represent. We are promoters of the playing rules, the safety of the game and the fairness of the game. All of those things contribute to the successful outcome of a contest, but they also contribute to the character of the official and the role model he or she is.

Practice those attributes, work on them consistently, and you’ll find yourself becoming the person others call a role model — not just in officiating, but in every area of your life.

The post Act Like the Role Model You Are appeared first on Referee.com.

In order to be a helpful mentor, there are some “must dos.” Here are five of them.

1. Consider personalities.

Before offering your mentorship, make sure you will mesh. If you were a hothead when you started, you can address those experiences. If you were shy and unsure, you might have more in common with a new official with that same temperament.

2. Don’t misrepresent yourself.

Remember that even though you are more experienced, you aren’t necessarily an expert. Don’t be afraid to admit you’ve made mistakes. Use them as teaching points. And while your career may have had plenty of highlights, babbling on about them isn’t mentoring; it’s bragging.

3. Don’t hold back.

If you withhold information thinking that passing on the tricks of the trade will result in the mentee getting more or better games than you, you shouldn’t be a mentor.

4. Make time.

Unless you’re willing to put in the necessary time and energy, there will be problems. Some mentors find it’s helpful to work a game with the newer official. If you can multi-task without compromising your own officiating, taking the newer official onfield with you is a great way to mentor.

5. Be available.

Set up regular meeting times and discuss ways to improve. Set dates to attend games the newer official works and set aside time for a comprehensive postgame discussion. In-person meetings are preferable but not required. Let the newer official know that you’d welcome a phone call or email with any questions or concerns.

The post 5 Tips to Mentor the Next Generation appeared first on Referee.com.

But an issue every official must face is: Where do I draw the line? What is my breaking point? Going into a game with a pretty good notion of how you’ll respond (and playing several scenarios in your head as a form of “dress rehearsal”) is a sensible way to arm yourself for combat.

Decide for yourself whether or not you’re going to allow a coach to slip into an adversarial mode. Be resolute. Then make a conscious choice of how adversarial you want to be. It’s possible to cajole a coach, to parry his or her chagrin and deal with anger by refusing to fall into anger yourself. That’s not to suggest words will always mollify a person bent on aiming a tirade at you. But a steadfast refusal to erupt can help you employ charm instead of retaliation.

Adopt a conversational tone

Here is a hint: Try addressing upset individuals as though they were real persons. That is, adopt a conversational tone and deliver your response in soft, measured cadences.

Let’s say you’ve pulled the trigger and attempts to reduce or eliminate verbal daggers haven’t worked. What should you do when a person losing control has to have the last word and won’t submit to your authority peaceably?

First of all, think of the constituents. If your preferred mantra is counting to 10 before releasing your frustration, check the players. Are they being stirred to animosity by the coach’s antics? There is intrinsic value in letting the antagonist have the final say. It affords a measure of “saving face.”

How is the other coach dealing with the opponent’s rancor? Are home fans in an uproar? Do circumstances warrant an ejection? One philosophical stance is that coaches and players, behaving irrationally, basically eject themselves.

In your own case, mull over the kind of language you’ll tolerate, and decide for yourself in advance where you’ll draw the line and how you’ll announce it. “Coach, that’s enough. You’ve made your point. I’m going to end the discussion right now.” And then move away as far as possible to prevent any further dialogue. If the enraged person must shout the vituperation, the oration is not likely to last long. Two things you can say to yourself are helpful.

One is that you don’t want to build a reputation as being belligerent, intolerant or quick-tempered. It’s not a way to gain respect. The second thing is to tack on the second penalty (ejection) without a display of emotion. Try to curtail any flamboyant demonstration. If you can do it with a touch of understatement, that in itself will demonstrate your poise and underscore your dignity. It’s not easy to do, but such behavior is worth striving for.

The post Poise and Dignity Go a Long Way appeared first on Referee.com.

Still, the game goes on and the officials must put their best effort forward. Here are several situations that can occur or apply in games where you need to step up because you are working with someone you perceive to be a less skilled partner.

Making calls in your partner’s area.

Whether you believe your partner did not see a play or just didn’t make a call for whatever reason, you’ve seen an infraction and decide to make the long-distance call.

While that can be technically correct, you’ve damaged your partner’s ability to call the rest of the game and possibly his or her credibility with both coaches.

Concentrate on making the calls that are your responsibility and don’t try to do the job of multiple officials.

Play coverage.

As officials move up the ladder, they are usually getting their first exposure to working with more officials on the court or field. The first time most baseball or softball umpires work the three-umpire system is in the state tournament. The same goes for a crew of six or seven football officials.

One pregame topic to cover could be, what happens when a play isn’t covered? All umpires need to be aware of what is happening on the field and either alert the partner who’s responsible for the play to cover it or fill the gap and deal with the mechanics flaws in a postgame discussion.

Coaches expect you to change rulings.

By rule in most sports, one official cannot substitute his or her judgment for that of another official.

But if you have definite knowledge that a ruling is incorrect, you can go to that official, provide information and work with him or her to change the call if they are willing to concede the point.

You cannot force the issue, however, and it is never good teamwork to let on that you think your partner has made an error. Keep your demeanor professional and the conversation private.

Remember, you were there once.

One of the most rewarding things to be a part of in officiating is seeing that weaker official have success in a big game and gain confidence. Going into the game with confidence and having a detailed pregame discussion can set a tone that will enable that official to focus on the game and not worry about impressing the coaches, players or you. His or her actions will do that and hopefully, he or she will gain the confidence necessary to face future challenges.

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In some locales, however, officials are able to form their own crews or pick their own partners. And while partnerships may last for years or even decades, sooner or later an opening will occur that needs to be filled. So how should a crew go about selecting an official to join its ranks? The answer depends on a number of factors.

What level of play are you working? This is the key element in the equation. If your crew works varsity games, anyone you add to the crew should be capable of working games at that level.

Perhaps you’re thinking of adding someone who is making the jump from junior varsity to varsity contests. That’s fine, but be sure your prospective partner is capable of making the move. There is a lot that goes with being under the Friday night lights in October, or in a packed gym on a Tuesday night in January apart from the caliber of play.

What is expected of the newcomer?

Is the crew looking for a veteran to step in where their former colleague left off? Or would the group be willing to take in and mentor someone with less experience who is looking to climb the ladder?

Different positions may call for different skills, depending on the sport. If you’re working football and your umpire with two decades of experience moves on, do you want to recruit another umpire, or is it more prudent to slide someone already on the crew into that slot and have a newcomer handle another position?

Is the recruit able to handle the added responsibility? Many crews or partners conduct offseason rules study groups and expect all to participate. The new addition had better know the rules or be ready to dig into the rulebook before hitting the court or field.

Personalities matter, individually and collectively. Some outstanding officials are also outstanding mentors. Some are not. If the crew is made up of experienced veterans, would the group be comfortable bringing a less-experienced official into the fold?

A younger official is likely to be a bit anxious about joining an experienced crew, particularly if it means stepping up a level and theoretically, a higher level of competition. If someone on the crew is skilled as a mentor, would they be willing to take a newcomer under their wing?

If you’re thinking about adding a veteran to the crew, has anyone had past experience working with him or her? Have there been any off-field issues? It’s important to get any potential problems out in the open and clear the air before a newcomer joins the crew.

Can the new crew member officiate?

But only to a point. It’s best the crew members are comfortable with each other. But the bottom line is whether or not your potential new crewmate can officiate. Don’t make the mistake of adding someone to the crew simply because they’re a friend or the friend of a friend, or they’re a warm body who happens to be available. If they don’t have the experience or ability to handle the level of play you’ll be working, it’s a recipe for trouble.

Consider geography. Depending on your location and the level of play you’re working, the crew may have to travel a considerable distance to games. If that’s the case, it might be best to add a crewmate who lives or works in an area that facilitates ease of travel. Varsity officials usually cover a wider geographic scope. The new addition must be prepared for some longer days or nights as well.

