HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Crown Refs is grateful for all the support received in the year of 2020, and we are excited to flip the calendar into 2021 and continue growing as officials. On behalf of Crown Refs, we wish you and your families a safe and healthy new year.
Let’s take a look at some of the memorable moments 2020 has provided us!
JANUARY 2020
KEY MOMENTS
- Crown Refs All-Access Episode 2 launched
- Check it out on YouTube HERE!
- Crown Refs Podcast Episode 69 with Nicole Robinson
- Nicole explains how growing up the daughter of a referee helped spark her officiating career. Plus, we discuss signal preferences and some situations from our 3 games together.
- Verbal Judo
- Check out the podcast for the 5 Universal Truths for successful Referee Communication
Crown Refs All Access Series
Crown Refs All: Access is a 4-part referee mini-series, 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 these episodes designed to help you continue to add new things in your tool belt.
This game was a 3-person training for IAABO Board 52 in Westchester County, New York. Thank you to all of the officials, players and coaches that were featured in this content.
In episode 2, we discuss anticipating the point of contact, position adjusting to avoid stacking, mechanics differences between 2-person vs. 3-person and the benefits of finding your film.

Live From: House of Sports returns with volume 4 featuring Nicole Robinson.

Verbal Judo Institute has equipped over a million individuals with the necessary skills to redirect behavior and generate voluntary compliance.
We know you will find a ton of value in this audio that can be directly implemented in your game.
LEARN MORE ABOUT VERBAL JUDO HERE
FEBRUARY 2020
KEY MOMENTS
- Diana DePaul
- Former 20 year Division 1 and Division 2 championship ref Diana DePaul joined the podcast for podcast #74.
- Crown Refs introduced the IPR – a revolutionary service for basketball officials of all skill sets looking to improve their game and take it to the next level.
- Crown Hacks
- Crown Hacks is the new line of content from Crown Refs offering quick and easy solutions to both common and uncommon play types and situations that occur throughout the game. Check out the Crown Hacks Content Pack below!
LISTEN TO DIANA’s EPISODE HERE!
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE IPR SERVICE HERE!
DOWNLOAD THE CONTENT PACK HERE!
MARCH 2020
SHINING MOMENTS
March 2020 was the month everything changed. March Madness was cancelled…
However, due to the strong community (you) and growth-mindset individuals, we still got better! Take a look at all of the officials who showed their support and invested in the IPR!
We hope the time and service has taken your reffing to the next level.
Here’s a snippet of the officials who trusted the IPR Service in March.


APRIL 2020
KEY MOMENTS:
- Communication with Coaches: When is it Too Much?
- Stop Thinking About your Partner’s Skill Level – It Doesn’t Matter!
Is it possible that sometimes we over-communicate with coaches and it gets us in trouble? When does the constant conversations become too much? How often do you engage in small-talk? All of these questions answered.
We also wrote an entire article on how to stay on the straight line and maintain control of the game at all times. Check it out!


MAY 2020
KEY MOMENTS
- Joey Crawford – Podcast Summaries
- Crown Refs All Access – Episode 3
- Darren Drake’s ABC’s of Mental Skills Training

COMMUNICATION W/ COACHES
a. Stay humble, admit mistakes, avoid arrogance
b. Coaches aren’t going to buy your shit, they aren’t clapping for you
c. You could be right, tape doesn’t lie
d. Admit mistakes
e. Find a way to get thru 48 minutes w/o burying your partners
f. Need to look HC / player in eye & be able to talk to them so they trust you
g. Always going to have problems in game
h. RUN THE GAME, BE CONFIDENT, & CREW
i. RUN GAME = KNOW RULES, GOOD PARTNER
j. When HC talks about partners – put a stop to it quick. I wouldn’t talk about your players, I’m not going to let you talk about my partners
ALLEN IVERSON
a. Tough to ref b/c on ground all the time
b. Tough b/c drive to the basket
c. Give him technical fouls b/c always arguing
d. Told him, Allen, refs are going to be here longer than you, we need to co-exist

