The Crown Refs Podcast

Lathan Williams is a 7-year old. 3-sport official in training and viral sensation having amassed over 300,000 fans is a short span. The videos of him officiating basketball, football, and baseball have garnered millions of views on TikTok as he's the internets most popular official and a fan favorite to those who get to watch him perform live. He's joined by his parents to talk about what how he blew up and what he loves about the refs.

The Use The Game Podcast is geared towards individuals who have used Athletics to push them forward in their careers. We will interview former and current pros, successful student athletes and contributors to their individual sports. ⁣ ⁣ In this episode I join Coach Nique to help bridge the communication gap between officials and coaches for the betterment of the game. We discuss common misconceptions about officials, the best ways coaches can communicate their questions, and provide clarity on illegal screens & block/charge plays.⁣ ⁣ 𝘌𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝟸𝟹𝟻-𝟸𝟹𝟾 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘰𝘯. 𝘾𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙨

Welcome to the Best of 2021 compilation. This episode includes over 3 hours of our best moments from this past year featuring Maia Chaka, Dee Kantner, Natasha Camy, Lisa Mattingly, Roger Ayers, J.B. Caldwell, Tyler Ford, Bill Spooner, and the whole Crown Refs community of officials. We hope you enjoy it and thank you so much for your appreciation & support.⁣ ⁣ 𝗧𝗼 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 ⁣ 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗻.𝗰𝗼𝗺/𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘀

In our 3rd film session with Crown Refs Mentor, we break down one of my recent games from the 21-22 season. We discuss how and when to use our 3 different voices-Command presence, normal, diffusing. ⁣ ⁣ We also speak about why we talk ourselves out of upgrading fouls and why we shouldn't ignore unsportsmanlike conduct just because our partner does. Some other plays we look at involve pass/crash criteria and a monster time and distance play from Carmela Garcia.⁣ ⁣ 𝙏𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙨⁣ 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗻.𝗰𝗼𝗺/𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘀

This audio is an exclusive interview with former 32-year NBA official Bill Spooner. Bill has worked over 1500 regular-season games and 100 NBA playoff games in his amazing tenure. ⁣ ⁣ In this episode, we spoke about having mental toughness and list specific ways that officials can re-apply the pressure back on the coaches and players. This is a concept that is foreign to most referees but is something we are leaning heavily into at Crown Refs. We thank Bill for displaying the type of grit that more officials need to embody.⁣ ⁣ Other topics include Kobe’s 81 performance, why we shouldn't sell, what to do when your partner calls a technical foul and the bond that he shares with his son Drew through officiating.⁣ ⁣ 𝗧𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝘀⁣ 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗻.𝗰𝗼𝗺/𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘀

This episode features the 5th session of our rapid response training with the Mentor group.  We lead by covering a new memo from the NCAA regarding sportsmanship, bench decorum, calling the rules as written, and a renewed sense of respect for the game.  ⁣ ⁣ We found this information to be a foundational tool on how we should manage the game and it also provided some new language for us to integrate into our responses to coaches and players.  ⁣ ⁣ We also heard different members of the group share recent scenarios involving coaches, how they handled it and what they can do better.  We hope this audio helps you add a few things to your belt.⁣ ⁣ 𝗧𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻⁣ 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗻.𝗰𝗼𝗺/𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘀

This episode features the second installment of Signal School-Live with the Crown Refs Mentor group. In this session, we practice 4 different signals to improve our form and presentation during our games including the “stay here” signal, the wave off, hit to the head and chucking. ⁣ ⁣ We recommend utilizing the stay here signal as a highly effective way to communicate that it's a non-shooting foul in the frontcourt (post, rebounding, cutting fouls).⁣ ⁣ Thank you to all of the officials who participated in this session as it takes a high level of confidence and humility.⁣ ⁣ 𝙏𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙨 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗻.𝗰𝗼𝗺/𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘀

