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Not all clinics have to be formal, high-tech affairs. You can run your own one-day camp packed with good training and information that is low-cost and even fun for all concerned. You first need to decide what type of training you will offer. Will it involve players and coaches? If so, you’ll need to coordinate efforts with someone running a camp for players. Those types of camps often need officials to work the live scrimmages and will likely be amenable to having your campers mix in with theirs. The easiestRead More

Recruiting young officials is important to every association. But bringing those officials along in a way that is positive greatly increases the chance those young referees will remain as an official in future years. Here are some ways you can help find and develop young officials. 1. Work with your local schools. Set up partnerships with local schools to recruit young officials. Have an association member speak at end-of-season athletic banquets, career days or any other opportunities to let students know of the ways that exist to become an official.Read More

By Patrick Rosenow Setting standards for members’ behavior and enforcing those standards are among the most difficult challenges an officials association will face. It means anticipating the possibility of unacceptable conduct by a fellow official and trying to set up a mechanism for dealing with what may well be a confrontational situation. Officials are generally willing to face confrontation on the court or the field, if need be. However, they hate to have to get in an adverse situation with someone who is supposed to be a comrade in stripes.Read More

It’s that time of month again: your monthly association board meeting. Officers have prepared reports, contacted members, gathered information and set an agenda in preparation. With so much advance thought and planning, it’s hard to imagine that some meetings get off course and fail to accomplish everything that the officers had hoped for — but they frequently do. How do meetings get off track? How can you increase the productivity of your meetings? Just follow some simple “dos and don’ts.” DO: Set an agenda that is realistic and thorough, andRead More

Clearly there is no single solution to the problem of poor sportsmanship in the game today. It is a monster with many tentacles. But officials can and should play a role in improving the situation. Associations can provide initiatives for their officials to follow. That includes doing what is necessary when fan behavior crosses the line. How often have you heard officials in your association complain about a coach’s behavior, but when you ask him or her what was done about it, the response is, “Nothing.” In order to developRead More

  Lawsuits are more and more prevalent these days. If an official in your association has been wronged by your group or perceives he or she has been wronged, your association may wind up in court defending your actions. Or if a player or team sues a member of your association, your association may be next in the courtroom. Officials associations must be prepared for the possibility of lawsuits and take actions to avoid facing them. In order to steer clear of liability and lawsuits, associations must first and foremostRead More

By Brian Goodlander Goals are important drivers for the human psyche. Without goals, we tend to flounder and move without purpose. Goals work the same way for organizations, such as your officials association. However, there is more to goal-setting than just brainstorming some great new ideas and hoping they occur. It takes planning, commitment and resources. Goal planning. Time is needed for effective goal planning. Trying to come up with truly obtainable, actionable and useful goals in the last 10 minutes of an association board meeting does not usually generateRead More

Observers are at games for one of two basic reasons: to evaluate your performance, looking for trouble spots where you could improve. That type of observer is usually at the game on behalf of a local association, league, conference or group that has an interest in seeing improved officiating. The other reason is to evaluate your performance as a way of ranking you among your peers. That type of observer is often there on behalf of a league, conference, association or other group that is looking to assign the bestRead More

It’s usually the last job anyone wants in most organizations, and it’s probably even more true of your local association: Often, nobody wants to be the secretary. That’s too bad, because an effective secretary can make your entire association better and more effective. In virtually every association, secretary is a board position, as well it should be. Although your association secretary performs many vital responsibilities, let’s focus for now on the most fundamental of those responsibilities: meeting minutes. Thorough minutes can assist your board in tracking everything from attendance toRead More

Officials may complain about the number of meetings, the perceived lack of group involvement, the quality of the training, the uniform requirements or even the location and menu items of the end-of-the-season social. Yet there are really only two major hot buttons for the majority of officials. The first is anything having to do with money. The second is the quantity and quality of their assignments. Every association has members who will not always be pleased with one facet or another with the association. That member might be upset withRead More