There’s no magic formula that assures that any new partnership will be successful. But some advance planning will make for a smoother transition for all involved.

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Educator and author J.B. Matthews wrote, “Unless a man has trained himself for his chance, the chance will only make him look ridiculous.” How much time are you spending on your own self-improvement as an official? When it comes time for the last play of the big game, will you be ready for that defining moment?

Set a single goal and work on it until it is 100 percent complete

Here’s a simple formula for making your own luck: Set a single goal, go to work on it until it is 100 percent complete. Repeat. Here are some ways to do just that.

Try the 30-minutes-a-day routine. Take out a blank sheet of paper and write your present, primary goal at the top of the page. Then, spend some time jotting down ideas you can use for improving your lot in officiating. For example, if your goal is to work the finals of your sport for your particular league or level, write down some ideas on how you can make that happen.

That is an extremely effective way to jump-start your career, especially if it has gotten stagnant or banal. Do that for 30 minutes a day (or an hour if you can), five days a week. If you do that for one year, you will have spent 130 hours thinking of ways to improve your officiating and your life.

Your goal has yet to be fulfilled. Your job is to bridge the gap between where you now are and the point you wish to reach. By spending time thinking, you’re exercising your mind. Like physical exercise to build muscles, your mind begins to develop and expand by mental exertion. Take full advantage of that power, because your mind is waiting for you to discover those hidden gems lurking all about you.

The weakest key skill method.

No matter what you do, there’s always something to work on and improve. What is that one thing for you? In your officiating, what is the one key skill you could develop that can help you become a more effective official?

It could be the simplest, most mundane thing: holding your shoulders back, looking up, communicating more. It may be more concentration and focus, physical conditioning or better health or eating habits. Take an objective look at where you now stand as an official. Identify your weakest skills, and pick your weakest key skill. Then set a goal to become better at that one skill until you’ve mastered it.

Now, that sounds elementary, but it is actually one of the most effective ways of improving your officiating. By eliminating one of your weakest skills, you move closer and closer to improving on all your other skills. Sure enough, once you begin working on your communication skills, your awareness improves, your concentration increases and your confidence soars. Every improvement works on all of your other gifts as well.

Once you’ve mastered that one skill and feel like you’ve got the hang of it, ask yourself, “Now, what one skill would help me the most in my officiating?” And once again, set it as a goal and set out to work on it. If you follow the process of improving on your weakest key skill, you will be absolutely amazed at what happens. Partners begin to compliment you on your calls. Your supervisors will be impressed by the job you’re doing on the field or court. By becoming better at just one thing at a time, you will begin making your own luck.

The pregame and postgame review technique.

Before you hop into a contest, ask yourself what one thing you can go to work on that day. Once you come up with that answer, make it a point to focus single-mindedly on that skill all game long.

Once the game is over, ask yourself, “What did I do well today?  What would I have done differently if I had to do that game all over again?” Your answers to the first question become your strengths, and answers to the second question become items to work on. You could always ask those questions to your supervisor, evaluator or even your partners if you have trouble coming up with some answers. Pick one weakness to work on next game. Your strengths are simply things you have already mastered. You may even be surprised to find that you did something well that you weren’t particularly good at before. Great job.

Finally, if you accomplish something you’ve worked really hard for, celebrate. The very best way to get even hungrier for your next big assignment or task is to reward yourself for the discipline you put forth in achieving your goals. Remember that the harder you work on what you want, the harder it will work on you. Start creating your own luck today.me.

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Few make the switch from camper to effective clinician

In short, we’ve all been to camp. But only a few of us make that switch from camper to become an effective clinician. Those who do require a unique set of skills: a combination of their officiating acumen with the patience and communication skills of the best teachers.

What does it take to make a first-class camp clinician?

Camp directors that pick only their top 10 officials to do all the teaching are probably making a mistake. Mastery of a skill is not all it takes to teach a skill. If that were the case, the best math students would make the best math teachers and the best writers would make the best English teachers. A number of us with memories of less-than-stellar college professors have evidence that is not true. In fact, sports demonstrate clearly there’s not much correlation between success as a player and a coach. Hall of Famers such as Bart Starr, Magic Johnson, Ted Williams and Tony Perez never saw success coaching their sports.

June Courteau, retired Division I women’s basketball official who was a mainstay in NCAA tournaments, recalls her own high school coaching experience and suggests that talent might even be a handicap to teaching.

“Playing basketball always came easy to me. I played volleyball and it was really tough for me to play. It wasn’t intuitive — it was something I really had to think about. I had to coach basketball when I was teaching high school. It was tough for me. But I was a very good volleyball coach because I could relate to them not getting it and not understanding it.”

The same is true of officiating. Natural-born officials who are unconscious of why they succeed will not be able to understand struggling officials, and may react with impatience rather than empathy.

“There are times and moments when those top officials, if they’re not good instructors, just don’t spend the time to dig deep enough,” Courteau said. However, all is not lost. Great officials can become top clinicians. Not all great officials have the awareness, or the ability, to parlay that into teaching.

The key is to determine the camper’s level of understanding and then to communicate at that level.

Teaching is not just speaking.

As retired National Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association’s director of instruction, Todd Abraham has seen some great clinicians. He notes that successful ones don’t just read PowerPoint slides, sharing knowledge for a hungry crowd. They guide campers to that key point so they attain the knowledge themselves.

The best clinicians, he said, “are able to get the campers to that ‘aha’ moment where they realize something that they hadn’t necessarily thought about before. And the way they do that is they interact with the people in the room so that they come to that realization jointly with the instructors.”

Tony Thompson, who has run baseball umpiring camps for decades, agrees. The number-one trait of a great clinician, he says, “is that they can effectively relate to the student in simple, uncomplicated layman’s terms. Umpiring starts out with the basics for everyone. No matter how many years you’ve been umpiring, you had to start somewhere with the basics.”

To do that, a clinician’s perspective on what it means to teach needs to be turned on its ear. Listening is more important than talking: Ironing out individual campers’ misperceptions and hang-ups can’t happen if the clinician is too busy spouting war stories and arcane rules knowledge. That caseplay that comes up twice in a career is good to know, but if the camper’s brain is still contending with basic positioning, teaching that caseplay won’t help them.

“Good clinicians ask directing questions,” Courteau said. “It isn’t just a matter of telling people, ‘Do this, do that.’ Sometimes we have to challenge them to let us know what’s in their mind. Ask, ‘What caused you to blow a whistle on this play? What was your thought process?’

“If we can’t listen, if we cut them off, then we’re going to start solving a problem when we don’t even know what the problem is.”

So it’s not merely about the pearls of wisdom a clinician has gained through decades of game experience. It’s about getting into the mind of the official, and remembering what it was like to be in a state of confusion — and knowing the tools to fight through it. No PowerPoint slide or rule reference can do that.

Ideally, as Abraham points out, “you have a fairly uniform audience base,” such that rules and mechanics lessons can maximize learning for every camper. Calculus students aren’t taught alongside remedial algebra for that reason, and ideally the same situation will exist at an officiating camp. However, that ideal isn’t always real.

Within the classroom and between the lines, there will be differences in ability among campers that make a one-size-fits-all approach fruitless. The clinician who can’t adapt is one who can’t teach.

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As CEO of a small, nonprofit corporation, my avocation as a soccer referee has been an adventure in learning. What began as a way to get exercise and earn extra dollars has been a virtual advanced degree in human relations. From Saturday afternoons to Monday mornings, a bridge was constructed that benefited every area of my life. Lessons on the exercise of authority, handling mistakes, teamwork, human nature and life-goals have been the unanticipated perquisites of refereeing.

1. Use your authority skillfully

The referee owns the game-controlling whistle and enjoys unchallenged authority to manage the match. Players, coaches and spectators expect the referee to use that authority. The game cannot start, fouls are not penalized and goals are not scored except by the referee’s signal.

