Art Of Officiating
Home Art Of Officiating
Covering conflict management, the psychology of officiating, best practices and officiating/life balance.
Are You Mentor Material?
Mentoring is a great way to give back to the avocation, but it’s not for everyone. So what does it take to be the...
4 Habits of Successful Officials
If you took a poll of coaches and players and asked them to name the skills and habits that are important for a game...
5 Ways to Manage Conflict
When situations explode on the field or court, it's up to sports officials to restore the peace and manage conflict. In managing conflict, showing a little empathy, demonstrating good listening skills and providing people with options rather than...
Career Suicide Can Be a Killer
Officiating is unlike many endeavors in that hard work, diligent study and the right temperament are not guarantees to success.
Conversely, there are several...
7 Ways to Avoid Attacks
Unfortunately, in today’s culture, many officials have been followed out to their car by unfriendly people after a game. Others have been threatened during or after a...
Climb Your Mountain
A mountain is such a commonly used metaphor because it provides beautiful imagery to our goals and the challenges we face to reach them. Every...
Sometimes There Is No Right or Wrong Call
If you put 30 sports officials in a room, regardless of the sport, and watch a tight play on video, what happens during the...
Don’t Try To Win The Argument
As an official, when you are involved in a conflict, your goal is to resolve it. You have to fight the tendency to want to win the...
Arrive and Shine With Good First Impressions
How you enter the arena, stadium, field or other facility says a lot about you. Do you casually stroll in? Are you laughing, confident,...
48 Timeless Tips
The following "Timeless Tips" were originally targeted at first-year officials, but we believe all officials can benefit from these nuggets of wisdom. Enjoy.
You learn...
Honesty, Integrity Are Keys To a Full Schedule
The ability to grow your schedule is a key component to your development. We all want more games because we associate the number of...
When Do Comments Go From Noise to Unprofessional Conduct?
Comments from head coaches, their coaching staffs, team supporters and fans can vary and deserve a multitude of responses. But when the comments go...
8 Universal Truths To Elevate Your Game
O
fficiating has been in my blood since I was a scholastic wrestler during the mid-1960s. Throughout the decades, I gradually began to understand the...
Make Your Time Work For You
Adding officiating to your already busy schedule can cause a painful time crunch. But if you manage your time well, you can fit officiating...
Right Way to Turn Back a Game
In most aspects of life, there is a right way and a wrong way. Such is the case when you turn back a game. Knowing the difference...
Don’t Lose Your Passion
Think about the last 10 officials with whom you’ve worked. How many of them brought passion to their game? What was your initial reaction...
Have No Officiating Regrets
Sometimes you can do everything in your power to get a call right and still blow it. That’s a tough regret to live with,...
Balancing Officiating with Family
My wife asked me, “Where are you headed tonight?”
My kids asked me, “Are you coming to watch my game?”
My response to my wife and...
Everybody Wants a Problem Solver
One type of person all businesses want is a problem solver. The same can be said for any type of athletic event. They want...
Self-Evaluation is Critical
Having both the ability and willingness to self-evaluate is
critical to becoming a better referee. Whether you do youth, school or amateur games, you must...
4 Elements of Decisiveness
In the business world, money can be made or lost based, in
large measure, on the decisiveness of the executives. In battle, the
decisiveness of the...
Defeat Negative Attitudes. Enjoy Your Games.
Situational negativity occurs when a specific recent incident causes one official to adopt a negative attitude toward another official. Imagine a football crew in...
How To Handle An Instantly Irritated Coach
The legendary Ed Hightower was “on loan” to the Western Athletic Conference many years ago handling the referee duties during a Fresno State game. About 30 seconds into the...
Reduce Officiating Stress and Improve Performance
Officials are quitting at record rates and many veteran officials have testified sportsmanship has become much worse over the years. Others want to stay...
