OFFICIATING

The Official Newsletter for Cliff Keen Athletic

Sharpen Your Edge

Seven Ways to Become a Better Official

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f you are serious about officiating, you probably are constantly seeking ways to improve. The best officials are almost always chasing that carrot of improvement. Good officials, no matter their level of experience, won’t hesitate to look in the mirror and focus on what they need most in order to get better. How good an official do you want to be? How much do you want to improve? Do you measure up to the following seven elements that will help you improve on the field or court? Advice is available in many forms.

1. Rules knowledge. Missed judgment calls can sometimes be excused, however, there is no excuse for misapplication of the rules. It’s that simple. Officials must have a solid grounding in the rules and how they should be applied, especially as you move up in the ranks from youth to high school to college and beyond. If you misapply a rule, there is nobody to blame but yourself. So study the rulebook.

If you are unsure of a ruling, take mental and physical notes of occurrences or possible situations during the games you officiate, then dive into the rulebook at the first opportunity to get a better grip of the ruling. Officials who are well-versed in the rules of their particular sport generally possess an added level of confidence.

2. Appearance. Perception is reality, especially when it comes to officials. You are under the microscope the instant you get to the gym or stadium, even before you are in uniform. Coaches, players, fans and game management make decisions about your officiating competence the moment they see you. Being dressed in anything less than attire that projects professionalism sends the wrong message. Think about it. Who would you rather have provide your professional services? An individual in dress pants, collared shirt and dress shoes, or one in blue jeans, a T shirt and sneakers? You hold

others’ perceptions of you in your hand, so make the choice easy for them. Your weight can have an impact on how you are perceived as well. Carrying many (See “Sharpen Your Edge” p.5)

Joining Forces “Cliff Keen Athletic is very excited to team up with the National Association of Sports Officials and NASO-On organizations, to bring you our first edition of Officiating Life, a newsletter dedicated to the trade of sports officiating. With over 50 years of experience making the best Officials Wear available anywhere, NASOOn members will appreciate the special discount we’ve put together for them (see page 8 for details). We hope that you will appreciate this, our inaugural Officiating Life Newsletter. Enjoy.”

Cliff Keen is the Official Sponsor for the

— Chad Clark, Vice President Cliff Keen Athletic

National Association of Sports Officials – Organizations Network

OFFICIATING

LIFE Letter from the Keens:

As a Sports Official, you are Built For Life. Welcome to the Cliff Keen Officiating Newsletter! We are glad you have taken the time to pick this up and give it a good read. Let us first start by saying we are extremely grateful for your loyalty to the Cliff Keen brand. Cliff Keen was a true innovator. And back when he started the company in the 1950s, his goal was to create the best product available at a reasonable price. As an official himself, he knew that sports officials aren’t in it for the glory — and that’s why to this day Cliff Keen Athletic gives back to the

officiating world through many organizations such as the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO). We take pride not only in our heritage, but we take pride in the quality and service we provide to the officiating community because we know you expect our products to last. We stand behind our quality. And most importantly, we stand behind you. At Cliff Keen, we understand that your officiating is a reflection of quality. We understand what it means to be “Built For Life.”

The Four-Point Truth Test D

esperate times, it is said, call for desperate measures. When the Great Depression ravaged the country, Herbert J. Taylor realized he had to do something to save his company. Taylor, president of the Club Aluminum Company, came up with four simple precepts hoping to convince his employees to do the right thing in every situation. If the workers abided by the precepts, Taylor surmised, the company might at least win sales from its competitors. In just 24 words, Taylor captured what has come to be known as the Four-Point Truth Test. Many companies and organizations, including Walgreen’s and Rotary International, have adopted the test to guide their decisions.

Copyright © 2011 by Referee Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved, except as provided for by licensing agreement with Cliff Keen Athletic. Not to be reproduced in any medium without written permission of Referee Enterprises, Inc. Contact Cliff Keen Athletic Write: P.O. Box 1447, Ann Arbor, MI. 48106 Ship: 4480 Varsity Drive, Ann Arbor, MI. 48108 Telephone: (Toll Free) 1.800.992.0799 Fax: (Toll Free) 1.800.590.0759 E-mail: [email protected] Contact Referee Enterprises, Inc. 2017 Lathrop Ave, Racine, Wis. 53405 Telephone: 262.632.8855 Fax: 262.632.5460 E-mail: [email protected] Compiled by Abby Bickel, Referee Projects Coordinator. Graphics by Rob VanKammen, Referee Graphic Designer.

