

The Crown Refs Podcast
Paul Diasparra
The Crown Refs Podcast is the ultimate audio experience for basketball officials looking to elevate their craft, build confidence, and achieve long-term success on and off the court. Hosted by Paul Diasparra, this podcast helps referees master their skills, refine their judgment, and develop a strong officiating mindset. It features top names in officiating like Joey Crawford, Roger Ayers, Dee Kantner, Maia Chaka, Lisa Mattingly, Tyler Ford, Penny Davis, Reggie Greenwood, Scott Foster, Al Battista, Crystal Hogan, Bo Boroski, Gary Vee, Clarence Armstrong, and more. #Servethegame
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 14, 2020 โข 23min
#104 Daily Burst from the Bubble vol. 1 | Rockets/Thunder Game 6 | with John Mattison
๐๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ, we cover the excellent work by our featured official, Kevin Scott in our Daily Burst from the Bubble - Volume 1.โฃ
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๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ผ takes us through what we need to look for in determining a block vs charge call and how to stay calm and professional when players donโt agree with your call.โฃ
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๐ง๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ and check out how we can learn from one of the gameโs best referees, Kevin Scott when it comes to executing proper mechanics and improving your decision making on bang-bang plays.โฃ
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๐จ๐พ๐ง๐ค๐ฌ๐ฃ ๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐๐ฌ๐จ ๐ผ๐ก๐๐ง๐ฉ๐จ โฃ
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๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐, we remain dedicated to bringing the most value to basketball officials through our free content. In an effort to produce even more volume, weโre excited to add another creator to our content team. โฃ
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๐ ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ณs new Beat Writer ๐๐ฐ๐ฉ๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ช๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ. John, is a 5th-year official from Minneapolis, MN with a Communications and Sportswriting background who is eager to add another dimension to our platform.โฃ
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๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ of the Daily Burst series and he is making his video debut here on episode 104 of the Crown Refs Podcast.โฃ
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๐ฅ ๐ง๐ผ ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต the episodeโฃ
https://youtu.be/2Q0FAKWzSdUโฃ
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๐ฉ ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ด๐ป ๐๐ฝ for our free newsletter by texting โservethegameโ to 22828โฃ
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๐ช๐ฒ ๐ต๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ท๐ผ๐!โฃ
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Sep 11, 2020 โข 1h 8min
#103 Andrew Marotta | 15-year D1 Official | ELB Surviving & Thriving Podcast | Principal Sparks
๐ผ๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง๐ค๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ is an energetic and enthusiastic school leader who has put his positive imprint on his beloved school, Port Jervis HS, in Port Jervis, NY. With the release of his first book, THE PRINCIPAL: Surviving & Thriving. 125 Points of Wisdom, Practical Tips, and Relatable Stories for all School Principals, Andrew is looking to expand his impact on others. โฃ
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๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ, Father, Principal, Former 15-year Division One College Basketball Official, Professional Speaker & Developer, podcaster, blogger, and now an author. โฃ
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๐๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ, ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด:โฃ
โข His career in college basketball and working in the ACCโฃ
โข We listed the many mentors who helped him along the wayโฃ
โข Told a Roger Ayers story from a 2008 conference playoff gameโฃ
โข Tips, Tricks, and strategies from his bookโฃ
โข What he learned most from officiating and how it applies to being a Principalโฃ
โข The biggest challenges he faced during his NCAA yearsโฃ
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๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฑ ๐ด๐ฌ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ธโ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ข๐ญ: ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ท๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ & ๐๐ฉ๐ณ๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จโ ๐ข๐ท๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต๐ต๐ข.๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎโฃ
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๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ผโฃ
https://youtu.be/z6VHBZ0_LDkโฃ
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๐ช๐ฒ ๐ต๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ท๐ผ๐!โฃ
โฃ#servethegame

