Sports Officiating

Course Details:

In this course, students will learn the rules, game play, and guidelines for a variety of sports, including soccer, baseball, softball, basketball, volleyball, football, and tennis. In addition, they will learn the officiating calls and hand signals for each sport, as well as the role a sport official plays in maintaining fair play.

Required Materials:

Technical Requirements

A PDF reader and a word-processing program are required for this course. It is also

recommended that you have either a Flash player or MP4 player.

• Flash Player
• Adobe Reader
• QuickTime MP4 Player
• Word Processing Programs:
• Microsoft Word
• Open Office

Syllabus:

Unit 1: Sport Culture & Officiating

• 1 Sport History & Culture

In this section you will be learning about sport history and culture. By the end of this section you should be able to do the following:

• Explain the various venues where sports are played
• Compare the roles of the coach at each sports venue
• Describe how sports culture is perceived in the United States and globally
• Research opportunities to officiate

• 2 Game Strategy & Sportsmanship

In this section you will be learning about game strategy and sportsmanship. By the end of this section you should be able to do the following:

• Define good sportsmanship and explain its importance
• Apply the principles of teamwork and sportsmanship
• Report a player reprimanded for bad sportsmanship

• 3 Officiating a Game

In this section you will be learning about officiating a game. By the end of this section you should be able to do the following:

• Understand the various roles of components in a sports game
• Describe how the various roles interact with each other
• Observe the role of an official in a sporting event
• Distinguish the characteristics an official must possess
• Research two different opportunities to officiate within your community

Unit 2: Volleyball

• 1 Volleyball Guidelines & Game Play

In this section you will be learning about volleyball guidelines and game play. By the end of this section you should be able to do the following:

• Explain the objective of volleyball
• Describe safety guidelines for volleyball
• Illustrate appropriate volleyball game play
• Analyze calls made by officials during a match 

• 3 Officiating Volleyball

In this section you will be learning about officiating volleyball. By the end of this section you should be able to do the following:

• Explain the various officials responsibilities
• Differentiate between each official and their duty
• Explain the hand signals in volleyball
• Demonstrate how to perform volleyball signals
• Evaluate situations from a volleyball match and determine the call that should be made

Unit 3: Basketball

• 1 Basketball Guidelines & Game Play

This section reviews the rules, guidelines, and game play for the sport of basketball. By the end of this section you should be able to do the following:

• Explain the objective of basketball
• Describe safety guidelines for basketball
• Illustrate appropriate basketball game play
• Analyze calls made by officials in a basketball game

• 2 Officiating Basketball

In this section you will be learning about officiating basketball. By the end of this section you should be able to do the following:

• Explain the various officials responsibilities
• Differentiate between each official and their duty
• Explain the scoring system in basketball
• Identify fouls and their correlating hand signals
• Demonstrate correct hand-signals

 Unit 4: Soccer

• 1 Soccer Guidelines & Game Play

This section focuses on soccer guidelines and game play. By the end of this section you should be able to do the following:

• Explain the objective of soccer
• Describe the necessary equipment and safety precautions involved in playing the game
• Explain the basic rules and game play of a soccer game

• 2 Officiating Soccer

In this section you will be learning about officiating soccer. By the end of this section you should be able to do the following:

• Explain the various penalties used in a soccer game
• Differentiate between the duties of the referee and the line judges
• Explain the responsibilities of each official
• Demonstrate correct hand-signals

Unit 5: Baseball & Softball

• 1 Baseball & Softball Guidelines & Game Play

In this section you will be learning about baseball/softball guidelines and game play. By the end of this section you should be able to do the following:

• Explain the objective of baseball/softball
• Describe safety guidelines for baseball/softball
• Illustrate appropriate baseball/softball game play

• 2 Officiating Baseball & Softball

In this section you will be learning about officiating baseball/softball. By the end of this section you should be able to do the following:

• Understand the various duties of the baseball/softball officials
• Identify the signals made by the umpires during a baseball/softball game
• Know when to use each hand signal during a game
• Recognize the abbreviations used on a baseball/softball scorecard
• Understand how to keep score in baseball/softball

Unit 6: Football

• 1 Football Guidelines & Game Play

In this section you will be learning about football guidelines and game play. By the end of this section you should be able to do the following:

• Explain where football of today had its origins
• Describe the changes that have occurred to the football game over the years
• Identify the contributions made to the game of football by the Father of Modern American Football
• Tell how many players are on a football team
• Tell how the scoring works and how to play the game
• What equipment is necessary for players 

• 2 Officiating Football

In this section you will be learning about officiating football. By the end of this section you should be able to do the following:

• Discuss why hand signals are important in football
• Explain and demonstrate various football hand signals
• Identify the roles and duties of football officials
• Describe the fouls and penalties associated with football violations

Unit 7: Tennis

• 1 Tennis Guidelines & Game Play

In this section you will be learning about tennis guidelines and game play. By the end of this section you should be able to do the following:

• Recognize player positions and play requirements
• Explain scoring in a tennis match
• Understand how tennis is played

• 2 Officiating Tennis

In this section you will be learning about officiating tennis. By the end of this section you should be able to do the following:

• Explain the hand signals in tennis
• Differentiate between hand signals and verbal calls
• Know the responsibilities of the chair umpire and the line umpires
• Understand the calls made by each officiator