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The test consists of four questions:

Is it the truth?

Officials are expected to base their decisions on what they actually see, not what they want to see. That expectation carries over into dealings with assigners, coaches, players and fellow officials. Officials who lie to their assigners about why they are asking off a game are asking for trouble. You only need to get caught in a fib once to hurt your credibility with that assigner. There are times when it is appropriate to tell a player or coach, “I might have blown that one.” Remember, you get one per game and if you employ it several times a season, you may want to figure out why you’re missing so many calls. If a fellow official asks you for an honest evaluation of his or her performance, honesty is the best policy. That doesn’t mean you have license to let loose a torrent of negativity, but constructive criticism can be very helpful.

In this newsletter, you’ll find some helpful tips on officiating from our friends at Referee Magazine. With fall season fast approaching, we will showcase some of our newest offerings to the football official. And last but not least, you’ll find a discount code we created just for you — in appreciation for your loyalty to Cliff Keen Athletic. Best wishes on a terrific season, — Jim Keen, Sr. & Tom Keen Owners, Cliff Keen Athletic

official to use his or her best judgment. That’s when common sense and fairness must prevail. Ultimately a decision must be made. You’ll sleep better at night if you base your judgments on what is the most equitable solution.

Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Officials are not supposed to be buddybuddy with coaches. Officials who look and act the part, work hard and communicate well are less likely to have an adverse relationship with coaches. The ultimate compliment is that the coaches knew they were going to get a fair shake. Many officials will tell you that their strongest friendships are with other officials. Good officials are also popular among their peers. Their opinions are valued and they are sought to fill in when an official needs a replacement partner. Being considered a “good guy” among your peers is a good thing.

Is it fair to all concerned?

Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

There are times when a call will prove beneficial to one team. Tough calls are part of the territory for officials and they don’t always win you popularity contests. But there are also situations with no concrete rules support. In those scenarios, the rulebook or mechanics manual leaves it to the

As with the fairness question, there are times when officiating doesn’t allow you the option of making everyone happy. But administering the rules properly, using the correct signals and mechanics and acting in a profession manner sheds positive light on the industry. And that benefits everyone in officiating. n

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Officiating Life

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OFFICIATING

LIFE Being Evaluated? Listen Up! W hat’s so hard about receiving an evaluation? After all, most of us are evaluated on a daily basis without realizing it: Our peers rate our work at the office. Our spouses assess the job we did edging the lawn. Our kids size up our benevolence when we dole out their allowance. Most of the time, we get no direct feedback and, if we do, we tend to get only the summary. Whatever the case, somebody formed an opinion and we somehow deal with it. Then, the state calls and says someone will be out to watch your game Friday night at Tech so they can check up on your suitability to work the state tournament. A minority of officials will offer a stoic, “Bring it on,” in response to that wonderful news. For most, the five Ws race through our minds: Who will the assessor will be? When will I get another chance if I blow this one? Where am I in the pecking order? Why me? Hypoxia sets in almost immediately and we prepare fastidiously for a game that would ordinarily be just another day at the office. Why? Because we perceive that there’s something final about it, that we have little to gain and much to lose.

Maybe you do have a lot to lose, but at least you’re getting a chance, which probably trumps a lot of other officials you know. And besides, whether you like it or not, receiving an evaluation is the way it works, if you want to progress. If you don’t like what you hear, it isn’t going to change what the appraiser walks away with either, so you may as well accept the critique and decide what you’re going to do with the feedback. Whether an evaluation has been programmed for you or you request one, this is usually the way it plays out: The governing body selects a person whose opinion it trusts to observe you. It can be somebody from the association office, an active official who has the night off, a retired official or sometimes even a person who has never worked a game but is in tune to what a good official does. Whomever is chosen, the appraiser may or may not have a rubric from which to work. Some groups, like U.S. Soccer, have a very detailed grading scheme and put a lot of time and effort into training assessors in how to evaluate consistently to that matrix. Others, more often your state association, will have little more than a thumbs up/

