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By Lawrence Tomei The role of leader requires much more than just being elected into the position. It is a safe wager that most have experienced some fairly significant struggles before maturing as an effective leader. Officials association officers often encounter a clash of personalities. Most officials, by their very nature, come with heavy-duty personalities and often unequivocal opinions of right and wrong, both on and off the court and field, in and outside the meeting room. Dissension, disagreement and discord are unavoidable and, in some cases, even desirable. TooRead More

By Alan Goldberger Most association board members and officials understand it is important to save officiating-related documents. In today’s digital world, storing important papers is more manageable than during the quill pen era, to be sure. For sports officials, and their associations, knowing what to save — and for how long — can spell the difference between success and failure in the legal arena — where challenges to officials and officials organizations seem to proliferate on a daily basis. For the official, tax returns and related documents compete for spaceRead More

By Carl Smith Mentoring is a very important part of building any officiating association. Without proper training and mentorship, an officiating organization will stagnate, and either die away completely or cease to be effective. Younger or newer officials need to know their association is backing them and doing everything it can to enhance their budding career. The process is to help the “mentees” gain experience in game management and officiating philosophy. Let’s flip the coin now, though. The mentors also gain from that relationship. 1. Giving back to the associationRead More

In this digital age, a great way to inform and attract officials is with a website. But all websites are not created equal. It takes work and discipline to keep a website updated. It helps if it’s visually appealing as well but having oodles of good information is what separates great websites from mediocre ones. Here are some items that every good website must have. 1. Meeting information The dates, times and locations of each meeting should be posted well in advance. Although in an ideal world your members shouldRead More

By David Westol We assume many things. We assume that whistles will work, that our cars will start, that both teams will be at the site of the contest and that the showers in the officials locker room will have hot water (that may be too great an assumption). We also assume that members of our association board will be consistent in their enthusiasm for service, their attendance and their participation. In other words, they will be motivated. As with nearly all assumptions, the “We’ve got a great board ofRead More

Arguably the hardest part of any evaluation program is the personal contact with the officials. It is very challenging to give face-to-face feedback. Select your words carefully so the feedback is constructive and leads to a change in behavior. Judgmental, general and negative comments are not beneficial. It takes special skills to do it properly, so here are a few hints. Get the official(s) to listen. If the official you evaluated doesn’t hear or accept what you have to say, it is of no value. Making it more palatable makesRead More

Having a successful officials association starts at the top. Any organization is only as strong as its leadership, and when it comes to officiating, it’s no different. Board members and/or officers need to be cognizant of a number of things that set the tone for the entire membership. Some of the responsibilities that those folks are in charge of are similar to those that are executed by successful crew chiefs. Here are four things that those in leadership positions can do to make sure their associations are being led downRead More

Every board needs new members at one time or another, depending on the association’s policy on board member terms. Often the job of selecting new board members falls to a nominating committee. Selecting new board members is an important decision your association makes and can be a critical factor in the future sustainability of the association. So, how do you find good candidates? Seek out people who have the time to do the job right. Being a board member is a job. It’s not a perk. If someone cannot commitRead More

Positive PR for officials and associations is often hard to come by. Whether your group has a PR committee or not, there are certain ways you can encourage your members to get the word out about your association and its many benefits. Make them feel good about the association. First things first. Before your members will want to share positive feedback about your group and its leadership, there has to be something worth sharing. Take care of business in your association by having solid educational meetings. Make sure your groupRead More

By David Westol The integration of new board members into an existing board of directors is often either done very well or so poorly that no orientation or integration process would be an improvement. Remember when you substituted as an official with a crew? Recall how everyone on the crew gave you a rundown on every mechanic, procedure, process and nuance ranging from important information regarding coverage on certain plays to where they stand for the national anthem and how the visiting team coach is a jerk? Remember that drinking-from-a-fire-hydrantRead More