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Illinois umpires Ryan Verver of Oak Forest (left) and Mike Sliwinski of Willow Springs can earn each other’s respect by supporting each other on the field, working hard and maintaining a professional attitude away from the game.

YEARN IT TO EARN IT

Respect Is Difficult to Gain, Much Easier to Lose

By the Referee editors

Ever try constructing a tower out of playing cards? It isn’t easily built. Once achieved, it’s something to be proud of. But one wrong move and it comes tumbling down.

It’s the same thing with your reputation among other officials. No matter how long you’ve been around and the good work you’ve done, a single mistake can ruin it all. Here are some tips to help you keep your image as shiny as a new penny.

Support Your Partners

Officials immediately lose respect for officials who show up crewmates. You’re a team. If a crew member is taking care of business, the others should watch his or her flank. Then, if things get out of hand, they must be there for support.

If you really want to lose respect, just get caught not paying attention or rolling your eyes when called on for help. Even a slight shrug of the shoulders is the type of negative body language that shows up your partner.

Keep Your Ego in Check

Self-promotion and politicking are sure ways to lose respect. Far too often, personal gain, publicity and money get in the way. And then there’s greed. Take the official who will do almost anything to get ahead, get noticed and ultimately get to “the next level.” That type of official seems to care more about personal interests and advancement than the intrinsic values of working a good game.

Being a flashy official is one thing. But drawing unwanted

attention to yourself and trying to steal the stage from the athletes on the field or court is simply arrogant and obnoxious.

Stay Positive off the Field

The word “negative” has lots of connotations. When describing a sports official who is negative, the definition, “lacking positive qualities; disagreeable,” seems to jump off the page. Officials who constantly grumble about working conditions, playoff assignments (or lack of them), game fees and speed of check arrivals grate on the nerves of others.

Complaining is wasted energy and those who constantly complain can actually shorten their officiating careers. A positive attitude toward your league or conference goes a long way in opening the door to respect.

Own up to Your Mistakes

There are times when you will make a call that proves to be incorrect and you will simply have to live with it. But if the nature of the game allows you to correct the misapplication of a rule, you should do it.

If you make a call and a crewmate or partner asks, “Are you sure that’s what you saw?” you must trust the official’s motives are pure. You must also set aside personal pride and yield to another official if you truly believe the crewmate or partner is correct.

Respect the Game

Officials whose attitude conveys they feel the game is “beneath them” and perform just to “get it over with” show disrespect of the highest magnitude. They will quickly lose respect of other officials and, if players and coaches pick up on those vibes, may well have trouble controlling the game. If you’re unhappy with the assignment, don’t work it. Don’t make the participants and your crewmates suffer because you feel you should be working better games or at a higher level.

Make No Compromises

Under no circumstances should an official use “make-up calls” as a means of correcting a mistake. In officiating, as in life, two wrongs do not make a right. A make-up call is cheating, and it puts the integrity of all officials in question. A foul at one end of the floor is a foul at the other end. If you missed a call on a particular player, you’ve just proved you’re human. You don’t owe any player a call.

Don’t Move Too Fast

Most officials would like to advance up the ladder, whether that means moving up from sub-varsity to varsity games, regular season to postseason games or smallcollege to major-college games. But many officials permanently damage their careers by moving up too quickly. Assigners and supervisors appreciate honesty. You’ll gain respect by turning down an assignment for which you’re not ready. Before you accept a game at a level above what you are used to working, talk to a trusted veteran official who knows your work. Ask for an honest assessment and let that opinion guide you.

Offer Help When You’re Asked for It

Successful officials do a disservice to the avocation by failing to pass on what they’ve learned to less-experienced officials. Advice should be given when it is solicited. Comments should be based on performance, not personality. Use phrases such as “you did” rather than “you are.”

Earning the respect of your fellow officials doesn’t come easily nor quickly. But the best officials in all sports and at all levels have their partners’ respect and it shows in their performance on the field and their demeanor off it. Donning the uniform automatically grants you whatever respect outsiders have for officials’ authority, but when it comes to your fellow referees and umpires, you’re not automatically given it, you can’t force it, demand it or take it — you must earn it. 

QUICKTIP

It is important to keep your games moving. That doesn’t mean you should rush through things and skip important officiating processes. Let the game

establish a rhythm and then make adjustments if necessary.

Those who play, coach and watch the games we officiate want to see action.

DID YOU KNOW?

The National High School Hall of Fame was founded in 1982 by the NFHS to honor high school athletes, coaches, officials, administrators and others. In 2003, individuals from 2003, individuals from the performing arts became eligible for induction. Of the 482 induction. Of the 482 inductees, 66 are officials. A listing of all members of the Hall of Fame is displayed in the foyer of the NFHS building in Indianapolis, along with plaques of the current class. Plaques of previous Hall of Fame members are on display in the various state association offices throughout the country.