new sublimated shirts Cliff Keen Vice President, Chad Clark on the new sublimated shirts. We started making the new fully-sublimated shirts for a select group of officials several years ago. With a state-of-the-art sublimation dye and screen printing facility on site in Ann Arbor, Michigan, we sourced the highest quality components available to create fully sublimated uniforms for wrestlers, officials and multisport athletes.  Important to note too that we equate our "recipe" for making the perfect sublimated garment to that of the Colonel's Chicken: Top Secret! Behind closed doors at our Ann Arbor facility, we are making shirts for conferences, associations, and now for NCAA / CFO Football Officials. It all started with an idea to create a topend performance shirt, complete with all of the typical flags, logos, and adornments, and dye those seamlessly into the fabric. After all, why would an athlete (and yes, officials are athletes) want to have a performance

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garment with patches, embroidery, and tackle twill plackets sewn on to the shirt? That completely negates the performance qualities of the fabric. By sublimating those patches, embroidery, and tackle twill plackets directly into the shirt, we eliminate any excess weight and allow the official to breathe easier, stay cooler and more comfortable on the field, court, or diamond. After a year or two of testing on some of the best and brightest officials in the country, we were able to refine our shirts to where we have them now. And we are very proud of the hard work that we have put into the process.

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thumbs down approach on his or her opinion of your capability. Typically, the evaluator will come in after the game and talk through their observations with you, pitching the discussion at the level of ability they perceive you to have. If you’re fairly green, expect a lot of generalities. The report then goes to the proper authority. Usually, your visitor and all the other evaluators will get together later and consense on who is best regarded among all the people they’ve checked out. The objective of that conclave may be to decide who gets the cherished assignments, who bears further watching and development and maybe even who gets crossed off whatever list they were trying to be on. In picking between you and other officials, one of the biggest wild cards will be how inclined the assessor is to speak out in your favor. The number one way you can personally influence that decision is in how you handle your evaluation. If somebody didn’t believe that your evaluator could be trusted in their judgment, that person wouldn’t be sitting in your dressing room. It doesn’t matter what you think of your performance. Therefore, shut up and listen. If the game was a donnybrook that even Moses couldn’t have handled, chances are your mentor noticed, too, and will give it due consideration, so don’t be defensive. If you did screw something up, admit it. Use open body language and look interested in what you’re hearing even if you feel your life passing before your eyes. Remember that there is a difference between “listening” and “not talking.” Let the person shoot his bolt before responding. I don’t know of an appraiser who ever gave a leg up to an official who argued with him or her, but I know plenty who wrote the same person off. If both you and your evaluator can walk away from your discussion saying, “That wasn’t so bad,” the odds are overwhelming that your stock will rise — maybe not today, but eventually. If you can show that you are willing to improve and if you handle your evaluation well, you’ll be a better official. n

Sharpen Your Edge

continued from p. 1

extra pounds can bring doubts into the minds of others. Your officiating prowess may not be affected by your size, but if you can’t cover the court on a fast break or get down the field to cover a play just once, your size could become an immediate issue. Why give critics ammunition with which to shoot you down?

3. Hustle. It is behavior and an act of will. A hustling official actively works the game and does not sit back and react or loaf through it. He or she avoids coasting and is perceived as an energetic contributor. Three components of hustle to remember in order to improve are functional, demonstrative and mental. Functional hustle is being in the right position to make the best call possible. That alone usually separates good officials from great officials. Being in the right position is one of the most important aspects of officiating. Most fouls cannot be called properly unless the whole act is observed. In football, to call a block below the waist, the official must see the initial contact. If not, the official may not know if the blocker started with legal contact and then slid on the opponent’s body. If the official doesn’t see the initial contact on a potential block in the back, he may not know if the opponent turned on the blocker. Demonstrative hustle contributes to officiating by creating the perception the official is actively doing his or her best. Officials should always be “on the hop,” trotting from one spot to the next, especially during a dead-ball period. That indicates the referee is vigorously working the game, while walking may be perceived that the referee is tired or not interested. Mental hustle is basically keeping your head in the game by being alert. Each official should always know the situation and communicate verbally or non-verbally with his or her partner(s).

