Officiating

So what happens when a veteran college basketball official takes on a new sport? Koch shares his first game, the flag he didn’t throw, and what basketball taught him about football.

We’re excited to share this conversation with Violet Palmer, the trailblazing NBA referee. From growing up in Compton to becoming the first woman to officiate in the NBA, Violet shares how hard work, a positive attitude, and a team that believes in you can lead to opportunities you may have only dreamed of.

Leonard Longhorn of the New Mexico Activities Association shares how officiating with his wife and kids has shaped his approach to mentorship, game management, and having fun.

Mark Baltz, RefReps’ CFO and co-founder, and retired NFL referee, tells his story of officiating his first varsity high school football game.

You may know him as the "TikTok Ref" or "TheYoungRef," but Jeremi Barnes is a phenomenon on the field and in his personal life. A couple of years ago, he started posting online, and a video of him being mic'd up went viral. Everything took off from that point on.

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.

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.