More frustrating than a poorly skilled referee is one who is timid. “Blow the whistle, ref,” is a common complaint. Sometimes it is people venting emotions. Other times it may be the justified protest of people looking for order, justice and the pleasure of watching skillful play. Certainly any referee can overreach her authority. But, to the degree authority is vested in the position, people expect and want that authority exercised.

Do not abuse, but skillfully use, the authority vested in your office.

2. Handle your mistakes quickly

Mistakes happen. Every referee notches a few in every game. Be happy if you walk away with few and minor mistakes. Major mistakes haunt good referees for weeks. Big or small, mistakes are the vehicles that can carry you to the next level. Be accountable, evaluate, decide and move on. Own up to your mistakes. If necessary, run by the offended player and say, “Sorry, I blew that one.” Good players readily accept the apology and get back to the game. Goal-scoring – success – is what they care about.

In the few seconds during a stoppage, evaluate the error quickly. Don’t become fixated on it and don’t allow it to contaminate the match. Answer the questions, “What happened?” and “Why did it happen?” Was it fatigue? Attitude? Lack of knowledge? Decide on a simple strategy to avoid repeating the same mistake and move on. Everyone else wants to put it behind them. Don’t be the one who keeps it alive. Whatever you do, don’t try to “even the score” by a misguided make-up call.

After the game, you can thoroughly evaluate the incident, often with input from your assistant referees (or, perhaps, an assessor). Take positive action. Correct where needed. Do not dwell on any mistake. That leads to more, and greater, errors.

Focus on doing the right thing, not on mistakes committed or anticipated.

3. Be a team player

Teamwork makes a good team. Pride takes two forms – one healthy because it is tempered with humility, the other destructive because it is dominated by vanity.

Every referee is part of a team, with only one serving in the middle. The competitive spirit needed to be a good referee also makes it hard to serve as the assistant. For a time, I resented my assignments as an assistant, especially when I thought (often mistakenly) that I was better than the person in the middle. I even found myself taking pleasure in a referee’s mistakes and shortcomings. Ugly! When I became aware of my bad attitude, I changed.

I resolved to be the best possible person for the position assigned – middle, assistant or fourth. If by my actions I can make the referee look good, then I am a success, too. A brilliant performance by the team enhances my reputation, too.

To whichever role you are assigned, perform to the best of your ability as a team player.

4. Remember: It’s not about you

It is human nature to be self-centered. Few people enjoy being screamed at, cursed and verbally degraded. However, such is the fate of sports officials. Not to please everyone, or to make others happy, or to justify every decision, but to ensure safe, fair, enjoyable soccer is the referee’s job. Enforcing the Laws of the Game is the best method available to that end. Just because people are screaming, criticizing or calling into question your native intelligence does not mean you are doing poorly. In fact, it may mean just the opposite.

Anger is a common reaction when, in life or in soccer, things do not go our way. Sometimes a referee’s best compliments are angry outbursts from people who, by attempting to circumvent the rules, sought to get their own way. Being at the center of a storm of human emotion can feel uncomfortable. We would all rather receive plaudits and praise.

5. Develop goals beyond personal aggrandizement

Refereeing can be rewarding work. However, at times it can feel like an assignment delegated from the pit of hell. There comes a moment when the modest remuneration, fleeting recognition and fading hopes for international glory are eclipsed by demands on body, mind and spirit. Carrying the full weight of authority through tedious, poorly played matches can tempt a referee to walk away, unless it’s balanced by goals greater than personal glory.

Referees who successfully negotiate the reefs of discouragement are those who find purposes beyond themselves. Love for the game, the virtues of mentoring younger referees and the opportunities to advance the sport by one’s professionalism are examples of goals that inspire and sustain the spirit. When you embrace those and similar goals, every success in the world of soccer feels like a personal victory.

Dr. George Gately is a veteran soccer referee from Mooresville, N.C. He is the chief executive officer of the Lake Norman Christian Ministries. The N.C Amateur Soccer Association honored Gately as the 1999 Referee of the Year.

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Psychologist Susanne R. Cook-Grueter’s groundbreaking work on the developmental mind has direct application to sports officials. Understanding her research allows us to tap into specific mindsets possessed by those on our crew. As Cooke-Grueter points out, when we understand the mind we get a clearer picture of how well a particular individual is suited to the task at hand and how well the individual can read and interact with people who have different preferences.

While the breadth and depth of those various stages is significantly more intricate than can be addressed here, there are three mindsets that are of particular significance to sports officials. What follows is a description of the developmental stage and practical suggestions that crew leaders can use to create conditions for success.

The Opportunist

Steven was a longtime high school lacrosse official. He was not well-liked by his fellow crew members. They tend to describe him as cutthroat. In a recent postgame meeting, he was quick to point the finger at a colleague, insisting that he missed a call that could have changed the momentum of the game. Crewmembers weren’t surprised because Steven never takes responsibility. In their experience, any time anyone offered constructive feedback, he quickly rejected it anyway.

Steven demonstrates one of the classic signs of an opportunist: A “me vs. the world” mentality. Opportunists are easy to spot. They tend to be self-oriented, manipulative and possess a drive to win in any way possible. To make matters worse, they feel their approach is completely rational. That is because they see the world as a place where everyone is out for themselves. In the opportunist’s view, people are simply competitors in a vast war-torn landscape.

Dealing with an opportunist is no easy task for the crew chief. They do very little for team cohesion and are often more effective working alone. People typically don’t like working for, or with, opportunists. They often feel a sense of betrayal and distrust when doing so.

Lead officials would do well to try to get the opportunist to see beyond their own perspective. Invest time in helping the opportunist recognize that their actions have an impact on the crew and the game in both small and large ways. The chances are you’ll need to begin that conversation by acknowledging the value the opportunist brings to the crew (self-directed, decisive). Establish rapport, as difficult as that may be. Once the opportunist opens up, it’s much easier to help them understand and appreciate the contributions of others on the crew.

The Diplomat

Larry is very proud of being a college football official. In fact, he’s so proud he can be counted on to wear his Division III windbreaker all year long. As a line judge, he is well-liked by his crew, though they sometimes wish he would be a bit more decisive when discussing questionable calls at halftime, or in standing up to a barking coach. Larry is not one to rock the boat and angering others is something he avoids like the plague.

Diplomats define themselves they work and by the approval of others. As such, they are loyal souls who thrive on harmony. Confronting those they consider authority figures (like coaches and crew chiefs) is not their strong suit since it creates an atmosphere of conflict. They tend to do well in their roles, but you’re not likely to see them venture beyond the minimal requirements for the job. Likewise, diplomats are not the most talented at giving or receiving feedback, making halftime adjustments a bit of a challenge for the crew.

While it might seem dealing with diplomats would be easy, such is not the case. It is true that diplomats help create a supportive atmosphere, but their risk-averse nature creates tension and frustration among the crew. Not all work environments remain conflict-free for long — and certainly not those populated by sports officials. Since diplomats define themselves through the approval of others, conflict puts them in a risky position they would prefer to avoid.

When handling diplomats, it’s important to help them build their confidence by aiding them in understanding that they have value beyond how they’re seen by others. Diplomats most certainly bring skillsets that are needed by the crew, but the ability of the diplomat to recognize that is often clouded by their lack of internal strength. A newly discovered self-confidence may help them develop the courage necessary to make tough decisions both on the field and off.

The Expert

Laura is one of the more accomplished basketball officials in her association. She brings an exceptional depth of knowledge in rules, mechanics and enforcements. No one could argue her expertise, but many would admit she uses that expertise as leverage in any conflict. Worse, she’s been known to use it in a ridiculing and hostile manner. Some have confronted her about that. But without the requisite number of years and playoff assignments, their feedback falls on deaf ears.

Experts like Laura are very common in all lines of work where technical skill is rewarded and fostered. Experts are adept at using hard logic and data — the foundation of many of the rulebooks used in officiating. Logic rules in the world of experts and the average crewmate is easily impressed with their quick answers and airtight thinking. Unfortunately, that impressive intellectual palette comes with a price. Experts are often one-of-a-kind. As such, they are seldom challenged. When they are, they aren’t likely to accept the feedback with grace unless it comes from someone they consider to be their expert-equal.

