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1. Did I Blow any calls?
Blowing calls will always occur regardless of an official?s experience and
expertise. It is simply not a perfectible craft. It is however,
inexcusable for an official to continue making the same kinds of mistakes
or mistakes with the same frequency throughout his career. The purpose of
self-evaluation is to eliminate certain kinds of errors and to reduce
their overall frequency. By identifying your blown calls, you can begin to
learn why you blew them and how to avoid blowing the same calls in the
future.
2. Did I make the right calls for the WRONG
REASONS?
All officials make calls on occasion that turn out OK even though those
calls may have been the result of ignorance, guesswork or just blind luck.
It is one thing to be thankful for those results, but it is something else
to rely on them. Officials who are sincerely interested in improving their
work should lessen such a dependency. Luck has a way of running out
eventually.
3. Were there any times when it was FORTUNATE
that I didn?t have to make a call?
In almost every contest there are situation (or potential ones) which
could cause officials embarrassment if they were required to make a
ruling. Fortunately, most lapses in concentration, improper positioning
and failures to hustle go unnoticed by others, You should not, however,
ignore those lapses. Sooner or later such shortcomings will catch up with
you.
4. Did I do everything I could TO ENSURE a just
outcome to the game?
In every sport there is a great deal of latitude available for officials
in the sanctioning of play. As a result, it is unavoidable that this
arbitrary power will strongly influence (if not determine) the outcome of
the game. the best you can hope to do is to choose a course of enforcement
that will most likely be just and bring about a conclusion that reflects
the relative merit of play by the participants.
5. Did I make any calls that didn?t REFLECT the
way I experienced the event?
That occurs far more often than most officials like to admit. Making calls
too quickly, viewing events through the eyes of others, making calls basis
of what is assumed to have happened because of doubt about your own sense
of experience, playing to the crowd and taking the line of least
resistance are only some of the way in which officials make call that
violate the dictum to ?call?em as you see?em?. Take the time to see the
play and make your ruling the right one.
6. Did I fail to maintain proper CONTROL at any
time?
An important part of any official?s job is to control the behavior of
players, coaches and fans so the game can proceeding an orderly fashion.
Fights, arguments, fan interference and other unexpected disruptions often
endanger the likelihood of orderliness and proper conclusion. Anyone can
be surprised and confused by new experiences, but each such situation
should be used as a learning experience for future incidents.
7. When did I feel most VULNERABLE to outside
influences?
All officials experiences situations in which their confidence and
independence waxes and wanes. That is a normal response to an activity
that relies so heavily upon subjective judgment. It is important however,
for you to know when know when you are most vulnerable so that necessary
steps can be taken to keep those influences in a proper perspective. By
identifying when you are most susceptible to those outside influences, you
can bear down with a little discipline and follow your own course.
8. Did I fail to seriously consider the nature of
the CRITICISM directed at my work?
Too often officials simply dismiss the criticism of their work coming from
coaches, players, the bench, and the stands as being biased, irrational or
coming from an uninformed audience. Even though those explanations may be
correct a great deal of the time, it can be helpful to know why certain
criticisms are made be certain audience at certain times. On the other
hand, there may be some merit to the criticisms, which may be overlooked
if you are too quick to defend your work or dismiss the criticism.
9. Were there any situations where I avoided or
usurped responsibility for a ruling at the expense of a PARTNER?
It is a human tendency to avoid potentially threatening situation while
seeking those that are likely to be rewarding. You should be careful,
however, of any action that might reflect badly upon your partner. Whether
you allowed your partner to take responsibility for a ruling you should
have made or you stepped in and overruled your partner, you should be
certain it is done in the interest of the game rather than for any
personal motive.
10. Was there anything about my signals, gestures
or style that evoked an UNEXPECTED or unwanted response?
An official is often unaware of how his work appears to others. As a
result, his work may be seen as inappropriate incompetent. For example,
although you may want to appear relaxed during the course of your work,
you may be perceived as appearing disinterested. Good officials, on each
occasion, should know something about the character of their audiences and
adjust their performance to produce the best possible results. Such
insight takes time, experience and attentiveness to the changing character
of audiences.
11. Did I uphold, defend or RATIONALIZE and
improper ruling?
Many officials live by the old adage that to change a decision is to
provoke criticisms and undermine credibility. Is should be kept in mind
that the purpose for which an official is hired is to ?call?em right?. If
you are unable to handle criticism or are too concerned with an
untarnished image, you probably shouldn?t get involved in such work. When
a mistake is made , you should accept responsibility rather than penalize
the participants by insisting upon its correctness. In the long run, that
type of inflexibility does more damage to your credibility than almost
anything else. However, you should never allow those mistakes to continue.
If you are consistently accepting responsibility for the same blown call
over and over again, you will end up losing credibility.
12. Was there a particular aspect of my
PERFORMANCE that could work on in the next game?
The perfect game has yet to be worked. If you ever answer ?NO? to this
question, you are either deceiving yourself or not interested in
perfecting your craft. There are always areas in need of improvement.
Officials who are satisfied with all past performances are either lazy,
disinterested or simply haven?t had their weaknesses exploited (they will
eventually). You should always work under the assumption that you are only
as good as your next call and should make every effort to ensure it?s a
good one.
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