How to Become a Sports Official: A Practical Guide to Starting Your Officiating Journey

Do you have a passion for sports and want to get involved in an organized sports community? Are you an ex-high school or college athlete that is looking to get back in the game? Are you interested in supplementing your income? Have you ever considered officiating a sport but are intimidated by the learning curve or don't know where to start?

The purpose of this book is to help new sports officials navigate through the early process of becoming a sports official. If you are interested in officiating, this book will help answer the "who, what, when, where, why, how" questions you may have.

This book will put you on the fast track to becoming a sports official by teaching you the principles and practicalities behind officiating. You'll learn how to connect with your local association and start the rules study and certification process that, regardless of the sport, all members of the officiating community must navigate. The learning curve is steep and may be intimidating, but the practical knowledge this guide imparts will help you quickly absorb what you need to know as you begin your officiating journey.

There is no "one size fits all" approach to officiating, but there are some immutable tenets of officiating that all successful officials embrace. This book is a compilation of hundreds of hours of self-study, research, and conversations with veteran officials from multiple sports.

High School Sports Officials are in high demand across the United States.

Inside How to Become a Sports Official you'll get a practical head start on learning the in's and outs of high school officiating.

Inside this book you'll learn:

• How to establish a strong foundation on which to construct your officiating development
• The motivations behind becoming a Sports Official
• How to connect with the people and organizations in your local area that govern sports officials
• How to study the rules for the certification tests
• How to interact with coaches, players, fans, and your fellow officials
• Practical steps you can take to develop and progress as an official

Contains Three Bonus Chapters Including:

1. Tips for New Football Officials

A condensed guide for new football officials that walks you through preparation and execution of your duties as a wing official

2. Dealing with Coaches and Sideline Control

Randy Campbell's (2013 NCAA Division I Football National Championship Line Judge) guide to interacting with coaches and controlling the sideline

3. High School Athletic and Activity Associations Websites

Comprehensive links to state high school activities associations. This is where you can find contact information for your local association

Praise for this guide:

"Becoming a good official is like building a house. How do you build a house? You start by building a strong foundation upon which everything else is constructed. Reading this book is a positive first step in this process." -Randy Campbell, NCAA Division I Football and Women's Basketball Official

"This book does an excellent job compiling the essential tenets of what a new sports official needs to know. The content is valuable for all officials, regardless of experience. The "art" of officiating is rarely discussed in formal association meetings and this book has great insights. This summer I plan on recommending this guide to our new football officials." -George Demetriou, 2014 National Federation of State High School Association Hall of Fame Inductee