THEY SAID IT

“You want to be able to defend yourself (on social media). But you can’t do it nowadays. You can’t put yourself out there and then be on that platform, because you’re never gonna win. Early on in my career, before social media, I was given this piece of advice: Don’t pick up the local paper the next day, because the headline is not going to be ‘Mike Everitt is a great umpire.’” — MLB umpire Mike Everitt

SOURCE: MENTALFLOSS.COM

Old-School Rule Tool: Hit the Books!

By Jay Rowan

What defines a good official? Someone who knows what to call and when to call it. Knowing what to call means an official knows the rules of the game. When to call it means an official knows there are times you make a call and times you don’t. Officials need to ask themselves, does the action have an effect on the play, and is anyone put at a disadvantage? If the answer is yes to either of those questions, officials must then make a splitsecond decision; do I call it, or do I pass on it?

A good official will know what to call for the good of the game. How does an official know what to call and when to call it? With experience comes wisdom. An official can have all the experience in the world; but it is meaningless without confidence. The better an official knows the rules, the more confident he or she will be. The reverse is also true.

When an official with confidence steps onto the field or court, it is obvious to most observers. It is understandable that coaches want confident officials working their games and to know the rules will be enforced properly. You want to be the official that coaches are happy to see working their games.

We all have our own way of trying to master the rules of the game. Some believe anybody who follows a set routine will become a better interpreter of the rules of any game. Educators will explain to students that it is a waste of time to study things they know. The way to learn is by studying things they don’t know. Students like others to ask them questions when they already know the answers. It makes them feel good to have the answer.

Once you study a rule and know it, it is time to move on to a rule you don’t know or don’t understand. The best way to study rules of any sport is to study them one rule at a time. Understand one rule and move on to the next, making sure you know the rule inside and out before taking on the next one.

Do you want to become better at rules interpretations and better at the mechanics of each sport you officiate? Obviously, the answer is yes. To study the rules, all we need is a rulebook, casebook and highlighter. It is hoped this is how you start prior to every season you officiate. Take time in between seasons to become better at understanding the rules of your game.

Open your rulebook and begin with the definitions. Highlight anything you think you want to revisit or something that is not clear. Then go to the casebook for corresponding plays.

The best way to study the casebook is to visualize what is happening in the play. You should visualize yourself working a game and seeing the play you are reading about. If you use that method, you will not be caught off guard to what might happen next. A good question to ask yourself is, “Why is the answer to the play correct?” That will lead you to go back to the rulebook to research. Don’t just accept the answer in the casebook.

When you have finished reading and highlighting the first rule, go on to the next and continue until all rules have been completed. Then go back and read all the highlighted sections. While reading each rule, you might want to place an arrow next to anything you think is worth looking over again — things that you might have more questions about or things you are not quite certain of and might need more clarification. Do the same with the casebook for each rule you cover.

After finishing every rule the second time, go back and reread the parts of the rules where you placed an arrow. Those will be the parts of each rule that need intense study.

There is nothing magical about that type of study. It is simply hard work and putting in the time to become better. Knowing the rules will give you the confidence to handle any situation that might arise, in any game you manage. Take the time to become better at rules knowledge. Take the time to become a better official. Jay Rowan is a veteran high school football official and softball umpire from Pittston, Pa. 

Solid rules knowledge will help McCall Judd, Salt Lake City, determine whether or not she needs to put air in the whistle on this play.

Work Together, Succeed Together

By the Referee editors

Both on and off the court, pitch or field, effective communication among crewmates is a key component to the group’s success. But within each crew are people who have different personalities, some compatible with other members, some incompatible. Because of that, maintaining crew harmony may take some work.

Each team of officials has (or should have) a leader, usually the crew chief. Often, that person is designated by position (e.g. plate umpire, first referee, center referee, etc.) or by the game assigner in how names are listed on a contract or internet assigning website.

Some crew chiefs serve in that role for an entire season. In this case, we’re referring to someone filling that role on a game-by-game basis.

In some situations, crew chiefs are not designated; instead they evolve. Often sports officials will select a person who should be “in charge” for the game. That may be based on any number of factors, including age, years of experience, reputation, etc.

Once crew chiefs have been identified, they must be willing to assign specific responsibilities to the others. Crew chiefs who do another official’s work may get the job done, but the crew suffers because the chiefs are not concentrating enough on their own responsibilities.

When crew chief Pat does the work for crew member Terry, often that’s because Terry is unable or unwilling to perform the task to Pat’s standards. But Pat taking over provides only a “Band-Aid” solution to a problem. Do Terry’s job and get through the game. In the long run, crew credibility and harmony are damaged. A critical decision then has to be made by Pat, the crew chief: lower the standards set for Terry or make a change on the crew.

Getting crew members to do what the chief wants can be awkward, especially if there’s resistance. Most effective crews allow for some give and take. The crew chief seeks input from the others and the crew reaches a consensus. Each member is part of the decision-making process, a key element in developing a “team feeling.” The goal is to do that in a uniform manner so the potential for confusion is minimized.

Getting the crew to work together and toward a goal is the desired result when a crew forms. If all the members of the crew are treated appropriately, the crew’s onfield or oncourt performance will flourish. 

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