Mental Performance A-Z
Darren Drake is a division 1 official and certified mental performance coach from Raleigh, NC. Back in May, he wrote a wonderful article on the A-Z’s of mental performance. You can check it out on the Crown Refs Medium page. This is a must read.
“Training the mental skills in officiating are similar to training the physical skills meaning that they won’t happen overnight or by accident. It takes time to implement and see the change and improvement in your game. The trick is to start small and keep it simple. Pick 2 or 3 areas to intentionally focus on and have an accountability partner to help push one another and keep track of your progress. Many times you will start to see changes in your relationships and quality of life before you start seeing the changes in what you do, officiating!”
Crown Refs All-Access | Episode 3
Crown Refs produced Crown Refs: All-Access, as a 4-part referee mini-series, 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 these episodes designed to help you continue to add new things in your tool belt.
Thank you to all of the officials, players and coaches that were featured in this content.
In episode 3, we talked about improving our “score the goal” signal and we discuss maybe the least talked about rule in the high school game.
JUNE 2020
KEY MOMENTS
- Marc Davis – Instruction through Tension
- Al Battista’s 21 Questions to Effectively Break Down Film
- Ashley Moyer-Gleich’s 3 Habits to Improve your Play Calling
🔺 He mentions a couple of items from red flag list and some play-calling guidelines to implement when we return from this basketball blackout.
YOU’RE NOT GOING TO WANT TO MISS THIS ONE!

🚩Use these markers as a template to help you better self-evaluate your performance.
🎨Hopefully, this can inspire you to add more questions to your own list but more importantly increase your content knowledge and awareness as a true observer into the art of officiating.
1️⃣ Do you wear out the pause and rewind buttons?
2️⃣ Are you always finding your clocks?
3️⃣ How do you referee plays to the basket and at the rim?
4️⃣ Are you patient enough in Lead or are you REACTING to incidental contact?
5️⃣ Are you in a dependable position or are you disconnected from the play?
6️⃣ Are you sideline oriented in Trial and Center or are you too far out onto the court?
7️⃣ Do you overrun plays in the Trail or do you stay centered on the ball line?
8️⃣ Do you referee to the top of your eyes or does your vision lack a vertical jump?
9️⃣ Are your rotations effective or is your timing and awareness off?
1️⃣0️⃣ Are you sequencing plays or do you struggle to recognize our order and timeline of rulings?
Check out the entire article to download all 21 questions HERE!

JULY 2020
KEY MOMENTS
- We sat down with Dan Hughes, the 3rd winningest coach in WNBA history and was currently in his 3rd season coaching the 𝘚𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮 at the time of the podcast.
- In this episode, our goal was to bridge some of the communication gaps between 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 and 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 and work towards finding a positive common ground as dual participants of the game.
- It’s always important to get a coach’s viewpoint of referees, so we can learn how to communicate better, as we are both serving the game in different ways.
- Roger Ayers also starred on Crown Refs Podcast Episode 100
- The amount of value provided by Roger in this 100 minute golden nugget will blow you away.
- If you haven’t listened yet, don’t miss out on hearing from one of the game’s best officials today.
Crown Refs Episode 100: Roger Ayers
This episode deep dives into communication with coaches, players, and officials. Roger shares a ton of information and Savvy that is definitely going to help your Response-Ability on the spot.
𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣…
Sometimes you have to treat a coach like a child.

