Why Were You Looking Over There?
Occasionally, I will share a play in which I made a mistake. This is a “fun” story to tell 15 years later, but it wasn’t fun for my crewmate at the time.…
Ready For Play
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Watch NCAA Football Games to Improve
After I started officiating football, my viewing of college football games significantly changed. Instead of focusing on the players, I started keying on the officials and performing pre-snap routines in my head.…
Debriefing a Crewmate
I have been in situations where an official immediately confronted a peer about a judgment call or action as soon as the crew entered the dressing room at halftime or the end…
Be Courageous!
Personal confession time from a few games in my 17 years of officiating: I’m sure if I spent more time, I would remember more examples of when I decided to take the…
When the Coach Believes our Partner Made a Mistake
This article is primarily for wing officials interacting with the sideline coaches. How do we respond when a coach complains about a partner’s decision? You are the guardian of the sideline. Do…
Get it Right!
Sometimes we freeze, brain-fart, head up and lock, swallow our whistle, or panic. We make the wrong call. It happens. How we react when we snap out of it and refocus is…
How to Deescalate a Conflict
If you’re a little older like me, you may remember Major League Baseball confrontations between an old-school manager (think Billy Martin, Earl Weaver, or Tommy Lasorda) and an umpire. Both men’s faces…
When a Coach Crosses the Line
In most cases, a disagreement with a coach will end with the coach walking away and moving on to the next play. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. What do we…