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!

  1. Honor them
  2. Respect them
  3. Pray for them
  4. Thank them
  5. 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.
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. Halftime, have someone ask what they need for the road when the game is finished (i.e.:Food or drinks from the concession stand)
  9. 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
  10. Thank them again. Let these words be the last they hear from yourself and your staff.

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