Experts are much like diplomats in their need to feel they matter. What they lack are the fundamental skills or interest to work with others who may not have their professional background. Rookie officials would likely get signs of annoyance or disapproval from the expert on the crew. Lead officials are well-advised to help experts appreciate the roles of others in officiating the game. That won’t be easy, but experts are smart people. Once they become more aware of the contributions made by others, they are more likely to be able to accept other viewpoints as valid.

To be fair, the opportunist, diplomat and expert bring positive aspects to our officiating crews. Opportunists are driven and energetic. Diplomats can bring people together even in the most challenging times. And experts, through their extensive knowledge, can play very important roles in penalty enforcement and unique game situations. But taken to the extreme, all three mindsets have serious limitations. Tapping into the unexplored aspects of those minds can prove beneficial in building crew cohesion and meeting the expectations of colleagues and fans alike.

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But if an official faces discipline, it all starts with notice — the starting point for due process. Notice starts with the constitution, bylaws and procedures. Associations and officials have an obligation to give notice.

Officials have a professional obligation to read the bylaws and understand their obligations. This is vital with technical obligations, such as paying dues and attending meetings and clinics. These technical obligations should be in the bylaws and officials must read them.

Officials who are aware of their technical obligations can meet their obligations or be proactive when they can’t perform them. Don’t wait for the penalty then try to appeal. Get out in front. For example: If you can’t pay your dues, tell somebody and ask for relief. If you can’t make a game, know the process for turning back an assignment. Professionals who proactively get informed drastically reduce their chances of being disciplined.

Officials are also subject to discipline from a broad array of matters that can best be classified as professional standards. These standards are generally enshrined in codes of ethics, clauses about discriminatory conduct and clauses regarding not engaging in conduct unbecoming a professional. The professional will educate him or herself on professional standards and best practices. This is easier if the association has policy books, guidelines and other material to flesh out some of these clauses.

Even the most professional officials may still fall prey to association discipline, especially in associations that give members the ability to file their own individual grievances. The professional will have read the bylaws and have some basic understanding of how charges are resolved. Attorneys file motions to clarify how cases should proceed. Officials need to do the same.

Officials must ask their boards about hearing and appeals procedures. Officials need to know whether and when written documents can be provided, and whether they can have a representative at the hearing. Officials also need to know whether they can have non-association witnesses, and if their fellow officials can speak on their behalf.

The lack of written hearing and appeals procedures isn’t fatal to the association or the official. Both sides need to address the matter in advance. The association’s board has the ultimate right to set the hearing procedures. The board should set those ground rules prior to the hearing or appeal.

Next, officials should make sure that an association follows its rules. Officials can defend themselves by making a case that rules enforcement should be consistent with the purpose of a rule.

Being professional, knowledgeable and proactive are the keys for an official to avoid discipline, and to defend him or herself if he or she ever faces charges or has to appeal.

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veryone handles nerves and adversity differently.

Some believe if you don’t get at least a little nervous before a big game, you don’t understand the job. Others think you have the wrong stuff if you even blink. The late NL umpire Eric Gregg used to be so anxious before a plate assignment, nobody could talk to him. In contrast, Doug Harvey looked around Dodger Stadium before his first big league game, shrugged and said it would have taken six hours to plow it if he was still farming. Either way, we’ve all seen the coolest-looking cucumbers choke just as often as we’ve seen apparent basket cases flourish once they hit the field or court. Psychologists say overcoming anxiety comes down to how successfully we thwart our brain when it conspires to betray us. The good news is they can give us a lot of tools to win that battle.

Dr. Sian Beilock is a psychology professor at the University of Chicago, specializing in cognitive science and education. In her 2010 book, Choke, she covers the forces at work that cause athletes and business people to implode in their big moment — like a game or a sales presentation — and what they can do to prevent it. Her prescription works well for sports officials, too.

Beilock explains that the brain has two kinds of memory — working (or cognitive) and procedural. Working memory is what we use to communicate, investigate, calculate and figure out coaches; that is where we make all the decisions we need to function and it resides in our pre-frontal cortex. Procedural memory, by contrast, is the execution area and is distributed elsewhere in the brain. It’s what we use to perform stored functions like hitting a golf ball or signaling fouls.

The brain’s activity can be monitored by MRI to show how those memory types work. Suppose a concert pianist, for example, is placed in a scanner and provided a mock keyboard to recite one of her pieces. The MRI will show that much of her brain activity is procedural while her working memory is much quieter. As smart as you might have to be to play the piano, she’s reduced the task to mostly rote. That’s because working memory encodes procedural memory through continued practice, freeing working memory to do other things.

To prevent choking, we have to prevent our working memory from throttling our procedural memory, in the heat of battle. Let’s look closer at working memory. In the pre-frontal cortex, the hemispheres divide between largely verbal functions on one side and spatial functions on the other. On the verbal side, we recognize words and numbers and understand how to read, write and calculate with them. In the other hemisphere, we relate to shapes, images and spatial considerations.

In a normal person, the hemispheres share information smoothly to get the job done. In others, interesting things happen. People with ADHD, for example, are impaired on the verbal side with the result that computing capacity and their ability to focus suffer. Meanwhile, the spatial side works well and those people, free of the conventions the verbal side would prompt them about, are more likely to be out-of-the-box thinkers; the people who see an anti-alligator weapon instead of a three-wood.

If you’re a choker, the notion of “listening to the voices” isn’t really that far from the truth. Beilock says choking is a function of the associated stress when verbal memory works against you. People who are worried about success or failure tend to have the verbal side of the brain on overdrive. Thinking about those concerns consumes cognitive resources and also produces a hormonal response to the anxiety, causing more and more of the brain’s cognitive resources to be brought online. The brain has only so much energy available, however, so procedural memory starts to “brown out”: A soccer goalkeeper who has caught perhaps 10,000 kicked balls suddenly starts fumbling them when the pressure’s on. Thinking about procedural skills just makes it worse; “the yips” attack professional golfers on the putting green when bad results make them try to adjust the procedural memory skills that made them successful.

An official who chokes is usually so preoccupied with verbal memory activity that he or she starts to miss calls: the offside, ball out, charge or strike that he or she has learned to call automatically, somehow becomes more indistinct and difficult to capture at the worst possible time.

The secret to preventing that is to understand the verbal overload at work and either defuse it or circumvent it. One way to do it is to level the brain’s verbal workload with the spatial load, by changing the situation.

Students with math anxiety, for example, often have a built-in stereotype (“I’m no good at math because …”) and their fixation with it ties up verbal memory resources that could be performing calculations. Researchers have found something as simple as taking a problem read horizontally like “25-14 = ?” and rewriting it to be viewed vertically, noticeably improves performance in the math-anxious: Stacking the numbers turns it into a spatial problem and utilizes the other hemisphere’s resources that aren’t preoccupied with the thoughts of anxiety.

The other way to deal with choking is to find ways of leaving the verbal area out of the activity. Not surprisingly, Beilock says self-conscious people are prone to choking because they have so many more inward-focused thoughts that overwhelm their working, verbal memory. Brent Walker says he can help with that.

Walker is the associate athletic director for championship performance at Columbia University and is an executive board member of the Association for Applied Sports Psychology. His job at Columbia has been to work with all their athletes to get their heads in the right place to perform at peak potential. He’s done well enough that he was recently approached by the Professional Referees Organization (PRO) to help them with officiating development. PRO was formed to train and manage the top soccer officials who work in professional leagues like MLS in the U.S. and Canada. Since January, Walker has been coaching the group in how to deal with and avoid anxiety to produce a higher standard of performance.

“From a sports psychology perspective,” says Walker, “you take two approaches to dealing with anxiety. One is a cognitive approach. You’ve got to change the way you look at a situation. The other is you have to cut off that physiological response.

