President's Message

Hey folks, me again.

I do apologize; I have wanted to do another presidential roundtable for a while now, but just haven’t had the time. OK, I know that’s just a lame excuse, but it really has been a rather busy couple weeks. All I can tell you is that I have two ideas in mind, and as soon as I get around to actually doing them, I think you’ll like them. In the meantime, let’s talk about being a sports official.

In Northern Virginia, we just finished volleyball training (shameless plug). Two themes were recurring. The first is that timing in every single sport is critical! In baseball, timing manifests itself on almost every play (pause, read, react) or at the plate (see it, process it, call it). In other sports, timing manifests itself a bit differently, but the central theme is the same. It’s nothing till you call it! Anticipate the play, not the call! We’ve all heard these lines over and over. That’s because they are so important. Next week, I’ll make the long trip to Centreville High School to do a rookie training session, and guess what I’ll be saying a lot. “Slow your timing down!” “Pause, Read, and React.”

The second thing I noticed in training is that folks who officiate other sports have a natural leg up on folks that don’t. Why is this? What I have noticed is that folks who officiate understand how to walk onto a baseball field, a volleyball court (shameless plug), a basketball court or a football field and not be intimidated. It doesn’t really matter what the sport is, it’s being played by high school kids. Why does that matter? Well, most top officials don’t internalize mistakes. They learn from them and move on. Most top officials don’t blame players, coaches or partners when a situation arises that could have been prevented. They learn from it and move on. This is a critical skill in the development of a sports official, no matter what the sport. Contrast this to someone who is new to officiating. When a mistake happens, or they hear negative feedback from a coach, player, fan, or partner, they internalize it and it affects them. It may simply mean they have a bad rest of the day or they may consider leaving the sport entirely.

That last part happens too often, and it’s a shame. We all know there is a chronic shortage of officials and the most dangerous time in the life of an official is the first couple months or that first year or so. I am going to try to work with Rob Porter to do something about that. I encourage all of you to consider being a mentor to our newest officials. Give them a sympathetic ear when things don’t go according to plan. Speak to them candidly, but with an infectious enthusiasm that energizes them to continue.

Being a sports official has never been harder; it’s also never been more rewarding. Let’s take care of our own.

Dave