Students face mid-term/final exams. Accountants take the CPA exam. Lawyers take the Bar exam. Doctors take the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam. These exams are designed to gauge how much the student has learned and retained and can put into practice.
Similarly, officials face final exams each game. Most
situations and fouls that occur during a game are second nature to officials
due to experience and preparation of the crew. However, we sometimes must dig
deep into our memory to properly handle a challenging situation that occurs. We
must recall based on our past experiences/games, rules study, video study,
quizzes, and various other tools which has prepared us to face the situation
and get it right.
Baker College released an article “Seven Final Exam
Strategies for Success.” Let’s explore
how each one correlates to officiating.
1.
Create a Study Schedule: Officials have many responsibilities outside
of officiating. Do not just think
studying and reviewing will happen when you have time. Instead, you must be
intentional on setting aside time to devote to sharpening your understanding of
the game.
2.
Study with a positive attitude and clear
direction: Officiating is filled
with negativity and often focuses on what was done wrong. Even in the negative, turn the situation into
a positive learning experience to apply going forward.
3.
Utilize the Resources Available to You: With
today’s technology, we have unlimited game video and training videos. Take
advantage of them.
4.
Explain what you are studying to another
person: Study groups and crew meetings enable officials to hold each other
accountable and to discuss plays and rules interpretations. Find a study group
or start one and participate in crew meetings!
5.
Avoid Distractions: Our first priorities
should be to take care of family and job responsibilities. But sometimes extracurricular
activities need to be delayed when preparing and working as officials. It takes
sacrifice of self.
6.
Prepare, prepare, and prepare some more: We should take rest-breaks to renew our mind
and body, but our preparation should never stop. Watching games, studying rule book and
mechanics, study groups, reviewing evaluations, and exercising should
continuously be a part of preparation. Basically, it is part of an official’s
DNA.
7.
Take care of you, too: Stay healthy and
safe. Taking care of ourselves is a big part of our preparation. Know when to rest and relax and know when it
is time to prepare physically and mentally.
James 1: 2-4: Consider it pure joy, my brothers and
sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the
testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work
so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
What does it take to finish the exam well? PERSERVERANCE! Perseverance is defined “to continue
in a course of action in the face of difficulty.” The scripture above states we
should “consider it pure joy” to face trials.
Not many of us view trials or problems as joy. But when we face tests as officials, as we
work through the process, we are most often better on the other side! That is the joy of perseverance. That is the
joy of being prepared. The more prepared
we are, the better opportunity for success.
Then, as quoted in scripture above, we will be “mature, complete, and
lacking nothing.”