“Both of them become necessary because even if I teach you relaxation techniques, if you’re going to continue to look at a situation in a way that isn’t beneficial, you’re going to keep causing that physiological response.”

One aspect of that anxiety is apprehension before a game or match that can turn into substandard performance during a match. The other part is how the official responds to adversity as the match progresses. Before the match, Walker says that it’s OK to be nervous but to project one’s concern as a positive. In that approach, anxiety might cause you to think, “This is the MLS Cup Final and one bad call could cause the wrong team to win.” The cognitive approach changes the notion into, “It’s a good thing I’m on this match because one bad call could cause the wrong team to win.”

Beilock and Walker agree that people approaching stressful situations can prepare themselves by taking the time to think through their good qualities; to walk through their qualifications. That kind of reaffirmation loads the verbal part of their brain with positive thoughts so that negativity doesn’t gain a foothold.

On the physiological side, part of what Walker is doing with PRO is developing videos compiling various kinds of officiating decisions — the more contentious the better. When he shows those to the group and asks them to vote on whether calls were made correctly, there are two positive effects. One is seeing how the group often disagrees on some calls helps reassure officials that uncertainty goes with the job. That way, they’re less likely to let a tough call on the field start feeding self-doubt to their verbal side: “It isn’t supposed to be easy!” The second positive is the practice they get; the more tough calls they see, the better they get at programming their procedural memory to observe the key elements and make reliable decisions. Through that exercise and others, officials learn to feel the pressure coming and control the physiological response that would impair their performance.

Walker gives an example of the value of video practice in helping assistant referees make better offside decisions by understanding the flash-lag effect. That is an illusion where a flash and a moving object that are in the same place appear to the observer to be in different places. “When a forward’s heading toward the goal and the ball’s kicked,” Walker explains, “the human eye tells you to assume that that forward is farther ahead of the last defender than he actually is.

“A majority of incorrect calls in the World Cup are when the linesman calls offside when the forward actually isn’t.” Once the assistant referee understands the player in motion can trick him through that illusion, he’ll recalibrate his judgment to take that into account; it makes for better officiating and for better games.

Former NFL referee Red Cashion once revealed every official’s dirty little secret: “I’ve never had a perfect game.” For some of us, that’s reason enough to take poison. For others, it’s a source of ongoing discouragement — the pursuit of the Athletic Holy Grail — that makes for underachieving, and often short, careers. And for the best of us, it’s as Walker proposes it should be: a reason to buck up, accept reality and train yourself to get over unfortunate incidents, then get over yourself and move on during the game.

But isn’t it irresponsible to say, “Oops! That shouldn’t have been a penalty. I’ll get the next one right”? Walker says if that happens too often, you probably don’t belong at the level you’re working. In the meantime, it’s how you sell it to others as well as yourself that’s important. He refers to a study of English Premier League soccer referees, published in 2012 by Liam Slack, and others, at Sheffield Hallam University, in England. In interviews with those officials, a common theme in their success is their ability to communicate and build relationships with players both during the game and over their careers. They develop self-security and withstand life in the microscope of instant replay by building a rapport with the sane players and observers and learning to discount the rest.

Since officials communicate verbally for the most part, with some gestures and facial expressions added, Walker says that can be used to suppress the negative thoughts that use the same part of the brain. Quite simply, speaking to someone else diverts a lot of cognitive resources to an activity other than fretting. Making eye contact with partners and players helps too, as do emphatic signals and movements. You can even sing to yourself, much like the pianist plays — anything that doesn’t require verbal memory, where trouble can start.

How often do you see crewmates gather around an official who’s just made a big call and engage him in conversation? It can often be a second or two of inquiry followed by a heavier dose of sweet nothings, helping to prevent the official from dwelling on what just happened: That works because it’s been found that the destructive thoughts produce a physiological “afterglow,” the longer you dwell on them. You get over things more effectively the sooner you change the subject, and your partners can help if they know how.

How you get over things is a key to your success as an official, says Duke’s Greg Dale, who serves a similar role to Walker. He strongly advises that an official must rid himself or herself of the irrelevant thoughts that become distractions to focusing on the skills and actions that make the official successful. One of those irrelevant thoughts, says Dale, is any consideration of whether a coach, player, table official or Madame Defarge likes you or not.

Dale says that many coaches will try to get into your head and get you questioning yourself or trying to atone for how you think you’re being perceived. That’s when you start hesitating on calls or anticipating calls.

“When the coach is talking to you,” says Dale, “listen to the ultimate message that he or she is trying to get across. If it’s a valid argument, then I think it’s necessary to acknowledge that.

“But once you start letting it become personal for you, you start becoming angry and frustrated and distracted from what’s really relevant to be paying attention to.”

Not taking things personally is sometimes more difficult for some lower level officials to do; it can be one of the things that slows their progression, but it’s also something they can work to overcome, says Dale. Officials can make it easier on themselves by following some simple approaches to prevent the slings and arrows from taking hold. Making eye contact with the coach, engaging in discussions, showing positive body language and skimming what’s being said for an actionable point all help stifle the tendency to internalize what’s heard. Ignore the personal pronouns and focus on the descriptions that relate to how the game’s being played. By doing those things, you don’t give yourself the time to think about whether the coach may be right about how horrible he or she claims that you are. With enough practice, you stop noticing the coaches’ epithets and things get better.

By the way, our choice of partners is important. Obviously, you want competent people working with you, but now we understand that everyone deals with the butterflies differently. If one partner’s singing The Star-Spangled Banner, while the second practices yoga and the third is documenting his best qualities on the white board, the three could be in conflict before they ever leave the locker room; while helping themselves, they may be grating on each other.

At the amateur level, that might not be as big of a deal since officials tend to team up with people they know and like. At the pro level, officials are more apt to be thrust together and not necessarily be good matches. That’s why MLB, for example, allows crew chiefs to “draft” crew members from year to year: one chief’s Felix Unger is another’s Oscar Madison in their approach to preparation, deportment and good crew chemistry.

The bottom line is that officials do best when they learn to welcome adversity rather than battle it. “I’m here because I’ve shown I’m qualified for the job. I understand the environment and know that I might make mistakes, but I’m not going to make it worse for myself because I know how to handle it.”

You can do things to prevent choking.

Think about it — but not too long.

The post Welcoming Adversity appeared first on Referee.com.

Mentoring a new or inexperienced official is not just a nice thing to do, it is also a way to better yourself as an official. When you go over the fundamental concepts of things like rules, regulations and techniques, you further ingrain them into your own psyche while you are schooling your student.

“I think becoming a mentor is vital for experienced officials,” said Red Cashion, retired NFL referee and two-time Super Bowl official. “Teaching others is the best training for both the mentee and the mentor.”

When you go over the more subtle aspects of the craft like appearance, attitude and networking, you not only share knowledge with someone who needs it, but you also remind yourself of things you need to do to be at your best. It is a great way to hone your own game even after decades of work.

“Mentoring helps me stay sharp as a referee; it also helps me open up as an individual,” said Rachelle Jones, an NCAA D-I women’s basketball referee. “I do my best to lead by example and I would never tell an official to do something that I don’t do myself. Whether it is teaching at a clinic, phone conferencing or getting on the floor with you to watch you work, I like to teach the way I like to be taught.”

Mentoring others involves its own set of skills and techniques. Here are some tips on what effective mentors do, what they cover and how they go about it.

Teach Patience

Effective mentors not only have patience with their inexperienced students, they also do their best to impart the importance of patience to their mentees. Whether it is patience involving their ability to call the game correctly, or the progression of their career, knowing how to give time is crucial.

“Pretty much the first thing I go over with someone is what it takes to be a really good official and a lot of it is patience and the willingness to learn,” said Jack Miles, a high school baseball and softball umpire in Michigan.

Patience may be a trait that is easier to talk about than it is to practice. Inexperienced officials often don’t have a realistic view of what success will take or even what success will look like for them. Good mentors know how to let them know to be patient and to appreciate where they are — not where they are not.