4. Learn from others. Regardless of the level at which you officiate, you can improve your performance by learning from successful officials. Ask them to discuss their expertise. If your partner says a few words to a troublesome player or coach

to make a problem disappear, ask what your partner said to solve the problem. Try to attend one or two camps or clinics a year. Take the medicine that other successful officials serving as camp clinicians have to offer in those settings. Chances are it will help cure you of defects in your game. If you worked the sub-varsity game, learning can begin in the locker room between games. You can solicit comments from the varsity officials on what they saw of your performance. Remember that nothing will stifle a sincere attempt to help faster than for the “helpee” to dispute what actually happened on the court or field. Listen to the comments. Evaluate them later. Consider taking an occasional night off to watch a respected official work a game. Watch successful officials with purpose. Watching successful officials should not include keeping score on how many calls they get right, but watch for specific techniques, preferably some of those you have been told need improvement. Pay attention to the little things successful officials do prior to starting the game. Does one have a personality similar to yours from whom you might adopt some effective techniques? How do they build trust in the pregame conferences with players, coaches and table officials? Is there something that looks very professional that you want to emulate?

5. Video. If you have never seen yourself on film, find a way to do so. Watching yourself can be painful, but the benefits and ability to learn from the video are great. Perhaps your local association can get video from schools involved in games you have worked or simply requesting a video through an athletic director works, too. Video is a fantastic training tool.

6. Mechanics. Good, solid mechanics can sometimes cover warts in other areas. It may seem corny and uncomfortable, but the best way to improve mechanics is to get in front of a mirror and practice, including verbal calls — Block! Strike! Out! When on the field, get the best angle possible on every call. Wait until play is

completed before announcing your decision. Good call or not, don’t hang around looking for approval or dissent after announcing your decision. Bounce with confidence to your new starting position for the next play. When necessary, use a brief explanation to help sell your call. “Yes, I have a tag right there! Absolutely, before the bag! The runner’s out!” Additionally, you can nod your head affirmatively.

7. Work with commissioners and assigners. When dealing with assigners, treat them as you would like to be treated and do what they want. Get availabilities and contracts back to them in a timely manner. A phone call a day or two before the deadline isn’t a bad idea to confirm their receipt of the mailing. Take care in filling out availability forms correctly. You don’t want to give an assigner incorrect information. It will only cause the assigner, and probably you, nothing but headaches. Make a photocopy of the availability for your records. When your availability changes, you can confirm with the copied availability and report changes to the assigner. Avoid double-booking games. Dumping games for better ones does nothing but create ill will. If you need to get off a contest, be up front and honest with the assigner. He or she may not be happy with your reason, but will respect you for your straightforward approach in dealing with the situation. n

QUICKTIP After you determine who handles assignments and who is responsible for filling “emergency” reassignments, make an occasional courtesy call or email at a strategic time of the day. Early to midafternoon on game days is a typical “crisis” time for assigners who have been stood up. If you are available to work that evening, contacting the assigner may enhance your chances of being selected as a replacement. Even if there is no emergency that day, your call or e-mail may be remembered.

Officiating Life

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OFFICIATING

LIFE How to Keep Life and Officiating Separate

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ast night you officiated the worst game of your season. You were irritable on your drive back home and snapped at your wife as you walked in the door. “How’d it go?” your spouse asked. “Awful. I don’t want to talk about it,” you reply. You then proceed directly to the computer where you begin to fill out online reports for the ejections and problems you encountered. After 40 minutes you emerge, grab a small bite to eat and get to bed. You didn’t sleep much because it was all you were able to think about. And now you’re exhausted as you head out the door to work and you have another game tonight. You’ve done a poor job of separating your officiating from your personal life. When you find it creeping into your home life, work or friends, it’s time to reassess and take charge. Keep it on the field or court. Frustration is inevitable in officiating. It could be with a partner, player or coach. But leaving that frustration behind you when you get back home will lead to a better home life.

If you need to vent after a bad game, call an officiating buddy on your way home, but don’t make your spouse or children pay for the abusive conduct you took from a coach all night. Learn to put it behind you. If you can do that, it will be much easier to have your family and friends share in your successes when those occur. Don’t forget the fact that your family and friends are sacrificing as well when you are gone so many days and nights on the diamond, field or court. Keep it in perspective. If you have one bad game, or a couple of bad ones, it’s not the end of the world. It just feels like it is. And only to you. Everyone makes mistakes or has bad games. If you never make mistakes or have bad games, you will never learn and become a better official. File away your bad calls even when the fans in the second row almost have you convinced you might do better from their vantage point. Schedule time at home for activities. Let’s be honest, if you’ve got plans with your spouse and kids, it’s impossible to take another game if your supervisor calls the day

