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Hey Ref- Ultimate Officials

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Last Updated on Sunday, 27 May 2012 23:31

By Duncan Ryhorchuk

I have a friend that is an auto mechanic. When I stop by to see him, he is always tuning up his cars. It is not that anything is wrong with his cars; he is just in his words “fine-tuning them.”

Officials, do you need some fine-tuning to help you reach your goals on the ice? J.B. Olson, an educator by trade, runs a training program called “Ultimate Officials.” This may be the fine-tuning program you are looking for.

How did the program come about?

J.B. I have been very blessed in my officiating career, working everything from Mite hockey to Junior hockey. I have been an official for 11 years in the WCHA, as well as reffing in three different continents for the IIHF. Of all my officiating highlights, the one that has meant the most has been my involvement as a member of the USA Hockey National Instruction Staff since 2002.

The Ultimate Officials program was an idea I had since 1998 when I first got involved in referee instruction and power skating at the Minnesota level. In addition to being the main power skating instructor at the Minnesota Hockey Officials Association camp, I was coaching at a lot of summer hockey camps.

Focusing specifically on off-ice training and overspeed training camps. I knew I wanted to start my own hockey camp, not necessarily a referee camp, because of my love for teaching and coaching.

Fast-forward nine years, and I saw three simultaneous factors going on: 1) the training for hockey players had become more specialized and more intense, 2) the training for hockey officials was NOT keeping pace with the playing/coaching side, and 3) the Internet had grown to involve more sharing, training and social media than ever before.

I wrote a proposal for Ultimate Officials, a year-round training program, featuring online instruction, off-ice training, education/coaching and a supervision model. I sent it into USA Hockey for their blessing. Both Matt Leaf, the USA Hockey Director of the Officiating Education Program, and Steve Tatro, Minnesota Referee-in-Chief gave me their approval.

What are some of the programs and highlights?

J.B. Ultimate Officials has two training models. First, the Minnesota Development Model (MDM) which is designed for Minnesota referees. This involves online training, video tutorials, physical and mental training curricula, and in-season supervision. It also comes with video-taped feedback and DVD’s.

Second, Ultimate Officials Online Camps, which are open to anyone, receiving all the aforementioned benefits, minus the videotaped supervision. The number of officials in the Online Camps varies from month to month, and has included referees from many different states, Canada and Finland.

Some of the highlights include our two offseason Treadmill Camps, which are run in partnership with eTrain Hockey Training Facilities in Bloomington, Minn. These camps are six weeks and run the referees through an intense skating treadmill program. Eric Scott, owner of eTrain, runs the programs, along with off-ice speed and plyometric training, run by myself.

The other highlights in the past have been our 12-part offseason training programs, including Physical Transformation, Mental Toughness Training and Goal Setting Training. I also run 4-5 on-ice camps, which involve game experience in the two referee, one linesman systems.

What is “Ultimate Officials” goal?

J.B. My motto: “Faster Skating, Better Officiating, Bigger Games, GUARANTEED.” My job is to provide reliable teaching, feedback, training and insider information to help each official be their best. Our four-year track record speaks to the success of the program.

Who can join, what are some criteria and how can they join?

J.B. Although the majority of the officials who receive training are younger referees (in their 20’s) looking to move up to junior hockey and beyond, anyone who is interested in pushing themselves and being the best are ideal candidates. Many of the referees in the Online Camps simply want to be the best Bantam referee in their area.

The MDM program is capped at 30 officials, and this program has been at max capacity for the past three seasons. Those who wish to join the Online Camps simply need to go to my website (UltimateOfficials.com) and sign up through PayPal. The cost is $0.25 (yes, one quarter) for the first month, and $10 per month thereafter.

Who are some of the participants? And what are some of their achievements?

J.B. For the upcoming season, Ultimate Officials has helped promote the following referees:

• Eric Arndt - Arden Hills - MIAC Women’s

• Nick Bradshaw - White Bear Lake - WCHA Men’s

• Jake Brenk - Detroit Lakes - ECHL

• Kevin Cassidy - New Prague - NAHL Linesman

• Tim Ferrel - New Hope - NAHL Linesman

• Neil Missling - Minnetonka - WCHA Men’s

• Joel Omundson - Duluth - SIJHL Linesman

• Shane Paskey - Eden Prairie - WCHA Women’s

• Cameron Voss - St. Paul - NAHL Referee

We also had 26 different officials work sectional, state and national tournaments.

Moving forward, where do you see this program ?

J.B. Developing, coaching, training and supervising officials is something that has always been in my DNA. Ultimate Officials is a chance to mentor officials, both online and in-person, giving them ‘insider secrets’ and knowledge that the average official just can’t find anywhere. My wish is that our fraternity of hockey referees will continue to grow. This has been the best part of my officiating career, bar none!

I have had the opportunity to work games with some of the officials in J.B.’s program. One common element was evident – an exciting and positive attitude.

J.B. Olson has developed a program that will fine-tune Hockey officials and help them reach their goals. Will it work for every official? I think not, but I am not able to answer that. But as with the auto mechanic that is always fine-tuning his cars, the officials with the correct attitude, that puts in the time, effort, and yes, some money, will become finely tuned and reach their goals of being ultimate officials.

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