“I explain to young refs that they have to be willing to be patient and take each day’s experience and use it as growth,” said Angie Lewis, an NCAA D-I women’s referee. “Along the way you have to learn to be successful at the level that you are at the time. It is important to be the best official you can be at any level before you start reaching for the Final Four. Experience is your best teacher and you need patience to make sure that you are excelling at the level you’re at, not always looking for something else.”

Self-disclosure may be your best tool for teaching about patience. In today’s world many young people grew out of the “Everyone-gets-atrophy” mentality and they don’t understand why they aren’t moving along as fast as they could. The answer isn’t to blast them across the room for their sense of entitlement (as much as you might want to), but rather to calmly and patiently share with them a dose of reality on how your career progressed.

“I use myself as an example,” said Mike Koren, an educator and high school basketball referee in Wisconsin. “I have been officiating 39 years and I have never gone to a state tournament. This year I got my firstever sectional game and it took me 39 years to get that game. I’ve never had problems filling a schedule and I’ve always been able to work. Working games is not the problem. It took me a lifetime to get to where I wanted to go. When someone says, ‘Look, I’ve been working two years, why aren’t I getting those varsity games?’ I say, ‘Just be patient, it will happen.’”

Dealing With Criticism

With officiating comes criticism. It can’t be avoided but despite the obvious nature of that, many new officials are left distraught over what they hear from supervisors, peers, coaches and fans. A good mentor knows how to coach a student through the criticism and make it a learning opportunity, while minimizing the blow to the mentee’s ego and avoiding damage to an already insecure mindset. It takes a delicate but direct approach.

“You have to look at the positives,” Miles said. “Your mentee could be the worst official in the world, but you can always find things they did well. Try to not dwell on, for example, if a baseball umpire in the second inning doesn’t come up the line, with no runners on, but they did it every other time, you don’t need to evaluate that.

“We sometimes have a tendency to evaluate, or mentor, looking for all the things they do wrong, but I bet you could always find the things they did right. When you’ve pointed out what they did right it makes it easier for them to stomach the criticism you might have.”

It is also important to know when to offer advice and when give an inexperienced official a little break. You don’t have to go over and over every mistake. Too much criticism can be discouraging.

“Be careful of over-advising them and take care not to get them mixed up,” Cashion said. “Too much over advising can get in the way of that.”

That ability to balance the negative with the positive criticism is essential but it is imperative that you let them know where they need to improve. It is something that may not be easy for everyone in the mentoring role — it isn’t always fun letting someone know about their shortcomings. A good mentor knows that pointing out the challenging areas that need improvement is where real growth can be attained.

“I think you have to work with an official and let the official go through a game. When the game is over, do a thorough discussion,” Koren said. “You might want to take a particular play that they could’ve handled differently and say, ‘Is there another way you could have handled that? What was the advantage or disadvantage of the way you handled it? Was that call necessary at that time?’ Talk them through it. What you must do as a mentor is work with the inexperienced officials. Especially at the lower level, let them make a mistake and then talk about it. Talk them through it, analyze the situation, and ask them how would they do it differently.”

The key is not coming out with a laundry list of errors, but rather setting up the process of self-examination through discussion. If officials can figure it out for themselves with a few well-placed, open-ended questions from their mentor, the interaction is so much more powerful than if the mentor takes a dictatorial stance.

Dealing With Younger People

If you have been at your game for decades, mentoring a 20-something official might bring you challenges that have nothing to do with the court or the playing field. The millennials, as they have come to be known, sometimes approach life, work and drive differently than baby boomers. A failure to recognize that can lead to frustration for the mentor and an erroneous assessment of the mentee’s commitment and motivation. Different does not necessarily mean not as good, so when you approach a young person, realize and accept they are from a different time.

“I try to be understanding,” Lewis said. “I try to let them know that it’s not just about being a referee — it’s the whole package. I talk to them about staying the course and considering the commitment they’re going to make to make this part of their life. It isn’t just about being on the court. It is about managing your time, your career and where it all fits in with your family. It is important for them to understand what officiating means off the court.”

Mentoring inevitably involves pointing out where someone could have done something better. That is as much art as it is science, especially with some young people. If you play the hard guy, many will miss the message and leave the interaction with hurt feelings. With a little bit of your own attitude adjustment you can avoid that pratfall.

“I try to make it very clear that I am not criticizing them as a person but instead breaking down the officiating situation so they can learn from it,” Miles said. “I make that very clear and I also let them know how I’ve learned new things 20 or 30 years into my career. I let them know about things I just learned that week or even that day. All of it makes it easier for them to hear.”

It is not about sugar coating everything but rather realizing where a young person may be when it comes to their emotional maturity and their ability to hear what you’re trying to say. Make no mistake, the fundamentals still count and regardless of what generation a group is in, there is no fast track that excuses an official from experience.

“A young official needs repetition,” Cashion said. “They need to get as many reps as they can, whether that is spring games, officiating practice or whatever. It is important to let them know repetition trains them to see things they’ve never seen before. You want them to learn that it is important to start to think about the play before the play happens. You get that through repetition.”

Teach Nuances

One of the harder aspects of mentoring is instructing an inexperienced official on what doesn’t show up in any rulebook or manual. The nuances of the games are tricky and present challenges when teaching exactly how to get a feel for some of the finer points of the game.

“There is stuff that doesn’t fall into the rulebook that referees have to know about,” Miles said. “When I see a referee call a foul 50 feet away from the ball with eight seconds to go in a game where one team is winning by 40, then it is time to have a talk. Then I try to talk them through the process of making good decisions.”

Much of officiating comes down to the desire to be the best you can be and the same holds true for mentoring. The ability to get the nuances of your game across has a lot to do with how much you bring to the role of mentoring in the first place. Just being at it for a long time isn’t enough.

“Someone who’s going to be a mentor ought to be qualified to do it and that means much more than being a competent official,” Cashion said. “You have to want to do it and you have to be able to have more interest in the other person than yourself.”

Take your time and go at the mentee’s speed, not your own. Everyone learns and gains experience at different speed and you need to remember that and apply it. Know that you will need to say things more than once for it to sink in. You also might have to do more than just talk. You might have to show them through your example or video.

“I teach the ‘PIE’ theory,” Lewis said. “I try to get people to understand you have to have people skills, integrity, exposure. … First impressions are lasting impressions so carry yourself accordingly.”

The post 5 Mentoring Strategies That Work appeared first on Referee.com.

But in officiating, the whole is only as good as the sum of its parts. Even the best crew chiefs will struggle if they don’t surround themselves with a strong cast. Since good crews don’t magically appear, it takes someone in charge to fashion between one and seven other individuals into a cohesive, competent, confident unit. That job falls to the crew chief.

NFL referee Clete Blakeman served as the moderator (or crew chief, if you will) for a workshop at a recent NASO Summit designed to dig down into what really makes for a good leader and help other officials build their leadership and team-building skills.

Joining Blakeman were Garth DeFelice, retired NFL umpire and now a regional supervisor; NCAA Division I men’s basketball referee John Higgins; NFL side judge Greg Meyer; and NFL trainer and former referee Jerry Markbreit. As in most things officiating, perception is one important aspect of leadership, Blakeman said. “You just can’t proclaim yourself as a leader,” he said. “You really have to earn it. You have to play the part and look the part and really gain that respect from your peers and everybody involved with the game you’re going to work. So we’re talking about really having a presence and taking charge.”

As an example, Blakeman showed the opening scene from the movie Patton. Actor George C. Scott, portraying the famed World War II general, stands before a huge flag and addresses troops who are about to take on the Axis. Although military protocol demands that the soldiers give Patton their undivided attention, it’s clear to the viewer that Patton is in command.

“As soon as (Patton) walks up on the stage, you kind of get the flavor of what it takes,” Blakeman said. “That guy is in charge and (the soldiers) know he is their leader. Then you build upon that.”

Generals are used to having their orders followed because of their rank. But leadership is more than ordering people about. Leadership is getting people to do what you need them to do because they want to and because it’s the right thing to do, not simply because they’re told to by a higher power.

