By Dale Goodwin
Reprinted from Referee Magazine, July 2018 issue
stablishing professional standards is key to your advancement.
Putting on the uniform doesn’t make you professional. Placing a whistle around your neck only gives you one tool you need to do your job. Being professional at what you do is about developing a mindset that permeates all that you do.
We all want to be “A” students, right? Truly being professional is all about “A” work – attitude, approach and appreciation.
Perhaps the most important tool in an official’s repertoire is attitude.
ATTITUDE is Priority One
Do you want to be that official no one wants to work with? The ref who wants to make sure everyone knows how good they are and talk about that last great match they had. You know who those referees are. Or do you want to be the referee who everyone wants to work with . . . you’re competent, comport yourself well, and always put your team first. Your first question is how can I help you tonight?
A truly professional official has a positive attitude, and treats her or his team, game management and participants with care and class. This ref respects the game, is willing to listen to and assist his or her partners, and is flexible with their assigners. Most of all, this ref is humble. You won’t hear them talking about past volleyball reffing conquests. Their mind is focused on the match at hand.
How You APPROACH Your Game is Key
How you approach your work gives your partners and others a sense of your care, or lack thereof, for the contest. Are you talking up a storm about subjects unrelated to volleyball officiating, chatting with one of the coaches who might be a friend, looking for acquaintances in the audience, or worse, looking to identify where your observers might be seated? Or do you focus on your match, your partners and what you need to do to be successful as a team?
Do you prepare well for each assignment, communicating with partners, checking your ref bag before you leave, making sure your uniform is clean and pressed, and your car is filled with gas?
Once on site, do you meet and establish a positive attitude with the game manager, inspect the site for any obstacles that may come into play and meet your PA announcer, timer and CRS technician well ahead of match time?
Do you have the kind of match command that assigners, competitors and your team like to see in their partners? In tense situations, do you remain calm, listen to the issues as presented by coaches or captains, or even members of your own team, and respond cordially and with purpose? Do you exercise good preventative officiating to minimize issues before they become big problems? Officiating volleyball includes a lot of grey area. The rules are our guidelines, but how we use them is often what distinguishes an average official from a very good one.
Do you remind yourself to be part of the solution, rather than exacerbate the problem?
I often refer up-and-coming officials to the words of Thomas Jefferson: “Nothing gives a person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances.” Words to live by, for sure.
Are you an official who invests in yourself? Do you attend camps and clinics, the annual PAVO Convention and other channels of advanced training opportunities? Are you trustworthy? Do you keep your availability updated so your assigners don’t have to reassign your turn-backs?
Are you the ref more focused on yourself and what you need to do to look good to others? If that’s the case, it will clearly show to your partners, assigners, and others who observe your work. And your movement up the career ladder in volleyball officiating will be stymied. You do everything to support your team and make it look good, and you’ll look good.
There’s a Lot to APPRECIATE
Do you appreciate this tremendous opportunity we as volleyball officials have to be a part of this great sport, and to associate with our wonderful cadre of partners across the country? Do you stop to appreciate your assigners? Or do you complain about your assignments or the partners you’ve been paired with? If this where you are, stop it. You don’t have to do this. If it’s not making you happy, then move on.
Do you always thank your partners for their work when a day is done? Are you appreciative of the feedback they offer, or are you quick to defend your actions? How about a thanks to the game managers who take care of your needs? And the trainers who have helped you learn the “professional” way to go about your business.
Practical Professionalism Tips
· As an official, you are a public figure. Moms who watched you ref their daughter are watching you 24/7/365. Your professionalism is on the line. Stay classy.
· Treat your partners like subordinates and you’ll lose their respect. Treat them like colleagues and you’ll earn their respect.
· See your team’s perspectives; ask for feedback if you’re the team leader.
· When receiving feedback, don’t be defensive. Listen. If you hear something that seems contrary to what you’ve learned, stick it in your bonnet and later ask a valued mentor or senior official about it.
· When mentoring officials, avoid using your own examples. Give examples in third-person to avoid any semblance of ego that may dilute your message in the receiver’s mind.
· Social media: avoid interacting with coaches which might paint you with a bias; avoid talking about your assignments or your accomplishments; don’t post comments about your matches, recent outcomes, partners or coach conduct
· Avoid bringing attention to yourself. Let your work speak for itself.
Dale Goodwin is a National Rated Volleyball Official, former PAVO National Rating and Officials Training Teams member, and longtime member of the PAVO Board of Directors. From Spokane, Washington, Dale is communications manager at Gonzaga University in his “free” time.
