During one of my most recent Full-Timeouts during the Hardwood Hustle Podcast, I had an opportunity to speak on properly managing officials. As coaches, we all become frustrated with officials at some point of another. Let me tell you a secret, they aren’t going anywhere any time soon. Officials are responsible for controlling and managing the game. As a coaching staff, it is your duty to help manage the officials as well. That is why I have created this checklist on How to Manage Officials. You never know, you may be truly creating home-court advantage by following these guidelines!
- Honor them
- Respect them
- Pray for them
- Thank them
- Provide a safe and respectful environment before and after the game for the officials to get dressed in.. Avoid putting them in a broom closet or in the boiler room.
- Define the rules of the venue to the officials
- Where the opposing team be dressing?
- Who and where the Athletic Director is located
- Who and where the security is located
- When the officials arrive, have a manager, assistant coach, or your Athletic Director meet them and take them to their dressing room and ask what they need before and after the game
- Halftime, have someone ask what they need for the road when the game is finished (i.e.:Food or drinks from the concession stand)
- Post Game: Provide safety and refreshments (discussed at Halftime) and give instructions for them to best navigate out of premises to avoid the crowd. Consider also providing a personal escort to the parking lot
- Thank them again. Let these words be the last they hear from yourself and your staff.
