[Mike Simonds]

The more years I officiate, the more interested I become in studying the psychological aspects of the sport. More specifically, we as officials must always make the effort to master ourselves if we are to expect players and coaches to respect us.

I have been guilty of touching a player now and then. Once I reached out to separate a player who had just shoved an opponent. Unfortunately, he shoved me back and I had to eject him. He ended up costing his team 30 yards in penalties and he had to sit out the next game.

What made me upset at myself was that I could have, should have, would have handled it much differently. Chalk it up to experience, but I learned a valuable lesson. In the heat of the moment, I should have positioned myself between the players but not touch them.

Now I try to hustle and get in between the players as soon as possible when the down ends, using my voice to hand out praise and warnings as each unique situation presents itself. All the while I work on maintaining a calm exterior. Usually all it takes is a firm reminder to keep the peace.

I know its a challenge, but I have learned that coaches and players will respect my judgement more when I present myself in a confident and objective manner. We can still be passionate about the game, but controlling our own emotions will allow us to officiate the game in an objective manner.

On the subject of player equipment, I am learning to control my urge to help players fasten chinstraps, etc. Its better to call an official's timeout and let the players, coaches and equipment managers handle this. Also, I have learned never to touch an injured player. That is for the team trainers and doctors to do. I know it goes against our nature to help others, but in this age of increased legal exposure, its better to let the trained professionals handle equipment and injuries.