Officiating

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.