The Real Coach D, Phil Diasparra, is back for his 3rd installment as he gives us 7 Qualities of a Great Official. We hope you enjoy! Integrity – great officials are the guardians of honesty in athletics. He must maintain a complete absence of bias. An official holds the position in the world of sports not unlike a judge in a court of law. If you aspire to be a great official you never put yourself in a position where your integrity could be questioned. The integrity of the game must always be upheld.⁣ Hustle- Officiating is a game of angles and positioning, officiating hustle describes movement and court position. There is no connection to speed and meaningless motion. Every great official moves efficiently to be in the right place at the right time. It’s the only way to see the entire play and make the correct call.⁣ Judgment- Great judgment is a byproduct of effort and experience. It goes beyond the rule book and includes an almost instinctive ability to apply the critical principle of advantage/disadvantage. This is at the heart of officiating that no team or player gets an unfair advantage or is placed at an unfair disadvantage.⁣ Communication-90% of officiating is being a people person, know how to deal with people. Listening is important that’s why we have two ears and one mouth, listen twice as much as we speak.⁣ Communication means “can you deal with people?” Can you deal with coaches, players during a game? Communication can be accomplished in many ways and in most cases, the situation will dictate your appropriate response. Sometimes a simple response to the question, a one-word answer, or a look can communicate what is needed at a particular time. Saying the right thing to the right person at the right time can help one avoid potential problems in a game. Communication is also the knowledge of when it’s best not to say anything.⁣ Consistency- Young officials have more difficulty with consistency than any other quality, mainly because they lack the experience to realize when their decisions are inconsistent. Everyone has some difficulty in this regard, but the great officials are unrelenting in their judgment. They see and call a game better than their colleagues. The key is to make the same call on the same kind of play whether it’s the first minute of the game or the score is tied with one minute left to play. If they believe an official is consistent, coaches and players will adjust accordingly. Inconsistent decisions on similar plays trigger negative behavior and poor sportsmanship among players and invite criticism from coaches. If you try and fail it’s a mistake, if you repeat the mistake it’s a decision.⁣ Confidence- There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Regardless of the situation, personalities involved, pressures from the crowd, or possible repercussions, great officials place fairness above all other concerns. They act confidently and according to the dictates of that value. You should hold yourself to a Higher than normal ethical standard. Be a legacy leader.⁣ Common Sense - I’ve saved this one for last. Of the qualities listed, common sense is the most important. That which is fair and right must take precedence throughout each game. Common sense ensures that fairness, understanding, and the best interests of the game are foremost in the mind of a great official. If you truly understand the spirit and intent of the rules, common sense will guide you well.⁣ To join our Patreon/Discord/Zoom community patreon.com/crownrefs

This audio is an exclusive interview with referee trainer extroidinaire J.B. Caldwell. J.B. is a former 21-year Division 1 official who then served as the NBA's Sr. Scouting Advisor of Referee Operations from 2013-2020. In his time there, he played a key role in helping to develop many of the current NBA Officials you see today. He recently spoke to our mentor group about his 5 Pillars of Officiating, and the importance of building a foundation through solid fundamentals. We talked about ways to improve our game management and what it means to show great partnering. J.B. also touched on overcoming disappointment and gave some life tips on how to navigate in your journey.  We hope you find value in this episode that you can apply on the court. Please let us know what you thought! For full episode please join our private officiating community  patreon.com/crownrefs

In our 4th Rapid Response session, we hit on some big picture points and talk about having the right perspective before we even enter the encounter. ⁣ ⁣ This included the major mindset theme of not trying to convince the coach that you got the call correct or prove to them that our way of thinking is better. ⁣ ⁣ Too many times officials get into debates and try to sell ideas to coaches which causes us to lose the leverage by lowering down to their level. ⁣ ⁣ This episode also featured ways how we can control the conversation and stressed the importance and the ability to dictate the terms of the dialogue. ⁣ ⁣ A special thank you to Arjan Perovic for joining us to role play and bring his coach's perspective to the conversation.⁣ ⁣ To join our private community⁣ Patreon.com/crownrefs