before, right? That needs to be the case if you’re going to have a good balance. Family events or fun times can help those close to you cash in on some of that extra income you’ve been earning throughout the season. Officiate in the present. The only thing you are in control of is the present. Right here. Right now. Not yesterday’s game or the call you made one hour ago. No one can go back and change the past. Dwelling on it keeps negative feelings alive, and thinking too much about the future creates unnecessary anxiety. Conversely, don’t take the stress from a hard day at work onto the field or court with you. Disconnect the wiring leading to those hot buttons. Look to others who have found a balance. If you find others you officiate with have found a healthy balance to their personal, professional and officiating lives, talk to them. Find out what has worked for them and how you can apply it to your officiating. Pattern yourself after those who have found success, both on and off the court/field. n

Interview: Rick Jackson, DEARBORN HEIGHTS, MI A sports official for more than 30 years, Rick Jackson has an extensive officiating resume. He works or has worked at the collegiate level for basketball, football and lacrosse, has officiated several high school state finals, is an active board member for the Great Lakes College Football Officials Association and is on staff at Cliff Keen Athletic. Referee: At what levels are you officiating? Jackson: I work lacrosse at the Division I level and I work football in the Big Ten. I worked college basketball for 17 years. Referee: How long did it take you to get to that point?  Jackson: I started basketball and football in 1980 and lacrosse in 1990. I was working college basketball after about 6

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years, lacrosse after about 5 years and football after about 10 years. Referee: Is there anything or anyone specific that you can point to helping you get to where you are in your officiating career? Jackson: I was helped with basketball by Coach Glen Donahue. He was a long time college coach. Bob Allen, long-time high school basketball referee was one of my first partners and I still work games with him to this day! For football and lacrosse I was helped to the Division I and II levels by Bob Waggoner. He is an NFL official, Big Ten trainer and also the assigner for lacrosse. I would not have been able to do any of the officiating without the support of my wife Donna. We have been married for 25 years. She is the best!  There are many others along

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the way who have helped, but I would need several pages to tell you the stories. Referee: Clearly you’ve had success as an official. What would be your advice to sports officials everywhere? Jackson: Study and network. Be part of study groups and associate with those officials who care about learning and doing a good job. Referee: How long have you been with Cliff Keen? Jackson: I started with Cliff Keen in 2009 after I retired from General Motors after 32 years. I came on board to promote the lacrosse apparel along with basketball and football apparel. Referee: What’s a day in the life of Rick Jackson like at Cliff Keen? 

Jackson: I send out information on setting up accounts for Cliff Keen with officials associations. I work from my home most of the time and I also attend clinics and camps to promote our apparel.

Officiating Life

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OFFICIATING

LIFE Five Conflicts of Interest to Avoid T

here are officials who will work a game for the first time at a school in the middle of nowhere and they’ll have people coming up to them, shaking their hand and saying, “It’s great to see you again.” We all have ties with schools through our education, family and other dealings. Officials must make sure they think twice before accepting assignments when conflicts of interest issues arise.

1. Your alma mater. Don’t work games at your high school or college if you’ve recently graduated from those schools.

2. Family connections. Don’t work games at a school if you have a family connection to it. That means you

should block out schools your kids attend or those schools for which a family member teaches or coaches.

3. Business ties. If you are employed by a school, don’t officiate the school’s games. Sports can turn great bosses into fanatic lunatics, especially when the boss’s kid is involved. In the best interest of your career, it’s better to ask the assigner for a different game.

4. Previous blow-up at the school. If you’ve had a run-in with a particular coach or player that may cause trouble for future games, your assigner is probably aware of the issue. If the assigner feels you can handle the situation, take the

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Officiating Life

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assignment and handle the game with professionalism.

5. You’re the assigner. Some assigners assign themselves to games, particularly top games, because they feel they can handle them best. That assigning action screams “conflict of interest.” will rightfully lose the respect of the officials they are assigning. If you have a lot of connections in officiating, great, but be careful. You’ll get a lot more respect from your peers and assigners if you are up front about those you know from schools. Perception is reality. Maybe only one in a thousand times will someone find out about your connection or be bothered by it. But that’s all it takes. n