🏀 𝟳 𝙀𝘼𝙎𝙔 𝙂𝘼𝙈𝙀 𝙈𝘼𝙉𝘼𝙂𝙀𝙈𝙀𝙉𝙏 𝙏𝙄𝙋𝙎 🏀
In this article, Roger gives us 7 quick and easy tips that are designed to immediately improve our game management skills.
These themes can be used as positive conversation starters that will keep you one step ahead of the game.
AUGUST 2020
KEY MOMENTS
- Daily Burst from the Bubble Series was Introduced
- Showcasing tough calls made by NBA officials during the 2020 playoff season. We hope you enjoyed all the episodes.
- Check them all out at CrownRefs.com – Blog section
SEPTEMBER 2020
KEY MOMENTS
September was a big month! We started the Daily Burst from the Bubble content series so we could showcase the wonderful job the NBA officials were doing in one of the most historic playoff seasons of all time.
Check out what else happened in September –
- Andrew Marotta joined the podcast – always a pleasure!
- Improving the Culture
- Darren Drake’s Mental Performance Training
- Burst from the Bubble Episodes
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙨 𝙋𝙤𝙙𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙩 | 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝟭𝟬𝟯
𝘼𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙬 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙖 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.
𝗛𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝘂𝘀𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱, Father, Principal, Former 15-year Division One College Basketball Official, Professional Speaker & Developer, podcaster, blogger, and now an author.
𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲, 𝘄𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴:
• His career in college basketball and working in the ACC
• We listed the many mentors who helped him along the way
• Told a Roger Ayers story from a 2008 conference playoff game
• Tips, Tricks, and strategies from his book
• What he learned most from officiating and how it applies to being a Principal
• The biggest challenges he faced during his NCAA years
𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸’𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 ”𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘭: 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 & 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨” 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢.𝘤𝘰𝘮

“𝙄𝙈𝙋𝙍𝙊𝙑𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘾𝙐𝙇𝙏𝙐𝙍𝙀” 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗞𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 & 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗛𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗼𝗻
“Elevating your Mindset” – Darren Drake | Division 1 Men’s Official
- Meditation
- Gratitude Journal
- Exercise
- Tracker – motivation piece
When asked, if someone is looking to improve their mindset – Darren touches on some ideas how to audit yourself:
- What are your thoughts about?
- Are you thinking about things that are out of your control or things you can control?
- Do you have a plan?
- Are you setting goals? How are you setting goals?
Find out how he does this and how you can easily make this quick change to make massive gains in your mental strength.
𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 can give you some insights on how to improve your perspective and mental approach to life and in basketball.
OCTOBER 2020
KEY MOMENTS
- Crystal Hogan (Full Podcast Episode is a Must Watch!)
- Rules Talk with Zack – Episode 1

𝗞𝗼𝗯𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝘆𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮
𝙍𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙠 | 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝟭 (with Zack Murphy)
NOVEMBER 2020
KEY MOMENTS
- Emily Glutch joined us for Game Notes 10
- Chad Beswick’s Perspective from being a Camper to Clinician
- 9 Tips to Enhance your Signals – video included
- Mark Wunderlich broke down how his mentor Joey Crawford taught him how to watch film in order to establish good habits & mechanics
- Crown Refs introduced the Ref Recap series
𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀, we had the pleasure to work with Emily Gluch, who already has 5 years officiating experience and she’s only a senior in college!
𝗢𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 we discussed slowing down the tempo of our game which includes the amount of time we allow ourselves to process a play, whistle cadence, rotations, signals, communication etc.
𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗱 the right way to ask your partner for help, how to present your fouls with more pop and staying mechanically thorough. We also noted to avoid calling through the paint in the lead position when the ball is on the weak side.
𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 to Emly Gluch for her continued belief and support in the Crown Refs grassroots program and IPR service.

Th𝙚 𝘾𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙨 𝙋𝙤𝙙𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝗘𝗽. 𝟭𝟭𝟴
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 is from Spooky Nook Sports back in July of 2019 at a college tryout camp. Our guest, Chad Beswick, is a Division 1 official from the DC metro area who was assigned to observe at his first camp.
𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲, we discuss the biggest difficulties between officiating D2 and D1, how everyone’s career path varies, and what it’s like sitting on the sidelines and observing for 10 games.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙨 𝙋𝙤𝙙𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝟭𝟮𝟬
𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲, we run through 9 enhancements that will help you add strength and sharpness when presenting your signals. Some examples include the hit, hold, charge, travel, 3pt, score the goal, and more.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 was created from the “video feedback” section of our IPR report (Film Review Service.) It was designed specifically for 1 referee but we wanted to share it with you so it can also bring you value. Hopefully, you can add a few things to your game. As always, take what you like and disregard what you don’t.