“It’s not automatic,” Blakeman said. “You just can’t say, ‘Hey, I’m your leader’ and expect that you’re going to get a following behind you. It just doesn’t happen that way. I think we all can respect that there is a step-by-step process and it does take time.”

The best evidence of leadership, Markbreit said, is visual proof. “You prove (you’re a leader) by showing them how good you are,” he said. “You prove it by allowing them to trust you because you are the ethical leader. When you create that environment with the people that you’re working with, they begin to understand that you want them to be the best they can be. A good leader seeks help. He doesn’t take over.”

One Ain’t Enough

One misconception is that a crew has to have a single leader. Subgroups can and should have leaders as well.

“Within the crew dynamic, there’s not just the referee. You’ve got subordinate leaders,” said DeFelice. For example, one of the three deep officials on a football crew often is a leader to the other two. “We’re always trying to match those things up so we have the best dynamic and for the crew to meld,” he said.

“You prove it by allowing them to trust you because you are the ethical leader.”-Jerry Markbreit

For the most part, NFL crews remain the same throughout a season and from season to season. A college basketball official will crisscross the country while officiating in several conferences. Along the way, he or she will work with a number of partners and may not see the same crewmates for weeks or months at a time. Yet those nomads in stripes also know how to assume leadership roles.

One interesting basketball dynamic is that a respected veteran official may sometimes be paired with one or two newer officials who look to him or her for leadership.

“You learn your personalities really quickly, especially in November and December (when newer officials are breaking in),” Higgins said. “You’ve got to know who the young guys are and learn their personalities very quickly. I may show up at the game and I’ve never even met the referee I’m refereeing with that night.”

First impressions count, not just with coaches, but with other officials, Higgins noted. “Once you’ve met a person one time, you get to know their tendencies and how they interact with you — if they’re quiet, they’re strong, if they’re a little soft, how you have to lead them on the court. Then you’ve got to talk to them and prepare them for what we’re going to do. Then you find out what their skill set is.”

Or an official who may be the lead official one night may have to not so much cede leadership but share it with more veteran partners the next. In many high-profile games, supervisors or conference coordinators will put together what amounts to an all-star crew. Yet someone must be designated as the crew chief. “The reason someone may be a U1 or U2 (the non-crew chiefs) is they just might not have the experience that the other official has,” Higgins noted.

In addition to his work on the football field, Meyer also scratches his officiating itch by working the scorer’s table for men’s basketball games at Texas Christian University. So he has an affinity for game-day staff such as ballhandlers, timers and chain crew members — people he works with when he is on the field. The Golden Rule comes into play. He treats others as he would like to be treated. And he realizes how making those people feel like part of the crew improves the experience for all involved.

“There’s leadership in everything that we do,” Meyer said. “Part of that is how you talk to those folks, how you make them feel welcome in the crew and just your demeanor in terms of building those relationships. And it’s your reputation as well.”

“You have to consider them as part of your team,” Blakeman added. “It’s part of being a good, cohesive group.”

Markbreit called it treating others with dignity. “Always go to (game day personnel) and say ‘Hello, how are you? Thank you very much for what you do for us.’ You never know when they’re going to save the day. When they come in the locker room, be polite. Shake hands. Don’t act like you’re above everybody else because nothing runs smoothly unless they all are on the same page.”

Working with different crewmates or partners is not uncommon at all levels and in all sports. Just when you’re feeling comfortable with one group of officials, you’re bidding them farewell and saying hello to a new group. DeFelice, for instance, remembers having eight different crew chiefs during his NFL onfield career. Assimilating new crew members is an important task for crews in general and crew chiefs in particular. Especially if that newcomer is a rookie, who is adjusting not only to new crewmates but also a higher level of competition.

“They’re just trying to focus on themselves. Trying to figure out where to be and who to follow and what to do,” Blakeman said of NFL rookies. “And those things get lost a little bit I think in the fact that you have tasks to do. Because we’ll assign specific tasks for each game. When we hit that stadium three hours before kickoff, your crew is on task. The importance of doing that all flows into how those three hours are going to play out (during the game). You just can’t underestimate the little things that you need to think about and do.”

Coach Speak

Officials also enhance their reputations as leaders by their ability to communicate with coaches. Officials who understand the people-management part of the job will help themselves and their crewmates by exhibiting professionalism, empathy and helpfulness.

“When you come up to a coach … you’ve known him for 20 years. You don’t come up and say, ‘Hello, Joe,’” Markbreit said. “Be professional. ‘Hello coach, how are you?’ Introduce yourself. He’ll say, ‘I know your name.’ You respond, ‘I know, I just want to make sure.’ You’d be surprised how much they appreciate the fact that you respect their position. You know the biggest complaint that coaches have about officials? It is attitude. Don’t ever appear to be talking down to them even in the heat of the battle.”

Blakeman concurred. He noted that during the NFL’s annual clinic last July, time was devoted to communicating with coaches. “They brought in two coaches who have been recently off the field,” Blakeman said. “They talked about how vital it was, the communication between the officials during a game, and even before the game.”

As in life, honesty is the best policy. Meyer recalled a situation in which a coach asked him a question for which he didn’t know the answer and he tried to bluff his way through. “He reads right through it, goes right by me and tries to find somebody on the crew that knows what they’re talking about,” Meyer said. “I just felt terrible. Here I am, my second year. I’m thinking, ‘My gosh, I lost credibility with that coach by trying to do something I shouldn’t have done.’ I should have just admitted I didn’t know it, find somebody, handle it the way that I said I would handle it.’”

Meyer said the incident not only inspired him to improve his rules knowledge, but to deal with coaches in a more forthright way. “Look him in the eye, talk to him when you need to talk to him, be honest with him. And if you don’t know, you don’t know, you’ll come back and get him (the answer).”

That incident had, at least for a short time, a deleterious effect on Meyer’s standing with his crewmates as well.

“I had lost all trust,” he said. “I just immediately lost it with my crew. I had to build that back up. And that’s how you develop reputations, that’s how you become who you are, the character that you have.”

Taking the Lead

DeFelice’s ability as an onfield official is evidenced by a dozen postseason assignments and one Super Bowl appearance. Still, in year two of his new role as a supervisor, he is starting from Square One in earning the trust of those with whom he works. Part of that is admitting his own errors.

“I know there were a number of times that I didn’t support guys very well,” he said. “I dropped the ball on supporting them in certain situations. I didn’t communicate too well on some things. I evaluated that stuff in the off season and did a lot more homework preparing for this season.”

Subsequent meetings with the officials were smoother, he said. “I was ready and was in a position where I was prepared and stepped into it as a leader and said, ‘This is what we’re going to do, this is why, this is the reasoning behind it.’ I didn’t have a lot of argument on that because I think we had good information. By doing those things, I think I’ve developed some trust.”

DeFelice also learned that leadership is not a one-way street. To build a team, one in command must listen and adapt one’s thinking as well.

“I’ve tried to say, ‘You know what, if you differ from what I think, you need to talk to me.’ I hope I’m building that trust with my guys. If you disagree, speak up, let’s have a conversation about it and discuss it as opposed to saying, ‘It’s this way because I say.’ That doesn’t make you a leader.”

Markbreit believes officials need pats on the back more than they need kicks in the pants. “You get the best production out of positive reinforcement, and that’s what I’ve been entitled to do as a referee trainer,” he said. “I don’t even know if the league understands the relationship that the trainers have with the men that work at their positions. But it’s a position of trust. They trust us because what we talk about doesn’t go any farther than us. We don’t make any reports. We are a mentoring program, and that’s what I love so much. The mentoring program of officiating at every level is the most important thing. We all know the rules, and we all know how to call fouls. But it’s how to be a man or woman in charge.”

By the same token, Markbreit notes that the officials who truly want to improve don’t rely solely on what’s offered; they seek counsel as well.