Sep 5, 2020 โข 1h 17min
#102 Game Notes 008 with Zack Murphy | Savannah, GA | 4th-year Official
In this edition of ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ด, we had the opportunity to work with Zack Murphy from Savannah, TN. Zack is a 21-year old senior at Mississippi State University majoring in Biomedical Engineering. He started officiating as a freshman in college and this upcoming season will his fourth season officiating high school basketball. His goal is to become a Division 1 menโs official. โฃ
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We had a lot of teachable moments throughout the session as we discussed having whistle discipline to avoid game Interrupters, practical tips to better manage coaches, and how secondary whistles should sound different than our primary cadence. We think you're going to find a lot of value in this podcast as it's the longest Game Notes episode to date (76 mins).โฃ
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๐ฅ To watch https://youtu.be/GVtvUZgIPdI
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๐ฉ To sign up for our free newsletter text โservethegameโ to 22828

Aug 18, 2020 โข 20min
#101 Game Notes 007 with Roger Ayers | Roanoke, VA | 23-year Division 1 Official
In this edition of ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ด, 23-year Division 1 official ๐๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด brings us 5 ACC/SEC plays from previous seasons. The plays features a ๐๐ฐ๐ฉ๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ช technical foul, a ๐๐ฐ๐บ ๐๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ข๐ฎ๐ด encounter and a last second foul in a conference matchup between ๐๐ช๐ณ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ข and ๐๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ด๐ฃ๐ถ๐ณ๐จ๐ฉ. We also discussed some good dead ball officiating tips for when multiple players go down to the floor. โฃ
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Game Notes is the show for basketball officials and we recommend that you watch it on YouTube for the visual instruction. โฃ
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You can watch it here https://youtu.be/dogSnTjNYtA

Jul 27, 2020 โข 1h 41min
#100 Roger Ayers MasterClass | 22-year Divsion 1 Official | 3 Final Four Selections
In ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ช๐ด๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ท๐ถ๐ถ, it makes perfect sense to bring you over ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐ฝ๐, insights and best practices from Final Four Official ๐๐ค๐๐๐ง ๐ผ๐ฎ๐๐ง๐จ. This podcast focuses on improving our communication skills with coaches, players and fellow officials. โฃ
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We covered numerous situations where you can insert a specific ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ to better manage the game at that ๐บ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐. Special thanks to ๐๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด for all of the wisdom and experience that he shared with us throughout this episode. โฃ
And Thank you for 100 episodes of The Crown Refs Podcast. This would not have been possible without your interest and continued support. Let's keep growing together.โฃ
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๐บ To watch on YouTube click belowโฃ
https://youtu.be/xo9jqKozeaI

Jul 14, 2020 โข 38min
#99 Game Notes 006 with Dillon Berner | Denver, CO | 4-year Official
In this edition of ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ค๐ฉ๐๐จ we had the pleasure to work with ๐ฟ๐๐ก๐ก๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฝ๐๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ง who just finished his 4th season officiating and is currently a Division 2 Womenโs Basketball in Colorado. โฃDillon has a certified professional appearance to him and showed a lot of command and composure throughout the game. We feel that he is well on his way to one day becoming a Division 1 official. โฃ
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In this episode, we broke down over 13 plays and here are some of the key takeaways and themes from our session:โฃ
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๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ #๐ญ. Rotating in the Leadโฃ
๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ #๐ฎ. Illegal Screen or Push through?โฃ
๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ #๐ฏ. Go away Stay awayโฃ
๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ #๐ฐ. Rotate without Runningโฃ
๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ #๐ฑ. Composure is our normโฃ
๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ #๐ฒ. PC Foul or No-Call?โฃ
๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ #๐ณ. One hand at a timeโฃ
๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ #๐ด. Lock in Secondary Defendersโฃ
๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ #๐ต. Cadence Whistle from Secondaryโฃ
๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ #๐ญ๐ฌ. Layered plays need more patienceโฃ
๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ #๐ญ๐ญ. Donโt be in a rush to rotateโฃ
๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ #๐ญ๐ฎ. The Awkward and the Uglyโฃ
๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ #๐ญ๐ฏ. Always handle business first โฃ
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Episode 99 is available in to watch on YouTube here https://youtu.be/Kb7OhbMsfTA #servethegame

