Woman Officials: Paying Attention, Not Drawing Attention Is Key to Success

Submitted by Barbara Bleiweis on Tue, 11/27/2012 - 14:31. | 1 comment

Being a woman official who wants to achieve varsity status requires an understanding of the unique challenges and dynamics that may not exist in traditional work environments.

Being a woman basketball official who aspires to work high school varsity games requires a delicate balancing act: working to improve our skills while not drawing attention to our gender or any aspect that negatively influences the perception of our abilities.

Barbara Bleiweis

The Road to Varsity Requires Patience, Patience, Patience

Submitted by Barbara Bleiweis on Fri, 02/17/2012 - 02:33. | 1 comment

"Be patient, Barbara. The games will come." Such was the advice of Ed, the camp director of the first basketball officiating camp I attended in 2006. Ed took a personal interest in my career and helped me improve by observing my games and encouraging me to focus on the big picture. He advised that my goal should be on step-by-step improvement and a conviction that I will improve if I put my mind to it. AND, to give it time, and the games will come.

A high school basketball referee, newly promoted to call varsity games, reflects on a season which saw her officiating far fewer varsity games than she had hoped, but reminded her of the need to be as patient in achieving her goal of full varsity status as she is with her whistle.

Barbara Bleiweis

Flagrant Fouls in Basketball: Difficult Call To Make

Submitted by Barbara Bleiweis on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 00:13. | 0 comments

A video recently posted on YouTube (see below) featured footage of a high school basketball team committing six fouls in which the videographer accuses the officials of miscalling the fouls. Like many, he considered any hard foul resulting in the player falling to the court a flagrant foul. Problem is that such contact is not automatically a flagrant foul; it could be an intentional foul, or it could be just a hard, but ordinary, personal foul.

A YouTube video accuses high school basketball officials of failing to call flagrant fouls, but begs more questions than it answers, says one official.

Player Injuries and Safety: Game Officials Need to Manage Both

Game officials have well-defined responsibilities for player safety once the contest starts, but rules regarding when to stop play to remove an injured player are less clear.

Sharing and Learning: A Constant for Sports Officials

Becoming a top sports official requires hard work, dedication to skill development, and a never ending desire to improve, whether for a teen starting out, to high school officials, all the way to the pros.

Good Communication Between Basketball Officials and Coaches Is Key

While basketball officials and coaches don't often see eye to eye, they can agree on one thing: that working together to achieve game flow is not only in their mutual interest, but makes the game more enjoyable for everyone.

Barbara Bleiweis

Official to Coach Communication Lesson #2: Explain the Call, Not the Rule

Submitted by Barbara Bleiweis on Thu, 07/28/2011 - 21:09. | 1 comment

Officials sometime make the mistake of explaining a rule to a coach in response to a coach's comment or question on a call. There is inherent risk in using rules interpretation as a communication tool. Firstly, it takes the official's attention away from the players on the court. Secondly, it gives the coach too much information and opens the door for trouble. A coach friend of mine recently challenged an official asking why he did not call a lane violation on a 6'3 player who was gaining advantage by dwelling in the key. The official responded by explaining the rule at length. The problem was, the coach knew the rule better than the official. The verbose and incorrect explanation by the official hurt the crew's credibility on virtually every call in the game.

Officials sometime make the mistake of explaining a rule to a coach in response to a coach's comment or question on a call. Officials need to respond to coaches' questions, but do so briefly. Warning to officials: Know the rules!
Warning to coaches: Officials are trained to respond to questions, not comments.

Barbara Bleiweis

Official to Coach Communication Lesson #1: Speak to Me, I'll Speak To You

Submitted by Barbara Bleiweis on Thu, 07/28/2011 - 20:44. | 0 comments

I love Frank Sinatra! His music relaxes me. I listen to him as I take my daily power walks and contemplate an upcoming game or review games from the past. On yesterday's walk, I was replaying in my head, a caustic exchange with a coach, when at that very moment, my iPod shuffled to " I've Got You Under My Skin". I laughed at the uncanny timing of this and also at how the song's title appropriately describes officials; feelings about some coaches, and vice versa.

This blog begins a series of lessons learned from my mistakes in dealing with coaches. I hope that officials and coaches who read this may see some of themselves in these and take heart that we can listen to each other and learn together.

The first in a series of blog posts on the lessons learned from my mistakes in dealing with coaches.

Barbara Bleiweis

Thank You, Coach E!

Submitted by Barbara Bleiweis on Wed, 07/20/2011 - 15:03. | 0 comments

The 2011 Summer Evaluation Program will come to an end this week and I feel great about my chances for promotion. When I reflect on all that has transpired to get me to this moment, I think of Coach E, a mentor and friend who began preparing me for SEP from the time I became an official seven years ago. This week marks his birthday, and this blog is my birthday card to him.

Barbara Bleiweis

Officiating Report Card - July 20, 2011, Final Grade

Submitted by Barbara Bleiweis on Wed, 07/20/2011 - 14:30. | 1 comment

Feeling Good about last night's semi final game! After 40 minutes of play, team "white" was victorious over team "red" by 12 points. Everything I had learned in the 10 previous SEP games, I now OWN.

Clock start / stop correctly? Check!

Foul count balance? Check! At the end of the first period, 6/6; at the end of the second period, 9/10

Evaluator happy? Check!-- all six of them!

Act like a CREW? CHECK!!

Team of Experts

Officiating