𝙃𝙊𝙒 𝙏𝙊 (𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮) 𝙒𝘼𝙏𝘾𝙃 𝙁𝙄𝙇𝙈
So, what can we gather from Mark? What can we do to continuously improve our game?
Mark broke it down into three vital concepts when it comes to improving your play-calling and credibility as an official:
•𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁𝘀
•𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 [𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆] 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺
•𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝘀
REF RECAP
A Post-game Discussion of Notable Plays & Situations | Ep. 121
Introducing Ref Recap!
𝗥𝗲𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗽 is a content series discussing notable plays and scenarios from recent games and how we can handle each situation most effectively. We analyze the thought process behind the decision making and answer some of the more commonly asked referee questions.
𝗜𝗻 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝟭, we discuss how to respond when a coach questions your partner’s call and what not to say to a coach. At the end of this 1-1 coaching session, we conduct a ”signals practice” to improve our sharpness when reporting at the table.
Let us know what you think about the Ref Recap series.
Stay tuned for next week’s Ref Recap! If you’re not following us on Facebook or Instagram, give us a follow. We post daily content that includes small clips from each podcast and episode.
DECEMBER 2020
KEY MOMENTS
- Rules Talk – 23 Most Misunderstood Rules (NFHS)
- Father & Daughter Crew
- Ref Recap – How to Lower a Coach’s voice with One Word
- Podcast episode 128 with Ashley Birch and Martin Birch Jr
RULES TALK – EPISODE 2
THE 23 MOST MISUNDERSTOOD RULES
𝗜𝗻 𝙍𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝟮, we cover the 23 most misunderstood rules about high school basketball according to the NFHS.
Some of these scenarios may occur in every game, while others may rarely unfold. At the end of the episode, Zack’s two favorite misconceptions from the list are discussed.
𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗔 𝗛𝗦 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗔 𝗠UST LISTEN!
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙆𝙚𝙮𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙙
Once you develop that 𝟭𝟬𝟬% 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁y and learn to point a 𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗯 at yourself, instead of pointing a 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 at someone else, it’s amazing how in 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 you become.
You have all the 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, you just have to play the right 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 🎶
Check out this clip from the Crown Refs Podcast – Episode 125 – click the image above.

Nicole Robinson was always on the other side of the whistle.
The 25-year-old Greenburgh resident was a basketball standout at Ursuline and went on to play one season at Manhattanville College. Initially, refereeing was a side gig, a way to earn some extra pocket money.
“My dad turned me onto it when he told me I could do CYO games and make $50 a game,” Robinson said. “That sounded great.”
Not long after those preliminary runs two years ago, the bar was reset.
Robinson is currently on a new career path, working to become a full-time basketball official. She is determined to reach the highest level and call games in the NBA…

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 cannot deliver a message if the receiver of the message is offline….
So ensure that you have the full attention of the coach before you send your response or provide your explanation. When you help to get them back online it gives your words a higher chance of hitting and ultimately achieving a more positive exchange and outcome.
𝗧𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 the next time your getting screamed at by a coach (which will probably be very soon if you’re working this season) and let us know how the exchange went.
𝘽𝙇𝙊𝘾𝙆𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙊𝙐𝙏 𝙀𝙓𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙉𝘼𝙇 𝙉𝙊𝙄𝙎𝙀

seconds ago we just felt great about the play but since we got a little push back and resistance we allowed doubt to creep in.
We cannot allow negative comments or opinions to creep into our psyche and influence our decision making.
This same concept applies to positive comments too by not allowing them to get to your head and gas you up.

𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗝𝗿, are brother and sister officials from Kansas City, Ks. They grew up in an officiating family with their Uncle, Father, and even their Mother umpiring baseball games together. These early experiences not only brought the family closer together but also provided a solid foundation for their officiating careers to one day flourish.
𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 for 5 years and is currently working HS, JUCO, NAIA games while Martin just started his 8th season in stripes working Varsity games and was just recently hired into the (KSAC) of the NAIA.
𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 we discuss their family officiating story, overcoming your fears on the court, and not allowing comments or opinions to sway your judgment.
𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙄𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙔𝙤𝙪? 𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙃𝙖𝙨 𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙔𝙤𝙪?
Thank you again for all the support you’ve given in 2020. Let’s make 2021 the best one yet.