Jul 6, 2020 โข 20min
#98 CROWN REFS: All-Access
Crown Refs All: Access is a 3-part referee mini-series on YouTube, and an in depth look at the passion that we have at Crown Refs for giving back to the game and developing others. We hope you find value you in this episode which is designed to help you add new pieces to your tool belt.
Thank you to all of the officials, players and coaches that were featured in this content.
To watch click here https://youtu.be/FBtGfplo5Yc

Jun 26, 2020 โข 46min
#97 Dan Hughes | Seattle Storm Head Coach | 2018 WNBA Champion | 2-time WNBA Coach of Year
๐ฟ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ช๐๐๐๐จ, is the 3rd winningest coach in WNBA history and currently in his 3rd season coaching the ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ. Coach Hughes is a 2018 WNBA champion, 2-time WNBA coach of the year and a 2019 cancer survivor. โฃ
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In this episode, our goal was to bridge some of the communication gaps between ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ and ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ and work towards finding a positive common ground as dual participants of the game. โฃ
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๐๐๐ข๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐จ. โฃ
๐ญ:๐ฏ๐ณ How to achieve success and longevity in your profession. โฃ
๐ฏ:๐ฐ๐ฎ How do you identify and great official? โฃ
๐ด:๐ฌ๐ฑ What do coaches like least about officials? โฃ
๐ต:๐ฐ๐ฑ How to tell when an official is nervous, weak or easily intimidated. โฃ
๐ญ๐ฒ:๐ฌ๐ฑ How can officials be better communicators? ๐ฎ๐ฌ:๐ฑ๐ฐ Complaining is counterproductive to winning. ๐ฎ๐ณ:๐ฑ๐ฎ A coachโs perspective on Technical Fouls. ๐ฏ๐ฌ:๐ญ๐ด How teams coach legal defense. โฃ
๐ฏ๐ฎ:๐ฎ๐ฒ How can coaches become better communicators? โฃ
๐ฏ๐ฒ:๐ฌ๐ฌ 2-way respect. โฃ
๐ฐ๐ฎ:๐ญ๐ฑ Bridging the Gap. โฃ
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๐บTo watch on YouTube โฌ๏ธโฃ
https://youtu.be/1f_qIzqhUSo

Jun 19, 2020 โข 20min
#96 Basketball is Back | The first games since the quarantine | with Raphael Benetiz
๐๐๐ basketball is back in the state of Florida which means there are officials working again. In this episode, we hear from one of the front-liners who has already worked multiple tournaments in facilities packed with fans. โฃ
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We welcome in ๐๐ข๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฆ๐ญ ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ป to give us some insights on what it was like getting back on the court post-quarantine. We talked about some new safety measures, his upcoming camp schedule, and the difficulties in transitioning from the ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ค ๐ง๐ฐ๐น ๐บ๐ถ to the electronic whistle. โฃ
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We wish you all a safe return back to the court, whenever your area or state allows. โฃ
#๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ

Jun 17, 2020 โข 32min
#95 Game Notes 005 with Al Battista | 44 years of officiating experience| Washington, DC
In this edition of ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ค๐ฉ๐๐จ, we welcome back special guest ๐๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ข as we analyze 5 plays from an ๐๐๐๐ and ๐๐๐๐ game. We hope you find value in the discussions and can add a few ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐น๐ to your belt from this episode.โฃ
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Here are the play types we that we broke down:โฃ
1) ๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ/๐.๐. โฃ
2) ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ด๐ฉ/๐๐ข๐ด๐ด โฃ
3) ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ด โฃ
4) ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐บ/๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ/๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ โฃ
5) ๐๐ข๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ช๐ฎ. โฃ
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Special Thanks to ๐๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ข for his numerous contributions to the ๐พ๐ง๐ค๐ฌ๐ฃ ๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐๐๐๐จ๐ฉ and program. To watch those episode on YouTube clicks below. https://youtu.be/yCftV4vMMcU