What Should The Off-Season Actually Look Like For Referees? 🤷🏻‍♂️

PRE-GAME

Today’s lineup:

• Tip-Off: Audit Yourself Like A Pro 🧠

• Primary Coverage Area: What Are PL Refs Doing That We’re Not ⚽️

• Crunch Time: Off-Season Film Study 🎥

• Media Timeout: Free Throw Funnies 😂

• Option to Advance 👉🏼

• Game Report 📝

TIP OFF

Tip Of The Week: Audit Yourself Like A Pro

For this week, run a simple off-season audit using these 5 questions:

1. Am I doing any physical training that reflects the pace, movement, and stops/starts of real games?

2. When’s the last time I reviewed game film and graded myself honestly?

3. How many referee-specific conversations am I having this month?

4. Am I mentally preparing for game situations, or just waiting for the first game to get sharp again?

5. If I worked a playoff game tomorrow, what would I not feel ready for?

You don’t need to earn a NBA ref’s salary to train like you take this seriously.

PRIMARY COVERAGE AREA

⚽️ What Are Premier League Refs Doing That We're Not?

I came across an article about how English Premier League (that’s soccer for those that don’t follow) referees are training, and it got me thinking about our own profession.

These soccer officials are now operating like elite athletes:

• Mandatory sprint tests

• GPS tracking during matches

• Sports psychologists

• Personalized nutrition plans

• Comprehensive match debriefs with peer analysis.

[Read the full article here] - The Guardian reports that PGMOL is professionalizing officiating at every level, treating referees like the high-performance athletes they need to be.

The Principle We Can Apply

We don't have GPS monitors or team nutritionists. But the core idea translates,

Performance is intentional, not accidental.

They're tracking sprint speeds and recovery times. We can ask: Do I know how my positioning changes when I'm tired? Have I timed my baseline-to-baseline speed on fast breaks?

They use sports psychologists for pressure situations. We have film sessions, mentors, and peer discussions.

But are we using them strategically to build confidence?

The ‘Off’ season Question

Premier League refs treat the off-season as preparation time, not break time. They're running drills, analyzing data, working with specialists.

Many of us see summer as decompression time. And maybe we do need that mental break…

From the regular season, through the playoffs, right into camp season, and don’t forget about your personal life. What if we also used some of that time to get better at the basics we can control?

It’s Worth Asking Yourself

• Fitness: When did you last test your conditioning? Are you sharp in fourth quarters?

• Mental prep: How do you practice handling pressure when there's no game on the line?

• Recovery: Are you sleeping and eating to perform, or just getting by?

• Analysis: Do you review games with the same intentionality they bring to theirs?

We might not have Premier League resources, but we can have Premier League mentality about continuous improvement.

What's one area where you've been more intentional about preparation? Or what does their approach make you want to focus on? Hit reply and let us know! 🏀

CRUNCH TIME

Off-Season Film Study: How We Actually Get Better

The off-season isn't just about hitting the gym, it's about building that professional eye that separates good officials from great ones. This double screen breakdown shows exactly what I mean.

Watch how we broke down this missed illegal screen together. We didn't just say "oh, that's a foul." We dug into the details: Who was the primary defender? What movement patterns should we be reading? Why did focusing on the ball handler instead of the screener cause us to miss it?

This is how we develop as officials. Take those tough plays that got away from you, study them with people who care about getting better, and figure out what you can do differently next time. The insight about "whoever moves first gets first shot" didn't come from a rulebook—it came from years of experience shared openly.

That's the mindset that moves careers forward. Every difficult situation becomes a chance to learn something new about your craft.

Want access to discussions where we analyze exactly these kinds of game management decisions? Click here to have the honest conversations that help officials navigate the gray areas.

MEDIA TIMEOUT

Free Throw Funnies

OPTION TO ADVANCE

GAME REPORT