Keeping Your Composure During Tough Plays

“Officiating Pearls”

Keeping Your Composure During Tough Plays

-Jerod Phillips NFL Down Judge #6

“Keep your cool” he said. That was what my father Buddy Phillips taught me to do in my early years of officiating football. I am sad to say that it took almost twenty years to take root. Officiating is about managing people, situations, and ourselves as officials on and off the field. We cannot control how people act, plays or situations, but we can control how we react to them and how much composure we interject into these situations.

I have been involved in my fair share of plays that have not went well, for me at least. As the years went by in my officiating career I began to see how everyday life and officiating were closely related. Sometimes it’s best to say nothing at all, just listen and walk away. For many years I tried to justify, with coaches, when mistakes that I made were obvious. “Keep your composure son”, really meant that it is ok to be wrong just don’t try to justify it, learn from it. Next time we find ourselves in that heated situation, just listen. If we were wrong, it’s ok to say so. The whole world probably already knows it. Don’t multiply mistakes by trying to justify them, instead try to be the eye of the storm.

I always cringe when I hear officials say “the Chain Crew today was the worst I have ever had” or “the sideline Ball Personnel was bad today.” We as officials should never be critical of these people that are there to help us. The fact that they are not good is our fault. We must take the time to instruct these very import parts of the crew to perform the way we expect them to. A good pre-game discussion on what is expected of them is a must. We also have to continue to “coach” them throughout the game. Take some time to talk to them and let them know what they are doing well, and how they can improve. If we have someone that is not performing or wanting to cooperate, then we are well within our rights as officials to address them or the on-site administrator. This must always be done as a last resort, but some situations call for it. Make sure the Chain Crew and Ball Personnel know how important they are and make them feel like part of the Crew. Take some time to properly instruct them and continue throughout the game and notice the number of “Bad” Crews you are having will start to decrease.