“The better the official, the more critique he or she wants. He or she wants someone to watch. ‘Watch me and do you see anything? Can you help me?’” Markbreit said.

In his own way, Gen. Patton was asking his troops for help when he gave the speech portrayed in the movie. As much as some coaches, players and fans want to equate the sports we officiate with war, most of the speech does not translate to what we do on the court or field.

Still, the capstone of Patton’s address would serve as a good gateway for a crew chief hoping to rally his or her own troops. To wit, “I will be proud to lead you wonderful guys into battle, anytime. Anywhere.”

The post The Fine Art of Building Your Crew appeared first on Referee.com.

When is it a good idea for an official to jump between different levels? When it is a bad idea? And how do you make it work for both the person making a visit down to a lower level, and for the hard-working lower-level referees who have to welcome an outsider to their game?

For the people involved — the supervisors, the officials coming down and the referees whose assignments are potentially threatened — there are many variables to keep in mind.

Mark Uyl, the Executive Director of the Michigan High School Athletic Association and a D-I baseball umpire, spends time considering the positives and negatives of particular assignments for state tournament games.

“We want the very best officials doing our games,” Uyl said. “We see using officials from higher levels as a positive thing and I think it is a tremendous asset. Those officials are getting more reps at a higher level of the game.”

Uyl believes it is about competence and making sure the game is officiated in the fairest way possible using those with the most experience who have proved themselves over time. He is not alone in taking that approach.

Tony Steratore is an NFL back judge who worked his way up to get where he is today. He’s been in the most important games at his sport’s highest level. For him, the situation is clear.

“The immediate need is to get the best people on the field,” Steratore said. “That’s a fundamental point and it is about what is best for the game.”

The fairness of the game does need to be paramount, but the development of young officials is also something that is crucial to every sport. Promising referees need to be cultivated and given the opportunity for seasoning so they can go to that next level. For some referees, that means getting as many reps as possible on any level they can.

“From a basketball standpoint, it is important for young officials to get as much experience as possible,” said John Cahill, Big East’s supervisor of men’s basketball officials. “I think going to do games at different levels is a positive and it keeps the young officials sharp and growing.”

Many supervisors feel it is positive for officials to work varying levels of play, but it is important how it is done. If a former MLB umpire came to a high school championship without doing a regular season high school game all season, or in years for that matter, that would certainly call into question not only his familiarity with the specifics of the high school game, but also the fairness of the assignment. It is a situation that Uyl is cognizant of and one for which he provides safeguards.

“All of our officials have to have a minimum number of games to qualify for the postseason,” Uyl said. “Having said that, officials may do more games during the year but that doesn’t mean they will get the postseason assignments. If a college official gets his or her minimum requirement of games in, then that official qualifies for the postseason. Like I said, we want the best out there.”

It may be the best-case scenario to have the most experienced officials assigned to games, but working at different levels does bring with it some considerations, concerns and even disadvantages. The obvious consideration is that there are differences in rules at different levels and it may be challenging to keep track of those differences, particularly in the heat of game action.

“There’s no question that there are some disadvantages. If an official is working a freshman boys’ game on Monday, a girls’ varsity game on Tuesday, a boys’ varsity game on Wednesday and a D-I college game on Thursday, that is not only a hard schedule … (but) four different game-pacing styles to keep track of,” Uyl said.

Getting reps is one thing; getting the “right” reps is another

Getting your reps is one thing, but getting the right type of reps is another. Sure, you may want to stay sharp, but if you’ve risen to, say, a varsity level, how much is there to be gained, other than a pay day, by going back to middle school?

Bob Delaney, NBA Referee Operations vice president and director of officials, works with the very best officials in basketball. It is his job to help see that they are at their best. The principle of more being better isn’t something with which he necessarily agrees.

“From my view, when you look at refereeing at widely different levels, like say D-I and high school freshmen basketball, that’s quite a width. I would not encourage officials to make a habit of that practice,” Delaney said.

Do your Best Wherever you are Assigned

Your goal should be to do your best wherever you are assigned. It becomes important to stay aware of your limitations as an individual. Bouncing up and down between levels can be cause for concern.

“Once you’ve established yourself at a certain level, it can very difficult to adjust back to high school,” Cahill said. “The rules are different and there is a lot to keep track of. The athletes are bigger, faster and quicker and the degree of physicality is different.”

Part of the concern is simply the rules and part is the physical development at different levels, but there is something else that supervisors worry about. It is about what goes on inside the official when they work many, many games.

“It is very hard for officials, not so much for the style of play, but because of your mental state,” Cahill said. “Mentally too many games take a toll. You may be able to get adequate physical rest but you can get worn down mentally. Then you have to wonder if you’re sharp enough to make the tough calls.”

There’s also an often unspoken concern. When you go between different levels, it would be human nature to value the higher-ranked game over the lower-ranked game. You’d be hard pressed to find someone to admit that, but let’s face it, if you’re officiating Michigan and Ohio State on Saturday and Ann Arbor High on Friday night, which game are you going to try to be extra sharp for?

“I’ve done college games on Saturday and high school games on the same Friday,” Steratore said. “Many officials do this, but I have to tell you something, if you’re going to do this, you have to bring your A-game to Friday night as much as you bring it to Saturday. If you don’t, you’re doing the game and yourself a disservice. When it comes down to it, if you can’t guarantee both games are getting equal attention, then you have to choose one or the other.”

Steratore added that the Friday night high school game might even bring more pressure because of your drive to do right by the game. Added pressure isn’t always best for an official, especially for one who should be getting a good night’s rest on a Friday night before a game that will be watched by half of the world.

For an assigner, there is also the very serious disadvantage of discouraging your base of hard-working officials who have been with you all year. It is natural to get disappointed when your goals are thwarted, especially if you think it has been done unfairly.

“We occasionally hear some grumbling, but we want the best out there,” Uyl said. “If an official meets the requirements, then we don’t hesitate to appoint them.”

Have Minimum Requirements in Place

Having that minimum requirement in place circumvents much of what could cause the problem of negativity among other officials. Not getting the assignments you want, or even think you deserve, is something all officials have to deal with. It comes with the territory and if you allow it to eat you up on the inside, then it will affect you as an official.

“It is important to the development of an official to have the mindset that if you’re good enough, what you want will come,” Steratore said. “Obsessing on assignments can be a real distraction and you wind up expending energy on that instead of developing yourself as an official. Put your focus into getting the calls right, not what assignment you are getting or not getting.”

There’s a lot that goes on off the court or the field that goes into being an official. Managing your emotions, not just about tough calls, but about issues away from the game, is just as important in your success.

“Dealing with disappointment about assignments is, in and of itself, a developmental issue,” Steratore said. “You have to realize you are not going to get every assignment and not let it consume you.”

Humility is an essential part of being a complete official and it is something higher-level officials visiting lower levels need to keep in mind. Showing up for a high school assignment in college gear is bad form and it sends the message about who you think you are. No one likes to feel like they’ve been big-timed and wearing the higher-level gear isn’t going to get you off on the right foot.

Act as a Role Model

There are, however, wonderful opportunities to act as a role model instead of a big shot. Officiating at different levels can give officials a chance to give back to the folks who are where they used to be.

“The best opportunity is for the younger officials to see how someone with more experience handles situations and how they communicate,” Uyl said. “So much of being a great official is being able to handle people and if you can do it at the college level with all the fans and the TV, then you can do it at the high school level. That’s great for our younger officials to witness.”

The little interactions away from the action can also prove to be valuable. Young officials sometimes need someone to share their insecurities with and they need to hear an encouraging word from someone.

“Experienced officials can be there when you’ve had a tough game to let you know you’re going to be all right,” Cahill said. “They can also be there to warn you not to get overconfident when you’re riding high.”

Giving back can happen on the court or field — or off. If you want to give back, know that you can do it by officiating, but you can also do it by being a presence to help out at clinics and training or evaluating.

“I think sometimes you might be better off watching the game and offering constructive feedback rather than by being part of a crew of a game at a different level,” Delaney said.

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