All Blog Posts

Whether you’ve been familiar with us for a while, or you’ve only recently heard about us, we want to take a moment to tell you about how we got here, what you’ll see in this space, and what we hope this blog will do for you and the world of sports officiating.

Former college athlete Kyla Dinkel has spent 15 years officiating Alaska basketball, recently making history as part of the state’s first-ever all-female referee crew for a state championship game. In this interview, she offers an unfiltered look at surviving mental burnout, the tight-knit community behind the whistle, and the technical love for the game that keeps her returning to the hardwood season after season.

We spoke with Donnie Souders, NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball National Coordinator of Officials, about his officiating journey, the evolution of the women’s game, and what it will take to strengthen the officiating pipeline.

One of the most effective ways to improve your officiating skills and advance your career is by attending an officiating camp or referee training camp. These camps provide hands-on experience, feedback from experienced clinicians, and opportunities to refine mechanics, rules knowledge, and communication skills. In this post, we’ll give you some tips about camp: what to look for, what to expect, and how to maximize your development.

In collaboration with our partners at Sports Officials Care and our friends at Major League Baseball, as a part of ESPN’s “Take Back Sports” initiative, Jim Joyce, longtime MLB umpire, shares how chasing perfection in officiating can lead to frustration, and how accountability and credibility can lead sports officials through tough situations.

Sports officiating requires preparation, composure, and the ability to make confident decisions in fast-moving environments. For many officials, the profession becomes something more than simply enforcing rules on the field or court. For Kristopher Loving, officiating has become a way to serve others and help develop the next generation of sports officials.

Mark Baltz, RefReps’ CFO and co-founder, has spent a lifetime officiating baseball, basketball, and football, including 25 years in the NFL. In this blog series, he reflects on his journey through high school, college, and professional officiating, offering insights to help fellow officials develop their craft. Here is the first entry in the series of his story:

A checklist is used to ensure that steps in a process are completed accurately, consistently, and in the correct sequence. We use them all the time in our daily life, whether we’re completing tasks at work, fixing something at home, or compiling information for a report. It makes sense, then, that we would use checklists regularly as part of officiating, both on and off the field.

Coaches and officials are both educators, leaders and decision-makers under pressure. When they take time to understand each other’s perspectives, the quality of the game improves for everyone involved.

We interviewed respected educator Brennan Torgerson, who recently retired from his role as the business teacher from Buhler High School in Kansas. His long career spans 35 years of high school teaching, with 20 years spent at Buhler. In his retirement, he remains active, continuing his role as the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Coordinator and coaching boys and girls golf at Buhler, plus teaching an online class for Hutchinson Community College. Brennan's passion for st