Baseball · New officials
Calling all sideline umpires.
Move from watching through the fence to understanding the responsibilities, angles, timing, rotations, and communication that help an umpire perform with confidence.
The GLOA Officials Journal
Ideas that improve the next assignment.
Read practical articles about mechanics, rules application, communication, game control, confidence, leadership, and the lessons officials learn through preparation and experience.
Editorial Focus
Journal active
Core principle
Every article should change something you do.
The journal is designed to connect ideas to performance. Finish each article with a question, habit, or goal you can take into a meeting, clinic, pregame, or live assignment.
Explore journal topics
Primary focus
Application
Audience
All Officials
Format
Focused Reads
Outcome
Better Habits
Featured from the academy
A practical introduction to baseball umpiring.
The academy’s first course announcement remains a useful overview of the responsibilities, decisions, and development habits new baseball officials should understand.
What the article covers
A lighthearted course announcement built around practical baseball-umpiring fundamentals and the difference between seeing a play from the sideline and owning the responsibility on the field.
Plate and base responsibilities
Safe/out and catch/no-catch timing
Fair/foul priorities and unusual plays
Rotations, positioning, and game management
Read the Full Article
From the academy
Latest published articles.
Use the search and filters below as the journal grows.
Baseball · Course announcement
Calling All Sideline Umpires
A practical and lighthearted introduction to the responsibilities, positioning, decisions, and communication habits required to move from spectator to working baseball umpire.
Academy news · Launch
We’re Live!
The official launch announcement for Great Lakes Officials Academy and its mission to provide mechanics-focused learning, scenarios, film-style education, progress tracking, and structured development.
No published articles match that search or category.
Editorial roadmap
What officials will find in the journal.
Mechanics
Positioning, angles, coverage, rotations, signals, timing, dead-ball procedures, and movement with a clear purpose.
Rules & Interpretations
Definitions, difficult situations, case-play thinking, enforcement, and how to explain a ruling with confidence.
Communication
Coach and participant interactions, conflict prevention, explanations, partner support, listening, and professional presence.
Game Management
Tempo, emotional awareness, benches, substitutions, difficult moments, administration, and maintaining control without over-officiating.
Mental Performance
Confidence, composure, recovery after mistakes, focus, decision-making under pressure, and healthy self-evaluation.
Career Development
Getting started, association involvement, camps, evaluations, advancement, crew leadership, mentoring, and long-term growth.
Recommended reading for officials
Books that strengthen judgment, preparation, teams, and habits.
These selections are not officiating rule books. They develop the decision-making, communication, mindset, leadership, and learning habits that support strong officiating.
Decision-making
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Understand the two systems that shape rapid judgments and deliberate decisions.
View book
Preparation
The Checklist Manifesto
Explore how simple systems improve performance in complex, high-pressure environments.
View book
Choices
Decisive
A practical framework for making stronger choices and avoiding common decision traps.
View book
Behavior
Nudge
Learn how environment, framing, and small choices influence human behavior.
View book
Bias
Predictably Irrational
See how hidden forces influence decisions even when people believe they are being rational.
View book
Learning
Black Box Thinking
Use mistakes as information and create systems that support honest improvement.
View book
Teams
The Culture Code
Study the habits that help groups build trust, cooperation, and high performance.
View book
Mental performance
The Inner Game of Tennis
A classic guide to focus, confidence, self-talk, and performing without overthinking.
View book
Communication
Made to Stick
Learn why some explanations are remembered and how to communicate ideas clearly.
View book
Habits
The Power of Habit
Understand how routines form and how to replace weak patterns with better ones.
View book
Some book links may be affiliate links. GLOA may earn a small commission from a qualifying purchase at no additional cost to the reader.
Help build the officials journal
Have an experience or lesson worth sharing?
Officials, assigners, clinicians, and association leaders can contact GLOA with article ideas, development lessons, camp takeaways, mentoring perspectives, and officiating stories for possible publication.
Turn reading into performance
Take one idea into your next game.
Read with a purpose, identify one practical adjustment, and use the next assignment to test whether that adjustment improves your positioning, judgment, communication, or control.